P..  E.  LEE  . 


Engraved  expresii.-/  for  Lee  sjul  his  lieutenants 


7 IJ I 


DRAWN  AND  ENGRAVED  EXPRESSty  FOR  "LEE  &  HIS  LIEUTENANTS 


S.  3.  Treat  fc  C?  Publishers,  New  York. 


•v 


LEE  AND  HIS  LIEUTENANTS; 


COMPRISING   THE 


EARLY  LIFE,  PUBLIC  SERVICES,  AND  CAMPAIGNS  OF 

GENERAL    ROBERT    E.    LEE 

AND 

HIS  COMPANIONS  IN  ARMS, 


WITH  A  RKCORD  OF  THEIR 


CAMPAIGNS  AND  HEROIC  DEEDS. 


u  Names  the  world  will  not  willingly  let  die." 


BY    EDWAKD    A.    POLLARD, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  LOST  CAUSE,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


With  numerous  Steel-plate  Engravings. 


NEW  YORK: 
E.  B.  TREAT  &  CO.,  654  BROADWAY. 

BALTIMORE,  MD.:   J.  S.  MORROW;    LOUISVILLE,  KY. :    F.  I.  DIBBLE. 

ST.  LOUIS,  MO.  I    I.  S.  BRAIN ARD  J    NEW  ORLEANS,  LA.  :  J.  H.  HUMMEL  J 
CHICAGO,  ILL. :   C.  W.  LILLET ;    SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL. :  E.  E.  SHEAR. 

1867. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  by 

E.  B.  TEEAT  &  CO., 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  th«  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


THE  NEW  YORK  PRINTING  COMPANY, 

81,  83,  and  85  Centre  St., 

NEW  YORK. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  Author  proposes  in  this  present  work  to  assemble  the 
most  heroic  names  of  the  South  in  the  late  war,  and  to  give  to 
the  world  biographies  of  her  most  illustrious  military  command 
ers,  including  memoirs  of  all  the  Army  divisions  of  the  Confed 
eracy  from  Virginia  to  the  Trans-Mississippi.  The  plan  of  the 
work  is  extensive ;  the  collection  is  naturally  in  the  shape  of  a 
galaxy ;  but  the  picture  is  one,  in  the  common  light  of  the  mar 
tial  glory  of  the  South  in  which  all  the  figures  are  grouped. 

Authenticity  is  more  difficult  in  biography  than  in  history ; 
the  domain  of  anecdote  is  always  doubtful ;  and  the  most  we 
can  obtain  of  the  lives  of  particular  men  comes  to  us  through 
the  prejudices  and  colours  of  personal  narration.  Sensible  of 
the  difficulties  and  uncertainties  which  beset  his  task,  the  author 
may  yet  declare  that  he  has  executed  it  with  such  care  that  he 
has  admitted  no  statement  of  fact  without  ample  authority,  and 
mentioned  not  even  the  slightest  incident  without  the  support  of 
credible  testimony.  He  has  been  greatly  assisted  from  the  notes 
and  memories  of  surviving  actors  of  the  great  drama ;  he  has 
drawn  something  from  various  publications  contemporary  with 
the  war — among  which  he  would  especially  mention  the 
Southern  Illustrated  News,  one  of  the  most  interesting  literary 
souvenirs  of  the  Confederacy ;  and  he  has  explored  for  evidence 
every  print  and  manuscript  of  the  documentary  history  of  the 
Richmond  Government.  At  least,  he  has  not  been  deficient  in 
research,  however  he  may  have  used  his  discoveries. 

It  has  been  arranged  that  the  biographies  in  this  volume 
should  cover  the  whole  space  of  the  action  of  the  late  war. 


iv  INTRODUCTION. 

Including  all  the  great  commanders,  they  contain  some  name 
dear  to  each  part  of  the  former  Confederacy,  and  thus  have  an 
interest  distributed  through  all  the  States  of  the  South. 

The  author's  design,  in  short,  has  been  to  assemble  the  most 
remarkable  characters  of  the  late  war,  and  to  perform  a  work, 
in  which  Southern  youth  may  look  for  models  of  true  greatness ; 
the  scholar  recognize  his  fruitful  themes ;  and  those  yet  living 
on  the  scenes  of  the  great  conflict  find  many  subjects  of  tender 
and  ennobling  interest. 

VIRGINIA,  1867. 


LIST  OF  BIOGRAPHIES. 


PAGE 

General  Robert  Edward  Lee //^ 33 

Lieutenant-General  "  Stonewall  "  Jackson, ('fi .' 177 

General  Peter  G.  T.  Beauregard *J»> 231 

General  Albert  Sidney  Johnston djq. 271 

Lieutenant-General  Braxton  Bragg &  & 284 

Major-General  Sterling  Price £•?.  .fe 309 

General  Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston L-/?t 337 

Lieutenant-General  James  Longstreet &  I? 411 

Lieutenant-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart fa. 421 

Lieutenant-General  Ambrose  P.  Hill I"? 440 

Lieutenant-General  Daniel  H.  Hill V.  <r\ 448 

Lieutenant-General  Richard  S.  Ewell fa 457 

Lieutenant-General  Jubal  A  Early '^A 463 

Major-General  Gustavus  W.  Smith *£j- 482 

Major-General  Lafayette  McLaws J&K, 487 

Major-General  Cadmus  Wilcox «# 496 

Major-General  George  E.  Pickett {$. 509 

Major-General  Charles  W.  Field .^: 520 

Major-General  Robert  E.  Rodes 524 

Major-General  Arnold  Elzey /. .  /.' 527 

Major-General  Sam.  Jones ^/. 530 

Major-General  John  B.  Gordon k C1. 535 

Major-General  Fitzhugh  Lee *jfi 549 

Brigadier-General  Henry  A.  "Wise { .A; 559 

Brigadier-General  Turner  Ashby { :  ^ 573 

Lieutenant-General  Leonidas  Polk £& 587 

Major-General  John  C.  Breckinridge .*i 601 

Major-General  Mansfield  Lovell <&& 621 

Major-General  Earl  Van  Dorn vj$4i 627 

Brigadier-General  Benjamin  McCulloch V'f; ;; :  \ 637 

Major-Greneral  John  H.  Morgan •...,.£' 645 

Lieutenant-General  John  B.  Hood .^yj 663 

Lieutenant-General  Stephen  D.  Lee ff& 674 

Major-General  Patrick  Cleburne V, 688 

Lieutenant-General  Joseph  Wheeler ¥fl 695 

Brigadier-General  Felix  K.  ZolUcoffer. ... ^.r.;;  Y 705 


VI  LIST  OF   BIOGRAPHIES. 


Lieutenant-General  Alexander  P.  Stewart V^';?t 711 

Major-General  Benjamin  F.  Cheatham U.'. '. 718 

Major-General  William  B.  Bate *'.y..: 722 

Lieutenant-General  Wade  Hampton '4 . v7. 738 

Lieutenant-General  Nathaniel  B.  Forrest , J&WS. 748 

Lieutenant-General  E.  Kirby  Smith .CTV. 760 

Lieutenant-General  Simon  B.  Buckner v.f 773 

Major-General  John  B.  Floyd .w*r. 783 

Lieutenant-General  William  J.  Hardee Y.^T. 808 

Lieutenant-General  Richard  Taylor 7.^ 830 

Major-General  Dabney  H.  Maury %• 837 

Major-General  John  B.  Magruder ifa 840 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGB 

Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee Frontispiece. 

The  Conflagration  of  Richmond Vignette  Title. 

Lieutenant-General  "  Stonewall "  Jackson , 177 

General  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard 177 

Lieutenant-General  R.  S.  Ewell 177 

Lieutenant-General  A.  P.  Hill 177 

Lieutenant-General  J.  Longstreet 177 

General  A.  S.  Johnston 177 

Lieutenant-General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart 177 

Major-General  Sterling  Price     309 

Major-General  Fitzhugh  Lee 309 

Major-General  Earl  Yan  Dorn 309 

Lieutenant-General  "  Dick  "  Taylor 309 

Lieutenant-General  Joseph  Wheeler 309 

Major-General  B.  F.  Cheatham 309 

Lieutenant-General  A.  P.  Stuart 309 

General  Joe  E.  Johnston 337 

Lieutenant-General  Braxton  Bragg 663 

Lieutenant-General  Kirby  Smith 663 

Lieutenant-General  K  B.  Forrest 663 

Lieutenant-General  Leonidas  Polk 663 

Lieutenant-General  J.  B.  Hood 663 

Lieutenant-General  W.  J.  Hardee  663 

Major-General  John  Morgan 663 

Lieutenant-General  Jubal  A.  Early 463 

Major-General  J.  C.  Breckinridge 463 

Brigadier-General  Henry  A.  Wise 463 

Lieutenant-General  Wade  Hampton 463 

Brigadier-General  Turner  Ashby 463 

Major-General  J.  B.  Gordon 463 

Major-General  J.  B.  Magruder 463 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

GENERAL    ROBERT    EDWARD   LEE. 

Standards  of  human  greatness. — Three  classes  of  great  men. — Nature  and  pecu 
liarity  of  genius. — A  second  order  of  greatness. — General  Lee,  as  in  the  third 
class  of  great  men. — Key  to  his  character,  .  £«  =*i  .  .  .  33 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Lee  family  in  Virginia. — "  Light-Horse  Harry." — Early  life  of  Robert  E. 
Lee. — His  cadetship  at  West  Point. — His  home  at  Arlington  Heights. — Ser 
vices  in  the  Mexican  war. — Commended  by  G-en.  Scott. — Appointed  Colonel 
in  the  First  Cavalry. — The  John  Brown  raid. — Colonel  Le«  and  the  outlaws. — 
The  first  act  of  "  rebellion  "  at  Harper's  Ferry. — G-overnor  Wise  arms  Vir 
ginia,  :  .  .  -*;; ••:•  ••.^.' •••••;  :'..  ;rf  .'  ...  .  ..:,. ...-•<•;  38 

CHAPTER  III 

Abraham  Lincoln  elected  President  of  the  United  States. — Anxiety  and  hesi 
tation  of  Lee  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities. — His  sense  of  duty. — He 
debates  the  question  of  his  allegiance  to  Virginia. — His  peculiar  school  of 
politics. — A  reply  to  a  Northern  newspaper. — Attitude  of  Virginia. — A  sub 
lime  struggle  in  Lee's  mind. — He  goes  to  Richmond. — Appointed  Comman- 
der-in-Chief  of  the  Virginia  forces. — His  reception  by  the  State  Conven 
tion. — Appearance  and  carriage  of  the  man. — Military  preparations  in  Vir 
ginia. — She  joins  the  Southern  Confederacy,  .  .  .  ;. .  .  48 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Gen.  Lee  sent  to  Northwestern  Virginia. — Description  of  the  theatre  of  the 
war. — Unfortunate  military  councils  in  Richmond.— Proclamation  of  Gov. 
Letcher. — A  caricature  of  secession. — Disaster  of  Rich  Mountain.  Gen.  Lee's 
plans  thereafter. — He  is  foiled  at  Cheat  Mountain. — Marches  to  the  Kanawha 
Valley. — Escape  of  Rosecrans. — Failure  of  Lee's  Campaign. — He  is  abused 
and  twitted  in  Richmond. — Scoffs  of  the  Richmond  "  Examiner." — He  is 
assigned  to  "  the  coast  service." — Recalled  to  Richmond,  and  made  "  Com 
manding  General." — This  post  unimportant,  and  scarcely  honourable,  58 

CHAPTER  V. 

MoClellan's  march  up  the  Peninsula. — Recollections  of  the  "  White  House." — 
Battle  of  Seven  Pines. — Review  of  condition  of  the  Confederacy. — An  act 
"  to  disband  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy." — Carnival  of  misrule. — Gen.  Lee 
in  command  of  the  forces  around  Richmond. — Nearly  two-thirds  of  his  army 
raw  conscripts. — His  adoption  of  Gen.  Johnston's  idea  of  concentration. — 
Manners  of  Lee  as  a  commander. — The  great  battle  joined. — Beaver-Dam 


10  CONTENTS. 

Creek. — G-en.  Lee  resting  at  a  farm-house. — The  glory  of  G-aines'  Mills. — 
Brilliant  audacity  of  Gen.  Lee  in  delivering  this  battle. — Retreat  of  McClel- 
lan. — Frazier's  Farm. — Malvern  Hill. — The  circuit  of  Lee's  victories  broken. — 
His  official  summary  of  "  the  Seven  Days'  battles,"  ...  67 

CHAPTER  VI. 

General  Lee  the  favourite  of  the  populace. — He  moves  out  to  the  line  of  the 
Rappahannock. — Cedar  Run. — Bold  and  daring  enterprise  of  General  Lee, 
in  detaching  Jackson  to  the  enemy's  rear. — A  peculiarity  of  his  campaigns. — 
How  he  disregarded  the  maxims  of  military  science. — The  battles  of  Second 
Manassas. — Gen.  Lee  marches  for  the  fords  of  the  Potomac. — His  address  at 
Frederick,  Maryland. — Jackson  detached  again. — McClellan  finds  an  im 
portant  paper. — The  Thermopylae  of  "  South  Mountain  Pass." — Battle  of 
Sharpsburg. — Gen.  Lee  obtains  a  victory,  but  is  unable  to  press  it. — He 
retires  to  Virginia. — An  authentic  statement  of  Gen.  Lee's  reasons  for  the 
Maryland  campaign. — His  constant  and  characteristic  idea  of  defending 
Richmond  by  operations  at  a  distance  from  it. — Congratulations  to  his 
troops. — Moral  results  of  the  campaign  of  1862. — Testimonies  to  Southern 
heroism, .«,  v  .  .  .  78 

CHAPTER  VII. 

General  Lee's  perilous  situation  in  North  Virginia. — His  alarming  letter  to  the 
War  Office. — The  happy  fortune  of  McClellan's  removal. — The  Battle  of 
Fredericksburg. — Gen.  Lee's  great  mistake  in  not  renewing  the  attack. — 
His  own  confession  of  errour. — He  detaches  nearly  a  third  of  his  army  to 
cover  the  south  side  of  Richmond. — He  writes  a  severe  letter  to  the  Govern 
ment. — The  enemy's  fifth  grand  attempt  on  Richmond. — Gen.  Lee  in  a  des 
perate  extremity. — The  Battles  of  Chancellorsville. — Three  victories  for  the 
Confederates. — The  masterpiece  of  Gen.  Lee's  military  life,  .  .  93 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Controversy  between  Gen.  Lee  and  the  War  Department. — The  Secretary 
winces. — Gen.  Lee's  new  campaign  of  invasion. — How  it  differed  from  that 
of  1862. — Reorganization  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. — Some  remarks 
on  its  artillery  service. — Gen.  Lee  across  the  Potomac. — His  orders  at  Cham- 
bersburg,  Pa. — His  errours  with  respect  to  the  policy  of  "  retaliation." — His 
conversation  with  a  mill-owner. — A  letter  from  President  Davis. — Gen.  Lee 
misunderstood  and  disappointed  by  the  Richmond  authorities. — Orders  to 
Stuart's  cavalry. — The  Confederate  army  blinded  in  Pennsylvania  for  want 
of  cavalry. — The  battle  of  Gettysburg  has  the  moral  effect  of  a  surprise  to 
Gen.  Le-e. — The  lost  opportunity  of  the  1st  July. — Why  G-en.  Lee  fought 
the  next  day. — Temper  of  his  army. — He  assaults  the  enemy's  centre  on  the 
3d  July. — Recoil  of  the  Confederates. — Gen.  Lee  cheering  and  comforting 
his  men. — His  fearful  retreat,  and  his  wonderful  success  in  extricating  his 
army,  .  .  .  .  '  .' 101 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Decline  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy. — Operations  in  the  autumn  of 
1863. — Gen.  Lee's  patriotic  exhortation  to  his  troops. — His  great  care  for 
them. — Meeting  of  the  chaplains  in  his  army. — Relations  between  General 
Lee  and  his  troops. — His  habite  on  the  battle-field. — Intercourse  with  his 
men. — Simplicity  of  his  manners. — His  feelings  towards  the  public  enemy. — 
How  he  rebuked  a  Yankee-phobist. — Sufferings  of  the  Confederate  troops. — 
Commissary  Northrop. — Gen.  Lee  demands  food  for  his  troops. — Touching 


CONTENTS.  11 

address  to  his  half-starved  men. — Anecdote  of  G-en.  Lee  and  his  cook. — Per 
sonal  recollections  of  the  great  commander. — An  English  officer's  description 
of  his  person  and  habits,  .  .  .  .  •  ...  .•  :.*i.-i';.  116 

CHAPTER  X. 

Opening  of  the  great  campaign  of  1864. — Precise  account  of  Gen.  Lee's  plans. 
— He  acts  with  his  accustomed  boldness  and  takes  the  offensive. — Actions 
of  the  5th  and  6th  May. — General  Lee  determines  to  lead  a  critical  assault. — 
Protest  of  the  soldiers. — Grant  resorts  to  manoeuvre. — Spottsylvania  Court- 
House. — General  Lee  again  in  the  extreme  front  of  his  men. — A  thrilling 
spectacle. — Heroic  action  of  Gordon. — "  Gen.  Lee  to  the  rear  !  " — Account  of 
the  strategy  from  Spottsylvania  Court-House  to  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. — 
Grant  on  the  old  battle-field  of  McClellan. — His  army  defeated  in  ten  minutes 
at  Cold  Harbour. — His  losses  in  one  month  exceed  Lee's  whole  army. — 
Precise  statement  of  the  odds  against  Gen.  Lee. — Reflections  on  the  nature 
and  degrees  of  generalship. — Comparison  of  the  two  rival  commanders  of 
the  North  and  South, '  \  125 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Gen.  Lee's  private  opinion  of  the  defences  of  Richmond. — A  serious  communi 
cation  to  the  G-overnment,  and  how  it  was  treated. — Vagaries  of  President 
Davis. — Gen.  Lee  decides  that  the  safety  of  Richmond  lies  in  raising  the 
siege. — Expedition  of  Early  across  the.  Potomac. — Anxiety  of  Gen.  Lee. — 
He  meditates  taking  command  of  the  force  in  Maryland. — Retreat  of  Early. 
— Gen.  Lee  next  proposes  a  diversion  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. — Failure  of 
this  operation. — Constant  extension  of  Grant's  left  around  Richmond. — 
Period  of  despondency  in  the  South. — A  letter  of  Gen.  Lee  on  the  question 
of  supplies. — He  proposes  bringing  in  two  or  three  years'  supplies  from  Eu 
rope. — Desertion  the  great  evil  in  the  Confederate  armies. — Difficulties  of 
dealing  with  it. — Various  letters  and  protests  from  Gen.  Lee  on  the  subject 
of  discipline. — An  angry  comment  of  President  Davis. — Gen.  Lee  a  severe 
disciplinarian,  and  yet  loved  by  his  men. — Anecdote  of  the  General  and  a 
one-armed  soldier. — Skeleton  returns  of  the  army. — The  popular  clamour 
against  President  Davis. — Gen.  Lee's  quasi  acceptance  of  the  position  of 
Commander-in-chief. — Nature  and  peculiar  history  of  this  rank  in  the  Con 
federate  armies. — Hopeful  views  of  G-en.  Lee. — rProject  of  arming  the 
negroes. — Growth  of  new  hopes  for  the  Confederacy,  .  vi  >-.-.  135 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Extraordinary  cheerfulness  of  Gen.  Lee. — A  psychological  reflection. — The 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia  at  a  third  stage  in  its  history. — Military  prepa 
rations  for  the  evacuation  of  Richmond. — Protests  of  the  Government. — 
Gen.  Lee's  last  and  desperate  resolution. — Battle  of  Five  Forks. — Theory 
and  results  of  the  action. — Grant3s  assault  in  front  of  Petersburg. — How 
Gen.  Lee  received  it. — His  remark  to  a  staff-officer,  .  .  .  149 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  last  retreat  of  Gen.  Lee's  army. — Two  notable  pictures. — Gen.  Lee  con 
ceives  a  new  prospect  of  action. — A  fatal  miscarriage  at  Amelia  Court- 
House. — No  food  for  the  army. — Terrible  sufferings  of  the  retreat. — General 
despair  and  misery. — Action  at  Sailor's  Creek. — Condition  of  the  army  at 
Appomattox  Court-House. — Apparition  of  the  white  flag. — Correspondence 
between  Generals  Lee  and  Grant. — Authentic  and  detailed  account  of  their 
interview  at  McLean's  House. — Contradiction  of  various  popular  reports 


12  CONTENTS. 

of  this  event. — G-eneral  Lee  announcing  the  terms,  of  surrender  to  his 
officers. — Scenes  in  the  encampments. — Gen.  Lee's  last  address  to  his  troops. 
— His  return  to  Richmond. — Last  tokens  of  affection  and  respect  for  the 
Confederacy,  . 155 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

An  interesting  interview  with  Gen.  Lee  after  the  surrender. — Remarks  upon 
the  Federal  rule. — Indicted  for  "  treason." — Proceedings  stayed  on  the  pro 
test  of  Gen.  Grant. — Explanation  of  Gen.  Lee's  course  with  reference  to 
amnesty,  etc. — Elected  President  of  Washington  College. — The  true  spirit 
of  his  advice  of  "  submission." — His  hopes  for  the  repose  and  welfare  of 
the  South, 172 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    STONEWALL    JACKSON. 

Boyhood  of  Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson. — His  experience  at  West  Point. — His 
studies  and  habits. — A  novel  analysis  of  awkward  manners. — Jackson's  pro 
motions  in  the  Mexican  war. — His  love  of  fight. — Recollections  of  "  Fool 
Tom  Jackson "  at  Lexington. — A  study  of  his  face  and  character. — His 
prayers  for  "  the  Union." — A  reflection  on  Christian  influences  in  America. — 
Jackson  appointed  a  colonel  in  the  Virginia  forces. — In  command  at  Harper's 
Ferry. — Constitution  of  the  "  Stonewall  Brigade." — Jackson  promoted  to 
Brigadier. — His  action  on  the  field  of  Manassas. — He  turns  the  enemy's 
flank  and  breaks  his  centre. — How  much  of  the  victory  was  due  to  him. — 
His  expedition  towards  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac,  .  .  177 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Description  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley. — Its  importance  as  an  avenue  to 
Washington. — Gen.  Jackson  retreats  from  Winchester,  and  returns  and 
fights  the  battle  of  Kernstown. — His  first  and  last  defeat. — Analysis  of  the 
enemy's  "  On-to-Richmond." — Four  armies  to  converge  on  the  Confederate 
capital. — Situation  of  Gen.  Jackson. — Reinforced  by  Ewell's  division. — His 
rapid  movement  to  McDowell,  and  its  designs. — He  falls  upon  the  enemy 
at  Front  Royal. — He  chases  Banks'  army  through  Winchester  and  across 
the  Potomac. — President  Lincoln  "  sets  a  trap  "  for  him. — Gen.  McDowell's 
remonstrance. — Battles  of  Cross  Keys  and  Port  Republic. — Summary  of 
the  Valley  campaign, 190 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Gen.  Jackson's  share  in  the  "  Seven  Days'  battles  "  around  Richmond. — Shift 
ing  of  the  scenes  of  war  from  the  James  River  to  the  Rappahannock. — 
Battle  of  Cedar  Run. — Gen.  Jackson  moves  a  column  between  the  enemy's 
rear  and  Washington. — Scenes  of  the  march. — Battle  of  Groveton. — The 
two  days'  conflict  on  Manassas  Plains. — Gen.  Jackson  strikes  the  enemy  at 
Ox  Hill. — Results  of  the  campaign  so  far.— Extraordinary  achievement  of 
Jackson's  command. — He  moves  against,  and  captures  Harper's  Ferry. — 
His  part  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg, 199 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Battle  of  Fredericksburg. — Gen.  Jackson  conceives  the  desperate  enterprise 
of  driving  the  enemy  into  the  river. — But  he  recalls  the  attack. — Battle  of 
Chancellorsv-ille. — A  night  council  under  the  pines. — The  flank-march. — 
How  Gen.  Hooker  was  deceived. — Gen.  Jackson's  last  dispatch. — Fury  of 


CONTENTS.  13 

his  attack  in  the  Wilderness. — He  is  shot  from  his  horse  by  his  own  men. — 
Particulars  of  his  wound  and  sufferings. — His  dying  moments. — Funeral 
ceremonies  hi  Richmond,  "*>i 208 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Review  of  Gen.  Jackson's  services  and  character. — True  nature  of  his  ambi 
tion. — The  value  of  glory. — Religious  element  in  Gen.  Jackson's  character. — 
Peculiarity  of  his  religious  habits. — Anecdotes. — Want  of  natural  amiability. 
— Harshness  of  manner  towards  his  officers. — His  severe  idea  of  war. — 
Destructiveness. — His  readiness  to  forgive. — A  touching  personal  incident. 
— His  self-possession  as  a  mark  of  "  genius." — His  military  faculty  not  a 
partial  one. — European  estimates  of  his  career. — A  lesson  to  Northern  inso 
lence  and  rancour,  ,  .  .  .  '  V.  ~ .  .  .  .y  r  .  220 

CHAPTER  XX. 

GEN.  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Early  life  of  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard. — His  gallantry  and  promotions  in  the  Mexican 
War. — Life  in  Louisiana. — Appointment  in  the  Confederate  Army. — Defences 
of  Charleston. — Battle  of  Fort  Sumter. — Gen.  Beauregard  takes  command  in 
Virginia. — His  contempt  of  "  the  Yankees." — A  grotesque  letter. — Popular 
sentiment  concerning  the  war. — Explanation  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of 
the  Union  party  in  the  South. — Gen.  Beauregard's  declaration  of  the  pur 
poses  of  the  war. — "  Beauty  and  Booty." — A  Northern  journal  on  Butler  vs. 
Beauregard. — Battle  of  Manassas. — Complimentary  letter  from  President 
Davis. — The  popularity  of  Gen.  Beauregard  alarms  the  vanity  of  the  Presi 
dent. — A  scandalous  quarrel. — Gen.  Beauregard's  political  "  card  "  in  the 
Richmond  newspapers,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .231 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Gen.  Beauregard  transferred  to  command  in  West  Tennessee. — His  order 
about  "the  bells." — He  concentrates  the  Confederate  forces  at  Corinth. — 
Battle  of  Shiloh. — A  "  lost  opportunity." — Retreat  to  Tupelo.— He  obtains 
a  sick  furlough. — President  Davis  deprives  him  of  his  command. — Official 
persecution  of  Gen.  Beauregard. — Violent  declarations  of  the  President. — 
Gen.  Beauregard  in  retirement. — A  private  letter  on  the  war,  .  249 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Gen.  Beauregard  in  command  at  Charleston. — Military  importance  of  "  the 
City  of  Secession." — Gen.  Beauregard's  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the 
Carolinians. — Naval  attack  on  Charleston,  1863. — Gen.  Beauregard's  depart 
ment  stripped  of  troops. — Unavailing  remonstrance  to  President  Davis. — 
Gen.  Gillmore's  attempt  on  Charleston. — Its  impotent  conclusion. — Fame 
of  Gen.  Beauregard  as  an  engineer. — He  receives  the  thanks  of  Congress. 
—Returns  to  Virginia  in  1864. — "Battle  of  the  Falchion  and  the  Buzzard." 
— Gen.  Beauregard's  plan  of  campaign  before  the  battle  of  Drewry's  Bluff. 
— Remarkable  interview  with  President  Davis. — Connection  of  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  with  Hood's  campaign. — He  advises  the  evacuation  of  Richmond. — 
Merits  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  military  career. — Description  of  his  person 
and  habits, .  257 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

GEN.    ALBERT    SIDNEY   JOHNSTON. 

Remarkable  career  of   Albert  Sidney  Johnston. — He   eludes    the  Federal 


14  CONTENTS. 

authorities  in  California. — Declares  for  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  "  an 
nexes  "  Arizona. — In  command  of  the  Western  armies. — Picture  of  a  hero. 
— Proclamation  on  the  occupation  of  Kentucky. — Foolish  exaltation  of 
Southern  hopes. — True  situation  of  Gen.  Johnston. — His  noble  silence  in 
the  face  of  clamour. — Letter  on  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson. — A  glance  at  the 
Western  map  of  the  war. — The  Confederate  line  broken  and  the  campaign 
transferred  to  the  southern  bank  of  the  Tennessee  river. — Battle  of  Shiloh. 
— Gen.  Johnston  riding  on  to  victory. — His  death-wound. — Lamentations 
in  the  South. — Tributes  to  his  memory. — A  classic  inscription,  .  271 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

GEN.    BRAXTON   BRAGG. 

Equivocal  reputation  of  G-en.  Bragg  in  the  war. — His  services  in  Mexico. — 
Offers  his  sword  to  Louisiana. — His  command  at  Pensacola. — G-allant  par 
ticipation  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh. — His  reflections  upon  Gen.  Beauregard. 
— In  command  of  the  Western  forces. — His  Kentucky  campaign,  as  corre 
spondent  to  the  Virginia  campaign  of  1862. — Battle  of  Perrysville. — G-en. 
Bragg's  retreat  through  Cumberland  Gap. — Criticisms  and  recriminations 
touching  the  campaign,  .........  284 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Battle  of  Murfreesboro. — Interval  of  repose. — Retreat  to  Chattanooga. — Gen. 
Bragg  refuses  to  fight  at  the  instance  of  the  War  Department. — Reinforced 
from  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. — Battle  of  Chickamauga. — A  com 
mentary  in  the  Richmond  Whig. — Violent  quarrel  between  Gens.  Bragg 
and  Longstreet. — The  disaster  of  Missionary  Ridge. — Gen-  Bragg  relieved 
from  command  and  appointed  "  military  adviser  "  of  President  Davis. — 
Explanations  in  a  Richmond  journal. — Gen.  Bragg's  last  service  in  the  field. 
— Fall  of  Wilmington. — Gen.  Bragg's  military  career  criticised. — His  ardent 
Southern  patriotism, 295 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MAJ.-GEN.    STERLING   PRICE. 

Anomaly  of  the  Missouri  Campaign. — Early  life  of  Sterling  Price. — Governor 
of  Missouri. — His  Politics. — Formation  of  "  The  Missouri  State  Guard." — 
Personal  appearance  of  the  Commander. — His  correspondence  with  Gen. 
Barney. — Affair  at  Booneville. — Gen.  Price  reinforced  by  Gens.  MoCulloch 
and  Pearce. — Battle  of  Oak  Hill  or  Wilson's  Creek. — Gen.  Price's  move 
ment  upon  Lexington. — His  success. — Designs  against  St.  Louis. — Why 
they  were  abandoned. — Retreat  of  the  Patriot  Army  of  Missouri. — The 
State  joins  the  Southern  Confederacy. — Gen.  Price's  Proclamation  at 
Neosho, 309 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Gen.  Price  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  men. — McCulloch  refuses  to  cooperate. 
— Admirable  retreat,  of  Price's  army  to  Boston  Mountains. — Hardihood  of 
his  troops. — A  message  from  Gen.  Halleck. — Gen.  Van  Dorn  appointed  Con 
federate  Commander  of  the  Trans-Mississippi. — Battle  of  Elk  Horn. — Its 
importance. — Heroism  of  Gen.  Price  on  the  field. — The  Missouri  troops 
cross  the  Mississippi  River. — Gen.  Price's  eloquent  address  to  "  the  State 
Guard,"  .  .  .  i  '? 321 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Career  of  G-en.  Price  as  a  subordinate. — Mortality  record  of  the  Missouri  Ghiard. 
— Their  participation  in  the  battle  of  Corinth. — Battle  of  Helena. — Gen. 
Price's  cherished  idea  of  liberating  Missouri. — His  agreement  with  G-en.  Fre 
mont  for  the  humanities  of  the  war. — How  the  enemy  violated  it. — Gen. 
Price's  last  attempt  to  save  Missouri. — His  final  retreat  from  the  State. — Sum 
mary  of  the  character  of  Gen.  Price. — A  defect  in  his  military  career. — Gen. 
Price  as  an  exile, .  328 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

GEN.    JOSEPH  EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 

Some  account  of  "  the  first  families  "  of  Virginia. — Ancestry  of  Joseph  Eggles- 
ton. — Peter  Johnston  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  the  State  councils  of 
Virginia. — Early  life  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston. — Military  tastes  of  the  boy. — 
Services  of  Lieut.  Johnston  in  the  Florida  War. — An  incident  of  desperate 
courage. — Services  in  the  Mexican  War. — Bon  Mot  of  G-en.  Scott. — Johnston 
appointed  Quartermaster-G-eneral, ~'  .  337 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

G-en.  Johnston's  resignation  from  the  United  States  Army. — He  visits  Mont 
gomery. — Appointed  a  full  General. — Ordered  to  Harper's  Ferry. — The  place 
a  cul  de  sac.— -Johnston  abandons  it. — Reasons  for  destroying  the  property  of 
the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. — How  Gen.  Johnston  amused  Patterson. — 
He  asks  permission  to  join  Beauregard  at  Manassas  Junction. — The  march 
to  Piedmont,  and  transportation  hence  to  Manassas,  : .  !.  .  344 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

G-en.  Johnston's  survey  of  the  field  of  Manassas. — He  indicates  the  enemy's 
design  to  flank  the  Confederate  left.— His  anxiety  about  Patterson's  move 
ments. — Plan  of  attack  upon  Centreville. — Why  it  failed. — Non-arrival  of  part 
of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah. — Popular  misrepresentations  of  the  battle  of 
Manassas. — The  real  plans  of  action  on  each  side. — How  Gen.  Johnston  over 
lapped  the  flanking  movement  of  the  enemy. — His  orders  to  Gen.  Boriham  to 
attack  on  Centreville. — The  most  brilliant  opportunity  of  the  day  lost. — G-en. 
Johnston's  published  reasons  for  not  attacking  Washington. — This  explana 
tion  criticised. — Evidence  of  McClellan. — The  Confederate  Army  demoralized 
by  their  victory. — Sequel  of  Manassas,  .  '^-:V-:'*  ••*  •-  ••-;  « -f.  ;={*-'-,•  .  352 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

An  early  council  of  the  Confederate  Government. — Unpopularity  of  G-en.  John 
ston. — He  indicates  the  value  of  concentration,  and  proposes  an  aggressive 
movement  against  the  Potomac. — Overruled  by  President  Davis. — Attempt 
to  bring  McClellan  to  battle. — Blockade  of  the  Potomac  River. — True  theory 
of  the  battle  of  Leesburg,  or  Ball's  Bluff. — G-en.  Johnston  meditates  a  retreat 
from  North  Virginia. — A  notable  Council  of  War  in  Richmond. — Gen.  John 
ston's  advice  overruled  by  President  Davis  and  G-en.  Lee. — Transfer  of 
Johnston's  Army  to  Yorktown. —  Why  he  abandoned  the  Peninsula. — Gen. 
Johnston's  share  in  Jackson's  Valley  Campaign. — Battle  of  Seven  Pines. — 
How  its  results  were  limited. — Gen.  Johnston  wounded. — He  loses  command 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 361 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Gen.  Johnston's  designs  against  McClellan. — Why  he  considered  his  wound 


1 6  CONTENTS. 

fortunate  for  the  Confederacy. — Anecdote  of  a  dinner-party  in  Richmond. — 
G-en.  Johnston's  mission  to  the  west. — True  nature  of  his  appointment  and 
powers. — Rather  a  Local  Secretary  of  War  than  a  Commanding-General. — 
Interesting  conference  between  G-en.  Johnston  and  Secretary  Randolph. — 
He  proposes  to  make  one  military  department  of  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley. 
— G-en.  Johnston's  visit  to  Bragg's  Army. — The  defence  of  Vicksburg. — 
Antecedents  of  Gen.  Pemberton. — Detailed  account  of  the  correspondence 
and  relations  between  Gens.  Johnston  and  Pemberton. — Gen.  Johnston's 
orders  twice  disobeyed. — His  last  order,  "  Hold  out,"  as  involving  the  fate 
of  the  Confederacy. —  Surrender  of  Vicksburg,  and  its  train  of  consequences 
to  the  close  of  the  war, 372 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Important  supplement  to  the  story  of  Vicksburg. — President  Davis'  part  in  the 
disaster. — Radical  difference  of  military  views  of  the  President  and  of  Gen. 
Johnston. — The  disaster  of  Missionary  Ridge. — Gen.  Johnston  takes  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — His  successful  reorganization  of  it. — Com 
parison  of  forces  with  the  enemy. — Gen.  Johnston's  reasons  for  withdrawing 
from  Dalton. — Sherman's  plan  of  campaign. — The  retreat  towards  Atlanta 
and  its  incidents. — Gen.  Johnston  removed  from  command. — "  All  hell  fol 
lowed." — A  sharp  dispatch  to  Richmond. — Injustice  of  the  government  to 
G-en.  Johnston, .*-,  390 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

The  fall  of  Atlanta  and  what  it  involved. — Gen.  Johnston  foretells  Sherman's 
"march  to  the  sea." — The  Vce  Victis. — Gen.  Johnston  restored  to  command. 
— The  North  Carolina  campaign. — Sherman's  stipulations  for  a  surrender. — 
Interference  from  Washington. — Qualities  of  Gen.  Johnston  as  a  great  com 
mander. — His  military  peculiarities. — Compared  to  George  Washington. — 
His  patriotic  and  noble  silence  under  censure. — His  person  and  deportment. 
— Literary  accomplishments. — His  advice  to  the  Southern  people  on  their 
duties  after  the  surrender,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  402 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    JAMES    LONGSTREET. 

His  early  military  services. — Affair  of  Blackburn's  Ford. — Battle  of  Williams- 
burg. — Gallantry  at  Games'  Mills. — Incident  of  march  to  Second  Manassas. 
— Separate  command  in  South  Virginia. — Desperate  fighting  at  Gettys 
burg. — Sobriquet  of  "  The  Bull-dog." — Decisive  part  in  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga. — Quarrel  with  Gen.  Bragg. — Campaign  in  East  Tennessee. — Its 
errours. — A  sharp  correspondence  with  the  Federal  General  Foster. — Gen. 
Longstreet  rebuked  by  President  Davis. — He  is  wounded  in  the  Wilder 
ness. — Military  character  and  aptitude  of  the  man. — Fraternal  relations 
with  Gen.  Lee. — His  personal  appearance, 411 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    J.    E.    B.    STUART. 

Unique  figure  of  Stuart  in  the  war. — His  first  cavalry  command  in  the  valley 
of  Virginia. — Adventure  with  Capt.  Perkins. — Complimented  by  Gen. 
Johnston. — The  action  of  Dranesville. — "  The  Ride  around  McClellan." — 
Adventure  at  Verdiersville. — Capture  of  Gen.  Pope's  coat  and  papers. — Ex 
pedition  into  Pennsylvania. — At  Fredericksburg. — At  Chancellorsville. — 
His  characteristic  intercourse  with  Stonewall  Jackson. — Splendid  review  at 


CONTENTS.  17 

Brandy  Station. — The  scene  changed  into  bloodiest  battle. — G-en.  Stuart's 
serious  omission  in  the  Gettysburg  campaign. — Adventure  in  the  flanking 
movement  in  North  Carolina. — Hair-breadth  escapes  of  the  commander. — 
He  is  shot  down  at  Yellow  Tavern. — His  last  moments. — Criticism  of  his 
military  character, 421 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    AMBROSE    P.    HILL. 

His  record  in  the  United  States  A  rmy. — His  part  in  the  battles  around  Rich 
mond,  1862. — Conspicuous  gallantry  at  Frazier's  Farm. — He  repulses  six 
assaults  in  the  second  battle  of  Manassas. — Critical  service  at  Sharpsburg. 
— Episode  of  Boteler's  Ford. — Bristoe  Station. — Failure  of  G-eneral  Hill's 
health. — He  resumes  command  in  front  of  Petersburg. — Reams'  Station. — 
Tragic  death  of  the  Commander.— His  virtues  and  gallantry,  .  440 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    DANIEL    H.    HILL. 

"  Bethel "  Hill  a  curiosity  as  well  as  celebrity  of  the  war. — His  Revolutionary 
ancestry. — Services  in  Mexico. — His  adventures  as  a  Professor  and  litera- 
teur. — Curiosities  of  "  Hill's  Algebra." — The  affair  of  Bethel  and  its  exag 
geration. — Gen.  Hill's  account  of  McClellan's  retreat  from  Richmond. — His 
most  memorable  and  heroic  service  at  South  Mountain  Pass. — Gen.  Hill's 
criticism  of  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg. — Heroic  record  of  a  North  Carolina 
regiment. — Gen.  Hill  at  Chickamauga. — Removed  from  command. — His 
literary  exploits  and  eccentricities,  .  .  .  t^**^.  ..->,--;<.  •,-/•.'.  448 

CHAPTER  XL. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    RICHARD    S.    EWELL. 

Gen.  Ewell  as  the  companion  and  friend  of  Stonewall  Jackson. — His  military 
life  anteriour  to  1861. — Curious  apparition  at  Fairfax  Court-House.-r-His 
share  in  Jackson's  Valley  campaign. — Cross  Keys. — Port  Republic. — Com 
pliment  to  "  the  Maryland  line." — Gen.  Ewell  wounded  at  Groveton. — He 
succeeds  to  Stonewall  Jackson's  command. — Enacts  part  of  the  old  drama 
at  Winchester. — Services  in  1864. — He  commands  the  Department  of  Hen- 
rico. — Burning  of  the  city  of  Richmond,  .....  457 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    JUBAL    A.    EARLY. 

His  early  life  as  a  soldier  and  politician. — His  "  Union  "  sentiments  in  the 
Virginia  Convention. — Why  he  became  an  actor  in  the  war. — Reflections 
upon  the  Unionists  and  Secessionists. — Gen.  Early's  services  in  1862. — The 
disaster  of  Rappahannock  Station. — His  different  commands  in  the  last 
year  of  the  war. — His  independent  campaign  into  the  Valley  and  Mary 
land. — Outrages  of  the  enemy  in  the  Valley. — Gen.  Early's  advance  upon 
Washington  City. — Why  he  did  not  attack  it. — His  return  to  the  Valley. — 
Battle  of  Winchester. — The  dramatic  story  of  Cedar  Creek — Failure  of  the 
Valley  campaign. — The  affair  of  Waynesboro. — Narrow  escape  of  Gen. 
Early. — Gen.  Lee's  letter  relieving  him  from  command. — Review  of  the 
operations  in  the  Valley. — Remarkable  character  of  Gen.  Early.— The  "  bad 
old  man." — His  jokes  and  peculiarities. — Anecdotes  of  the  camp. — Escape 
of  Gen.  Early  across  the  Mississippi  River. — His  choice  of  exile,  .  463 

2 


18  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

MAJ.-GEN.    GUSTAVUS    W.    SMITH. 

His  family  in  Kentucky. — He  serves  in  the  Mexican  war. — Complimentary 
notices  from  G-en.  Scott. — Appointed  Street  Commissioner  of  New  York. — 
Resigns,  visits  Kentucky,  and  accepts  a  Major-Generalship  in  the  Confede 
rate  service. — His  slight  record  in  the  war. — His  resignation. — Injustice  of 
President  Davis. — Volunteer  services  of  Gen.  Smith  in  the  latter  period  of 
the  war,  . 482 

CHAPTER  XLIII. 

MAJ.-GEN.  LAFAYETTE  M'LAWS. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army. — Appointed  a  Brigadier-General  in  the 
Confederate  States  Army,  September,  1861. — Promoted  in  front  of  Richmond. 
—His  part  in  the  capture  of-Harper's  Ferry. — His  glorious  and  bloody  work 
at  Fredericksburg. — The  East  Tennessee  campaign,  1863. — Gen.  McLaws 
opposes  the  assault  on  Knoxville. — Extraordinary  reply  of  Gen.  Long-street. 
— Defective  reconnoissances  of  the  enemy's  works. — Why  the  assault  failed — 
Gen.  McLaws  court-martialed  and  triumphantly  acquitted. — A  remarkable 
peculiarity  of  his  military  career,  .  .  .  .  '-.... .  r.-  ? . :  :>  ' .  487 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

MAJ.-GEN.  CADMUS  M.  WILCOX. 

Military  services  in  Mexico. — His  gallantry  at  Chapultepec. — Subsequent  ser 
vices  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  first  command  in  the  Confederate 
States  Army. — Heroic  conduct  of  his  brigade  in  the  battles  around  Richmond, 
1862. — At  Games'  Mills. — At  Frazier's  Farm. — An  incident  on  the  second 
field  of  Manassas. — Battle  of  Salem  Church. — Important  action  of  Wilcox's 
Brigade  on  the  second  day  of  Gettysburg. — A  narrow  chance  of  victory. — 
Why  the  supports  failed. — Amusing  anecdote  of  Gen.  Wilcox  and  a  chicken- 
thief. — Promoted  Major- General. — Record  of  services  in  the  campaign  of 
1864-5. — Heroic  story  of  Fort  Gregg. — Last  scenes  of  the  surrender,  496 

CHAPTER  .XLY. 

MAJ.-GEN.  GEORGE  E.  PICKETT. 

His  gallantry  in  the  Mexican  War. — Spirited  Action  of  Capt.  Pickett  in  the  "  San 
Juan  Difficulty." — Position  of  the  State  of  Virginia  in  the  Sectional  Contro 
versies. — Pickett's  Early  Appointments  in  the  Confederate  States  Service. — 
"  The  Game-Cock  Brigade,"  in  Longstreet's  Division. — Memorable  and 
Heroic  Action  of  Pickett's  Division  at  Gettysburg. — Account  of  it  in  the 
Richmond  Enquirer. — Gen.  Pickett's  Expedition  on  the  North  Carolina 
Coast. — His  Return  to  Petersburg. — How  "  The  Cockade  City"  was  narrowly 
Saved. — Operations  around  Petersburg. — Gen.  Lee's  Compliment  to  Pickett's 
Men.— The  Battle  of  Five  Forks.— The  suppressed  Official  Report  of  Gen. 
Pickett. — His  Last  Tribute  to  his  Troops. — Historical  Glory  of  "  The  Vir 
ginia  Division,  . '  .  .  .  509 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

MAJ.-GEN.     CHARLES   W.    FIELD. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army  and  at  West  Point. — Commands  a  Brig 
ade  in  the  "  Seven  Days  Battles  "  around  Richmond. — Promoted  Major- 
General  in  1864. — Field's  Division  restores  the  Battle  in  the  Wilderness. — 


CONTENTS.  19 

An  Unheralded  Victory  on  the  Richmond  Lines. — Apocrypha  of  the  News 
papers. — Remarkable  and  Brilliant  Appearance  of  Field's  Division  at  the 
Surrender. — What  the  Federal  General  Meade  said  of  "the  Rebels,"  520 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 

MAJ.-GEN.    ROBERT    E.    RODES. 

Graduates  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute. — A  civil  engineer  in  Alabama. — 
Elected  to  a  Professor's  chair  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute. — Com 
mands  a  Brigade  at  Seven  Pines. — Gallantry  at  Chancellorsville. — Ap 
plauded  on  the  field  by  Stonewall  Jackson. — Killed  at  Winchester. — A 
touching  tribute  to  his  memory,  .  .  .  V*£  '  ,''•'  " '.  .  524 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

MAJ.-GEN.    ARNOLD    ELZEY. 

A  captain  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  surrender  of  the  Augusta  Arsenal 
to  the  State  of  Georgia. — "  The  Blucher  of  Manassas." — Services  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.— Wounded  at  Games'  Mills.— His  successful  command 
of  the  Department  of  Richmond, !  527 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

MAJ.-GEN.    SAM    JONES. 

Early  military  services  in  the  field,  at  West  Point  and  at  Washington. — 
Appointed  on  Gen.  Beauregard's  staff. — Commands  Bartow's  Brigade. — 
Ordered  to  Pensacola. — Various  services  on  the  Western  theatre  of  the 
War. — Commands  the  Trans- Alleghany  Department. — Relieves  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  at  Charleston. — Defence  of  Tallahassee. — Breadth  and  variety  of 
his  military  experience, v  .;-..,.:,  .  .  530 

CHAPTER  L. 

MAJ.-GEN.    JOHN   B.    GORDON. 

Appearance  of  a  new  hero  in  the  last  year  of  the  war. — Ancestral  stock  of 
John  B.  Gordon.—"  The  Racoon  Roughs."— The  6th  Alabama  at  Seven 
Pines. — Personal  heroism  of  Col.  Gordon. — At  South  Mountain. — His 
bloody  and  picturesque  figure  on  the  field  of  Sharpsburg. — Gen.  Gordon  as 
an  orator. — A  soldier's  commentary  on  his  eloquence. — His  part  in  the 
Pennsylvania  campaign. — A  telling  speech  to  Yankee  women. — His  coun 
sels  at  Gettysburg. — His  splendid  action  in  the  Wilderness. — A  night  attack 
upon  the  enemy. — Gen.  Gordon  rides  through  the  enemy's  lines. — His 
glorious  counter-charge  at  Spottsylvania  Court-House. — His  part  in  the 
Valley  campaign  of  1864. — A  novel  and  interesting  version  of  the  battle 
of  Cedar  Creek. — Gen.  Gordon's  plan  of  attack  rejected  or  not  executed 
by  Gen.  Early. — His  position  and  figure  in  the  last  scene  at  Appomattox 
Court-House. — Review  of  his  military  services. — A  representative  of  the 
"Young  South." — His  admirable  sentiment  and  advice  since  the  sur 
render,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  535 

CHAPTER  LI. 

MAJ.-GEN.    FITZHUGH   LEE. 

A  grandson  of  "Light  Horse  Harry." — A  "wild"  youth. — Tricks  at  West 
Point. — Desperate  fights  with  Indians. — His  early  services  in  the  Confed 
eracy. — Chivalrous  incident  at  the  Second  Manassas. — Services  in  the 


20  CONTENTS. 

Maryland  campaign. — Action  of  Kelly's  Ford. — With  Jackson  at  Chancel- 
lorsville. — Reorganization  of  the  cavalry  commands  in  Virginia. — A  com 
plimentary  letter  from  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee. — Fitzhugh  Lee's  division  in  the 
campaign  of  1864-5. — Spottsylvania  Court-House. — Yellow  Tavern. — 
Reams'  Station. — Five  Forks. — Conduct  of  the  cavalry  on  the  retreat. — 
Personal  recollections  of  Fitzhugh  Lee, 549 

CHAPTER  LII. 

BRIG. -GEN.    HENRY   A.    WISE. 

An  extraordinary  excitement  in  Richmond. — The  days  of  the  Secession  Con 
vention. — Wise's  idea  of  "  fighting  in  the  Union." — His  style  of  eloquence 
in  the  Convention. — A  remarkable  conversation  in  his  hotel. — His  rhetori 
cal  bravura. — Short-sighted  vanity  of  the  South — Gen.  Wise's  campaign  in 
Western  Virginia. — The  disaster  of  Roanoke  Island. — Gen.  Wise  relieved 
from  censure. — Death  of  his  son. — An  affecting  scene. — Interview  between 
Gen.  Wise  and  Secretary  Randolph. — His  command  in  South  Carolina. — 
At  Petersburg.  -Gen.  Wise's  fame  as  a  soldier. — His  mental  gifts. — Marks 
of  an  afflicted  intellect. — His  tribute  to  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Con 
federacy, 559 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

BRIG.-GEN.    TURNER   ASHBT. 

Definition  of  Chivalry. — Its  peculiarities  and  virtues. — A  notable  picture  of 
chivalric  courage. — Turner  Ashby's  family. — His  early  life. — He  raises  a 
regiment  of  cavalry. — His  famous  white  steed. — Death  of  his  brother. — The 
devotion  of  Ashby. — Habits  and  appearance  of  the  cavalier. — Purity  of  his 
life. — Adventure  with  the  enemy  at  Winchester. — Ashby  on  the  retreat 
from  Kernstown. — Chased  by  the  enemy. — His  horse  killed. — Promoted 
a  Brigadier. — His'  limited  military  education. — A  scene  around  the  camp- 
fires. — Dramatic  death  of  Ashby. — Gen.  Jackson's  tribute  to  his  memory. — 
Honours  to  the  deceased  cavalier. — His  place  in  history,  .  .  573 

CHAPTER  LIV. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    LEONIDAS    POLK. 

Exchange  of  the  Bishopric  of  Louisiana  for  a  military  command. — Reasons 
why  Bishop  Polk  resigned  his  holy  calling  for  arms. — Reflections  on  the 
ethics  of  war. — Bishop  Polk  a  graduate  of  West  Point. — Adventures  as  a 
Missionary  Bishop  in  Western  wilds. — Flatboat-men  and  gamblers. — Gen. 
Polk  wins  the  victory  of  Belmont. — A  serious  accident. — Battle  of  Shiloh. 
— The  battle  of  Perrysville  fought  under  Gen.  Polk's  direction. — His  adven 
ture  with  an  Indiana  Colonel. — Interesting  incident  in  the  battle  of  Mur- 
freesboro. — Gen.  Polk's  conduct  at  Chickamauga. — Censured  by  Gen. 
Bragg. — Transferred  to  command  in  the  Southwest. — He  frustrates  Sher 
man's  expedition. — Returned  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — His  death  at 
Marietta. — Anecdotes  illustrative  of  his  character,  .  .  .  587 

CHAPTER  LV. 

MAJ.-GEN.    JOHN    0.    BRECKINRIDGE. 

His  life  anteriour  to  the  War. — His  career  in  Congress. — Elected  Vice-Presi- 
dent  of  the  United  States. — Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency, 
1860. — The  electoral  and  popular  vote  of  that  canvass. — Address  to  the 
people  of  Kentucky. — Last  service  in  the  United  States  Senate. — Bold 
speech  there  against  the  Administration. — Remarks  upon  Andrew  John- 


CONTENTS.  21 

son's  resolution. — Excited  debate  with  Senator  Baker. — Flight  of  Mr. 
Breckinridge  from  Kentucky. — His  farewell  counsels  to  her  people. — 
Appointed  Brigadier-General. — Gallantry  at  Shiloh. — His  expedition 
against  Baton  Rouge. — Causes  of  its  failure. — At  Murfreesboro. — "The 
Bloody  Crossing  of  Stono  River." — At  Chickamauga. — Memorial  of  the 
Western  commanders  to  the  Richmond  Congress. — Gen.  Breckinridge' s 
command  in  Southwestern  Virginia. — He  is  made  Secretary  of  War. — 
Accompanies  President  Davis  in  his  flight  from  Richmond. — Last  Council  of 
the  Confederate  leaders. — Gen.  Breckinridge  escapes  from  the  country. — 
Reflections  upon  his  services  and  character,  ....  601 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

MA J. -GEN.    MANSFIELD  LOVELL. 

His  early  life  and  politics. — Story  of  the  fall  of  New  Orleans. — Importance  of  its 

line  of  water-defence. — Gen.  Lo  veil's  hands  tied  by  red  tape  at  Richmond. — Not 

to  blame  for  the  disaster. — His  gallant  services  after  the  loss  of  New  Orleans. 

.  — President  Davis  refuses  to  give  him  a  command  under  Johnston,  621 

CHAPTER  LYII. 

MAJ.-GEN.  EARL  VAN  CORN. 

His  capture  of  Federal  troops  in  Texas  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. — Temporary 
command  in  North  Virginia. — Assigned  to  the  Trans-Mississippi. — Battle  of 
Elk  Horn. — Correspondence  with  Gen.  Curtis  on  civilized  warfare. — Gen.  Van 
Dorn  crosses  the  Mississippi  River. — The  Department  of  Louisiana. — Heroism 
of  the  first  defence  of  Vieksburg. — Battle  of  Corinth. — Gen.  Van  Dorn  re 
moved  from  command. — His  reflections  on  the  sentence. — His  command  of 
calvary. — Destroys  Grant's  depot  of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs. — Dies  by  the 
hand  of  private  violence. — His  genius  as  a  commander,  .  .  .  627 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

BRIG.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  M'CULLOOH. 

Early  romance  of  his  life. — His  fame  as  a  hunter  and  pioneer. — Service  in  the 
Texan  war  of  independence. — Battle  of  San  Jacinto. — The  Mexican  War. — 
Adventure  at  Buena  Vista. — Appointed  United  States  Marshal  for  Texas. — 
His  life  in  Washington  City. — His  appearance  and  manners  at  the  capital. — 
Relations  to  President  Buchanan. — Seizes  the  property  and  arms  of  the 
United  States  at  San  Antonio. — Surrender  of  Gen.  Twiggs. — McCulloch's 
command  in  the  Indian  Territory. — His  part  in  Price's  Missouri  campaign. — 
Defects  of  his  military  character. — Killed  in  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn,  637 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

MAJ.-GEN.    JOHN  H.    MORGAN. 

Morgan  raises  a  company  in  the  Mexican  war. — "  The  Captain." — His  natural 
aptitude  for  arms. — His  personal  appearance. — His  escape  from  Kentucky. — 
A  trick  on  the  enemy. — His  early  services  on  Green  River. — How  he  cap 
tured  six  Federals. — Adventure  with  a  telegraph  operator. — His  first  expe 
dition  into  Kentucky. — A  new  engine  of  war. — Freaks  of  the  telegraph. — 
The  affair  of  Hartsville. —  His  expedition  through  Kentucky,  Indiana  and 
Ohio. — Its  captures  and  ravages. — Gen.  Morgan  a  prisoner. — Cruelty  and 
indignities  of  the  enemy. — His  escape  from  the  Ohio  penitentiary. — Detailed 
account  of  his  escape  and  travel  through  the  enemy's  lines. — An  ovation  at 
Richmond. — His  new  command  on  the  Virginia  border. — Disfavour  and 


22  CONTENTS. 

prejudice  of  the  Government. — Gen.  Morgan's  last  expedition  into  Kentucky. 
— Its  defeat. — Affair  of  Mt.  Sterling. — Cruel  slanders  of  Gen.  Morgan. — At 
tempts  an  expedition  to  Bull  Gap,  East  Tennessee. — Surprised  and  killed  by 
the  enemy. — Different  versions  of  his  death. — A  brief  review  of  his  cam 
paigns,  ............  645 

CHAPTER  LX. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    JOHN   B.    HOOD. 

Peculiar  glory  of  the  soldier-State  of  Texas. — Early  recollections  in  the  war 
of  "Hood  and  his  Texans." — Hood's  cavalry  command  on  the  Peninsula. — 
Commands  the  Texas  brigade. — The  peculiar  Lewes  of  Games'  Mills. — Gen. 
Hood  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg. — "  The  two  Little  Giant  Brigades." — 
Gen.  Lee's  opinion  of  Texas  soldiers  "  in  tight  places." — Gen.  Hood  wound 
ed  at  Gettysburg  and  at  Chickamauga. — Commands  a  corps  in  Johnston's 
army. — Remarkable  letter  to  the  War  Department. — Appointed  Command 
ing  General  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — An  ascent  in  rank,  but  a  fall  in 
reputation. — A  list  of  errours  in  the  Georgia-Tennessee  campaign. — Failure 
of  that  campaign. — Magnanimous  confession  of  Gen.  Hood. — His  chivalry.— 
His  admirable  military  figure,  «^.;..  •  ..,;.;•  •  •  •  •  663 

CHAPTER  LXI. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    STEPHEN   D.    LEE. 

His  ancestry  in  South  Carolina. — His  service  in  the  United  States  Army. — 
Aide  to  Gen.  Beauregard  at  Fort  Sumter. — Commands  Virginia  Cavalry. — 
Assigned  to  Artillery. — Gallant  and  important  action  of  his  batteries  at 
Second  Manassas. — Anecdote  illustrating  the  spirit  of  that  day. — Gen.  Lee 
in  command  at  Vicksburg. — Extraordinary  compliment  from  President 
Davis. — Gen.  Lee  repulses  Sherman  at  Chickasaw  Bayou. — Battle  of  Baker's 
Creek. — Wonderful  escape  of  Gen.  Lee  in  the  retreat. — Siege  of  Vicksburg. 
— Action  of  the  22d  June,  1863. — Heroism  of  Texan  soldiers. — Gen.  Lee 
commands  the  cavalry  in  Mississippi. — His  operations  against  Sherman. — 
He  commands  the  Southwestern  Department. — Raids  of  the  enemy. — 
Assignment  of  Gen.  Lee  to  Hood's  Army. — The  Tennessee  campaign. — 
Gen.  Lee  protects  the  retreat. — Reflections  upon  his  extraordinary 
career, 674 

CHAPTER  LXII. 

MAJ.-GEN.    PATRICK    R.    CLEBURNE. 

His  first  military  experience  as  a  private  in  the  British  Army. — Campaign, 
under  Hardee,  in  Missouri. — His  part  in  the  Kentucky  campaign. — Gallant 
ry  at  Murfreesboro. — Splendid  conduct  of  his  division  at  Chickamauga. — 
Affairs  with  the  enemy  at  Tunnel  Hill  and  Ringgold. — Gen.  Cleburne's 
last  order  in  the  battle  of  Franklin. — Effect  of  his  death  on  the  army. — His 
qualites  as  a  commander. — His  honour. — Anecdotes  of  the  camp. — The 
society  or  order  of  "  Comrades  of  the  Southern  Cross." — The  battle-flag  of 
Cleburne's  division,  688 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    JOSEPH   WHEELER. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  command  of  cavalry  under  Gen. 
Bragg. — Important  service  at  Murfreesboro. — Desperate  encounter  with 
the  enemy  at  Shelbyville. — Personal  gallantry  of  Gen.  Wheeler. — His 


CONTENTS.  23 

famous  raid  into  Tennessee. — Summary  of  services  in  the  Western  Army. 
— Operations  of  Wheeler's  cavalry  on  Sherman's  march  through  Georgia. — 
Gen.  Wheeler's  farewell  address  to  his  troops. — What  he  accomplished  in 
the  war. — His  career  and  genius,  /v!  .  ,,  .'£_!''  .  {•*-;.,  .  695 

CHAPTER  LXV. 

BRIG.-GEN.    FELIX   K.    ZOLLICOFFER. 

His  early  life  as  a  politician  and  member  of  Congress. — Appointed  a  Brigadier- 
General  in  the  Confederate  States  Army. — His  leniency  to  the  people  of 
East  Tennessee. — At  Cumberland  Gap. — Letter  to  Governor  Magoffin. — 
The  "  wild-cat "  stampede. — Killed  in  the  battle  of  Mill  Springs. — How  the 
enemy  insulted  his  corpse. — His  character. — Extraordinary  public  regret 
of  his  death,  ;;  *;;  .  '  r  :  ,.  '  ::  ;;.  .  .  V'V  .  .  705 

CHAPTER  LXVI. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    ALEXANDER   P.    STEWART. 

Fame  as  a  scholar  and  instructor. — His  different  Professorships. — First  ser 
vices  in  the  Confederate  States  Army. — Various  commands  in  the  West. — 
Memorable  action  of  his  division  at  New  Hope  Church. — A  compliment 
from  Gen.  Johnston. — A  review  of  his  character. — A  tribute  from  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  scholars  of  the  South,  ....  711 

CHAPTER  LXYII. 

MA J. -GEN.    BENJAMIN   F.    CHEATHAM. 

His  military  services  in  Mexico. — His  popularity  at  home. — Commands  in  the 
West. — Adventure  in  the  battle  of  Belmont. — Record  of  his  division  in  the 
Army  of  Tennessee. — Anecdote,  illustrating  his  fighting  qualities,  .  718 

CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

MAJ.-GEV.    WILLIAM   B.    BATE. 

Enlists  as  a  private  in  the  Mexican  War. — His  distinction  there. — Public  hon 
ours  in  Tennessee. — Colonel  of  the  2d  Tennessee  Regiment. — Curious  plan 
to  capture  the  Federal  fleet  in  the  Potomac. — His  extraordinary  and  suc 
cessful  appeal  to  the  Tennessee  soldiers  to  re-enlist  for  the  war. — Sent  to 
the  army  of  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston. — A  compliment  to  his  command. — In  the 
battle  of  Shiloh. — Promotion  of  Gen.  Bate. — Action  of  Hoover's  Gap. — An 
admirable  sentiment  to  a  political  convention. — At  Chickamauga. — Re 
organization  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — Record  of  Bate's  division. — Its 
part  in  Hood's  campaign. — How  its  line  was  broken  in  the  battle  of  Nash 
ville. — Explanations  of  this  disaster. — At  Bentonville. — The  surrender. — 
Gen.  Bate  a  wanderer. — Returns  to  Tennessee. — His  political  sentiments 
after  the  war,  .  .  \  '  v  •'•£«•--•'„  .  .  .  .  .722 

CHAPTER  LXIX. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    WADE   HAMPTON. 

An  Englishman's  remark  on  the  military  aptitude  of  the  Southern  planter. — 
Wealth  and  culture  of  Wade  Hampton. — The  Hampton  Legion. — Its  mettle 
tried  at  Manassas. — Gen.  Hampton  in  the  campaign  of  1862. — Detached 
enterprises  against  the  enemy. — In  the  battle  of  Brandy  Station. — Wounded 


24:  CONTENTS. 

at  G-ettysburg. — In  the  campaign  of  1864. — Fights  with  Sheridan. — Trevil- 
lian  Station. — Sappony  Church. — Hampton's  "beef-raid." — He  joins  Gen. 
Beauregard's  command. — Operations  against  Sherman. — A  severe  com 
mentary  on  the  enemy's  atrocities. — Peculiar  compliments  of  the  Northern 
Radicals  to  -Gren.  Hampton  since  the  war. — His  admirable  speeches  and 
advice  to  his  countrymen,  ........  738 

CHAPTER  LXX. 

LIETJT.-GEN.    NATHANIEL    B.    FORREST. 

Peculiarities  of  the  Western  theatre  of  the  war. — Forrest,  "  the  Great  Cav 
alryman  of  the  West." — Nathaniel  B.  Forrest,  his  parentage  and  early  life. 
— Enters  the  army  as  a  private. — His  escape  from  Fort  Donelson. — His 
expedition  into  West  Tennessee. — Pursuit  and  capture  of  Streight's  com 
mand  in  Georgia. — The  field  of  Chickamauga. — Gen.  Forrest  leaves  the 
Army  of  Tennessee. — His  career  in  Mississippi. — Victory  of  Okolona. — The 
dramatic  story  of  Fort  Pillow. — Victory  of  Tishamingo  Creek. — Gen.  For 
rest  rejoins  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — His  last  affair  with  the  enemy  at 
Selma. — The  wonder  and  romance  of  his  career. — A  remarkable  theory  of 
cavalry  service. — His  •  extraordinary  prowess  in  the  war,  and  deeds  of 
blood, 748 

CHAPTER  LXXI. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    EDMOND    KIRBY    SMITH. 

Early  military  life  of  E.  Kirby  Smith. — His  first  conspicuous  service  hi  the 
Confederate  States  army  at  Manassas.  His  campaign  with  Bragg  in  Ken 
tucky. — Great  success  of  Gen.  Smith's  part  of  the  campaign. — Put  in  com 
mand  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Department. — Extraordinary  spirit  of  this 
part  of  the  Confederacy. — Peculiar  military  difficulties  of  the  department. — 
The  Red  River  campaign. — Why  Gen.  Smith  did  not  pursue  Banks. — Affairs 
with  the  Federal  General  Steele. — Judgment  and  prudence  of  Gen.  Smith 
in  deciding  an  alternative  of  campaigns. — Injustice  of  the  popular  censure  on 
this  subject. — Results  and  fruits  of  the  Red  River  campaign. — Prejudice  in 
Richmond  against  the  Trans-Mississippi  Stakes. — What  they  accomplished  in 
the  war. — G-en.  Smith's  resolution  to  hold  out  after  Lee's  surrender. — His 
troops  demoralized,  clamourous,  and  excited  against  their  commander. — Ter 
rible  scenes  of  disorder. — History  of  the  surrender  of  the  Trans-Mississippi. 
Review  of  Gen.  Smith's  military  character. — Some  explanations  of  unjust 
popular  accusations, 760 

CHAPTER  LXXII. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    SIMON    B.    BUCKNER. 

Services  and  promotions  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  connection  with 
the  "  State  Guard  "  of  Kentucky. — Memorandum  of  a  conference  with 
George  B.  McClellan,  concerning  Kentucky  neutrality. — He  refuses  military 
service  with  either  of  the  belligerents. — His  conversion  to  the  service  of  the 
Confederate  States. — Commissioned  a  Brigadier-General. — Captured  at  Fort 
Donelson. — Running  the  gauntlet  of  Northern  mobs. — A  catting  remark  to 
a  Federal  officer. — Released,  and  takes  command  in  Hardee's  corps. — His 
disagreement  with  Gren.,  Bragg  concerning  the  field  of  Perry ville. — In  com 
mand  at  Mobile. — Transferred  to  East  Tennessee. — Important  assistance  in 
the  Chickamauga  campaign. — Another  disagreement  between  Bragg  and  his 
officers. — Gen.  Buckner  transferred  to  the  Tmns-Mississippi,  and  commands 
the  District  of  Louisiana. — Included  in  G-en.  E.  Kirby  Smith's  surrender. — 
A  peculiarity  of  Gen.  Buckner's  character. — His  high  moral  courage,  773 


CONTENTS.  25 

CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.  FLOYD. 

Family  record  of  the  Floyds. — Adventures  of  George  Rogers  Clarke. — John 
Floyd,  the  elder. — His  services  as  Governor  of  Virginia. — Early  life  of  young 
Floyd. — A  planter  in  Arkansas. — His  political  career  in  Virginia. — A  member 
of  President  Buchanan's  Cabinet. — His  political  views  and  services  in  the 
Cabinet. — PRIVATE  DIARY  OF  SECRETARY  FLOYD. — Extraordinary  statement 
of  President  Buchanan,  justifying  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States,  in 
a  certain  event. — Private  views  of  Washington  politicians. — How  Secretary 
Floyd  came  to  resign  his  position  in  the  Cabinet. — Clamour  and  recrimina 
tions  of  the  Republican  party. — Floyd  appointed  a  Brigadier-General  in  the 
Confederate  States  service. — His  campaign  in  Western  Virginia. — Battles  of 
Fort  Donelson. — He  is  relieved  from  command. — Appointed  by  Virginia  a 
Major-General  of  State  troops. — Operations  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Big 
Sandy. — His  death. — A  great  and  generous  character  assailed  by  partisan 
influences,  -..-  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  783 

CHAPTER  LXXIV. 

LIEUT.-GEN.    WILLIAM   J.    HARDEE. 

His  military  life  before  the  War  of  1861. — His  command  in  the  Trans-Missis 
sippi. — Ordered  to  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky. — At  Shiloh. — His  views  and 
advice  in  the  Kentucky  Campaign. — Promoted  to  a  Lieutenant-General. — 
The  first  day  of  Murfreesboro. — Reinforcements  wanting  at  a  critical  time. — 
Gen.  Hardee  as  an  organizer  of  troops. — Religious  incidents  of  his  camp. — 
He  joins  Johnston's  army  in  Mississippi. — Return  to  the  Army  of  Tennes 
see. — The  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge. — Fought  against  the  advice  of  Gen. 
Hardee. — He  takes  charge  of  Bragg's  army  at  Dalton. — Why  he  declined 
permanent  command  of  it. — The  Atlanta  campaign. — Protest  against  the 
appointment  of  Gen.  Hood  as  Commander  in  Chief. — Hardee's  desperate 
fight  at  Jonesboro. — He  is  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Florida. — Condition  of  this  Department  at  the 
time  of  Sherman's  "  march  to  the  sea." — The  evacuation  of  Savannah. — 
Campaign  of  the  Carolinas. — Hardee's  fight  at  Averysboro. — Battle  of  Ben- 
tonville. — The  general  loses  a  young  son  in  the  last  affair  of  arms. — A  tribute 
from  Arkansas  troops  to  Gen.  Hardee. — Estimate  of  his  military  record. — 
His  virtues  as  a  soldier  and  a  citizen,  «  »  ,  . .  .  .  808 

CHAPTER  LXXV. 

LIEUT.-GEN.  RICHARD  TAYLOR. 

Peculiar  advantages  of  Gen.  "  Dick  "  Taylor  in  the  war. — His  gallantry  and 
critical  service  at  Port  Republic. — Transferred  to  West  Louisiana. — Interest 
of  his  military  life  directed  to  New  Orleans.— Operations  of  1863  in  the  La- 
fourche  country. — His  part  in  the  Red  River  campaign. — Violent  quarrel 
with  Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith. — The  merits  of  this  controversy  canvassed. — 
President  Davis  sustains  Gen.  Taylor,  and  gives  him  increased  rank  and  com 
mand. — His  disposition  to  insubordination. — Destruction  of  his  property  by 
the  enemy. — A  Vermont  soldier's  account  of  the  exploit,  .  .  830 


CHAPTER  LXXVI. 

MAJ.-GEN.  DABNEY  H.  MATJRY. 

Ancestral  stock  of  Dabney  H.  Maury. — Services  in  the  Mexican  War. — Ac 
cepts  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. — Various  services  in  the  West,- 


26  CONTENTS. 

ern  armies. — His  gallant  defence  of  Mobile. — The  Army  of  Mobile  the  last 
organized  body  of  troops  in  the  Confederacy, 837 

CHAPTER  LXXYII. 

MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.  MAGRUDER. 

Brilliant  service  of  Magruder's  batteries  in  the  Mexican  War. — Interesting  inci 
dent  at  Contreras. — He  makes  the  tour  of  Europe. — Offers  his  sword  to  Vir 
ginia. — Battle  of  Bethel. — Important  and  critical  services  on  the  Peninsula. 
— How  he  deceived  McClellan,  and  defied  his  "grand  army." — Another  des 
perate  situation  in  front  of  Richmond. — Transferred  to  Texas. — Recapture  of 
G-alveston. — Affair  of  Sabine  Pass. — Address  to  the  people  of  Texas. — The 
enemy  compared  to  "the  ravenous  cat." — G-en.  Magruder resists  a  surrender 
— His  exile  in  Mexico. — The  tribute  of  a  companion-in-arms  to  his  accom 
plishments  and  virtues,  - .  .  840 

CHAPTER  LXXVIII. 

SOME  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

Reflections  on  the  close  of  the  war. — The  true  glory  of  history. — "  The  posses 
sion  forever." — The  duties  and  hopes  of  the  South. — Two  distinct  grounds  of 
faith  in  the  future. — The  people  of  the  South  to  make  their  own  history  and 
Pantheon. — Their  dead  heroes, 848 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 


CHAPTER  I 

Standards  of  human  greatness. — Three  classes  of  great  men. — Nature  and  peculiarity 
of  genius. — A  second  order  of  greatness. — General  Lee,  as  in  the  third  class  of 
great  men. — Key  to  his  character. 

HUMAN  greatness  is  neither  a  mystery  nor  an  accident.  There 
is  a  class  of  minds,  envious  or  ignorant,  which  insist  that  the 
greatness  of  men  is  without  reference  to  any  well-settled  orders  of 
merit ;  that  it  is  often  the  fruit  of  chance ;  that  it  is  subject  to  no 
well-defined  rule  or  analysis ;  and  that  fame  is  a  lawless  and  irreg 
ular  thing.  We  dissent  from  this  view,  and  disclaim  any  share  in 
its  self-complacency.  We  believe  that  human  greatness,  as  inter 
preted  by  intelligent  fame  among  mankind,  is  regulated  by  well- 
known  laws,  is  subject  to  a  clear  analysis,  and  is  capable  of  a 
precise  definition.  Especially  in  modern  civilized  society,  with  its 
multitude  of  concerns,  its  intricate  organization,  and  its  constant 
and  characteristic  multiplication  of  restraints  and  difficulties  upon 
the  self-assertion  of  the  individual,  it  is  impossible  for  a  man  to 
obtain  anything  like  permanent  fame  without  the  possession  of 
some  substantial  and  well-defined  merit,  or  some  extraordinary 
quality.  To  be  sure,  in  the  experience  of  every  people  there  are 
hasty  judgments  of  the  mob,  fits  of  fickle  admiration,  short  tri 
umphs  of  charlatanism,  ephemera  of  the  newspaper.  But  equally 
certain  it  is  that  no  man  succeeds  to  real  and  lasting  fame,  and 
obtains  a  permanent  place  in  the  regard  of  his  fellows,  unless  he 
has  some  visible  mark  upon  him,  some  true  excellence,  and  only 
after  a  severe  test  and  a  precise  measure  have  been  applied  to  those 
qualities  in  which  he  asserts  an  extraordinary  character.  That 
character  may  be  one  of  great  virtues  or  of  brilliant  vices ;  we  do 
not  discuss  the  moral  question  here ;  we  only  insist  that  the  man 

3 


34:  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

designated  for  historical  reputation,  and  the  fee  of  fame,  must 
have  something  that  really  distinguishes  him  from  his  fellows. 
Affectation  and  pretension  can  never  accomplish  a  permanent 
name.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  being  great  by  accident,  and 
enjoying  fame  without  good  reason  therefor.  Weak  men  may 
sometimes  make  undue  noise,  and  occupy  for  a  little  while  emi 
nences  to  which  they  do  not  belong;  but  the  sober  judgment  of 
mankind  soon  passes  upon  the  pretender,  and  reduces  him  to  his 
proper  position.  It  is  the  certain  and  inevitable  law  of  history. 
Mind,  like  water,  will  find  its  level.  We  may  appear  to  live  in  a 
great  confusion  of  names,  amid  disordered  currents  of  popular 
fame,  in  storms  of  unjust  and  turbulent  opinion ;  but  after  all, 
we  may  be  sure  that  there  is  an  ultimate  order,  that  the  reputations 
of  men  will  be  finally  assigned  them  by  exact  rules,  and  that 
those  only  will  enter  the  temple  of  History  who  have  real  titles, 
by  extraordinary  virtues  or  by  extraordinary  vices,  to  its  places. 

That  excellence  which  men  entitle  Greatness,  so  far  from  being 
any  peculiar  occasion  of  confusion  of  mind,  may  be  readily  sub 
jected  to  analysis,  and  the  classes  of  fame  be  separated,  with  refer 
ence  to  the  qualities  which  obtain  it.  In  the  first  place,  we  have 
a  distinction  among  mankind,  and  a  title  to  fame  in  the  rare  pos 
session  of  genius.  The  subtile  excellence  of  mind  that  bears  this 
name  is  difficult  of  definition.  But  its  characteristics  are  easily 
recognized  and  unfailing.  We  call  him  the  man  of  genius,  who, 
by  a  quality  or  gift  superiour  to  reason,  reaches  the  truth,  seizes  upon 
it  without  the  intermediate  process  by  which  the  ordinary  man 
arrives  at  it ;  obtains  conclusions  by  the  flashes  of  intuition;  per 
ceives  things  by  a  subtile  sense  in  which  truth  is  discovered  with 
out  the  formula  of  an  argument,  and  almost  without  the  conscious 
ness  of  a  mental  operation.  It  is  for  the  metaphysician  to  attempt 
the  definition  of  this  rare  quality  of  mind,  and  determine  the  rela 
tions  between  reason  and  intuition.  But  from  what  we  have  said 
of  the  characteristics  of  genius  we  may  readily  recognize  it:  the 
rapidity  of  its  action,  the  brilliancy  of  its  execution,  the  intel 
lectual  certainty  of  all  its  plans,  the  directness  of  its  methods,  and 
the  decisive  air  of  its  manners  are  peculiar,  and  cannot  escape 
notice.  There  is  another  peculiarity  of  genius.  It  is  that  its  par 
ticular  employment,  the  department  in  which  it  displays  itself, 
is  determined  by  accident ;  that  it  is  universal  in  its  application, 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  35 

and  capable  of  excelling  in  all  professions  of  life,  in  all  arts  and 
sciences,  in  every  domain  of  mind.  Genius  contains  in  itself 
all  excellences,  and  is  bound  to  show  itself  in  some  direction  or 
other.  The  man  who  is  by  genius  a  great  General  would  also 
have  been,  had  such  directions  been  given  to  his  life,  a  great 
poet,  or  a  great  mathematician,  or  a  great  politician — an  ornament 
of  the  State,  or  a  light  of  science.  Genius  is  bound  to  assert  itself, 
and  circumstances  will  determine  its  direction.  A  certain  reviewer 
in  the  pages  of  a  British  periodical  has  declared  that  the  Great 
Napoleon  was  only  the  product  of  a  peculiar  French  society,  the  fruit 
of  the  exceptional  times  in  which  he  lived ;  and  that  had  he  been  an 
Englishman,  and  served  in  the  British  army,  he  would  probably 
never  have  been  known  but  as  a  brilliant  colonel  of  artillery, 
But  this  view  is  superficial  and  silly.  The  scholarly  and  cultivated 
historian  has  quite  a  different  judgment  from  that  of  the  writer  in 
the  shallow  pages  of  a  magazine.  The  universality  of  genius  is 
illimitable,  its  declarations  of  itself  irrepressible;  and  we  are  to 
believe  that  Napoleon,  if  he  had  chosen,  instead  of  the  profession 
of  arms,  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  science  and  philosophy,  would  still 
have  been  the  great  man,  would  have  imprinted  the  age  with 
great  discoveries,  and  would  have  taken  rank  with  Bacon,  New 
ton,  and  other  luminaries  in  the  world  of  letters  and  pure  intellect. 

There  is  a  second  order  of  greatness,  lower  than  that  of  genius, 
but  often  mistaken  for  it  in  the  opinions  of  the  vulgar.  It  is  some 
special  excellence  which  comes  from  some  faculty  in  excess,  some 
inordinate  development  of  a  single  power  or  property  of  mind. 
This  is  indeed  the  most  usual  type  of  human  greatness,  occurring 
far  more  frequently  than  that  founded  on  genius,  or  that  proceed 
ing,  as  we  shall  hereafter  notice,  from  a  certain  rare  and  full  com 
bination  of  virtues  and  powers  in  a  single  mind.  The  largest  class 
of  those  whom  the  world  calls  great  represent  single  ideas,  are 
specialties  and  have  a  well-defined  vocation,  taken  out  of  which 
they  are  no  longer  remarkable.  It  seems  here  indeed  that  nature 
has  introduced  a  certain  law  of  economy  in  its  distribution  of 
powers,  giving  to  us  special  missions,  and  raising  up  for  the  accom 
plishment  of  every  particular  idea  the  man  for  the  occasion. 

A  third  class  of  great  men  in  history,  not  remarkable  for  genius, 
and  not  famous  for  any  special  adaptation,  rest  their  reputation  on 
a  certain  combination,  a  just  mixture  of  qualities,  a  perfect  balance 


36  GENERAL  EOBEET  EDWARD  LEE. 

of  character  at  once  rare  and  admirable.  This  type  of  greatness 
may  not  be  a  very  brilliant  one,  but  it  is  certainly  not  a  low  one. 
It  is  seldom  that  we  perceive  in  one  person  the  full,  rotund  devel 
opment  of  mind,  a  perfect  harmony  of  character,  the  precise  adjust 
ment  of  the  virtues.  We  may  hesitate  in  a  certain  sense  in  desig 
nating  such  a  one  as  a  great  man.  The  very  fulness  and  harmony 
of  such  a  character  precludes  brilliancy ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that 
this  full  and  well-balanced  order  of  mind  is  generally  wrought 
from  a  sense  of  duty — the  only  motive  indeed  which  embraces  all 
the  powers  and  dispositions  of  the  mind — and  partakes  but  little 
of  ambition,  which  usually  cultivates  partial  developments  of  char 
acter,  and  distorts  the  picture.  The  excellence  and  charm  of  the 
character  we  describe  is  its  nice  mixture.  The  man  who  is  suc 
cessful  and  famous  from  a  happy  combination  of  qualities  may  not 
attract  the  mysteries  of  hero-worship ;  he  will  lack  the  vigorous 
selfishness  that  puts  strong  imprints  on  the  pages  of  history;  he 
will  not  realize  that  fierce  and  romantic  theory  of  greatness  which 
contends  that  the  great  man  must  be  cruel,  unscrupulous,  mon 
strous,  sacrificing  all  means  to  one  end;  he  may  be  more  the 
object  of  admiration,  than  affection  ;  but  after  all,  he  is  the  great 
man  and  not  the  agreeable  commonplace.  Apart  from  any  charm 
in  the  moral  aspects  of  this  character,  there  is  a  steady  intellectual 
glow*n  the  contemplation  of  the  man  well-developed,  and  tem 
pered  in  all  his  parts,  deficient  in  nothing,  with  all  his  powers  and 
dispositions  knit  in  harmony,  presenting  a  single  majestic  picture 
of  human  nature.  The  brilliant  light  may  startle  us  for  a  while  ; 
but  we  shall  not  the  less  regard  the  full-orbed  symbol  of  greatness. 
The  meteor  which  streams  across  the  vision,  the  comet  which 
writes  its  red  hieroglyph  on  the  blue  page  of  heaven,  may  be  taken 
as  symbols  of  certain  human  fame ;  but  are  there  not  others  more 
quiet,  and  yet  as  majestic,  in  the  full  round  orb  of  day  as  it  shines 
on  the  meridian,  or  blazes  through  the  broken  storm  on  the  hori 
zon,  amid  clouds 

"  At  sunset,  stranded,  firing  far 
Their  dull  distress-guns !  " 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  37 

To  the  third  class  of  great  men  we  have  no  hesitation  in  assign 
ing  the  subject  of  this  memoir — Eobert  E.  Lee.  "We  shall  recog 
nize  the  illustrious  Virginian  as  one  of  those  great  men  who  had 
but  little  to  dazzle  the  world,  and  yet  a  strong  and  permanent 
claim  on  the  sober  admiration  of  mankind.  "We  may  not  have  to 
recite  the  brilliant  story  of  genius;  but  we  shall  have  much  to 
record  that  is  beautiful  and  admirable  in  a  career  that  drew  the 
eyes  of  the  world,  and  traversed  a  domain  of  fame  as  broad  as 
Christendom.  In  brief,  we  shall  find  in  this  man  fruitful  and 
peculiar  studies ;  the  almost  perfect  sum  of  the  qualities  of  a  great 
military  commander;  an  excellent  balance  between  judgment  and 
execution ;  a  spirit  not  remarkable  for  the  creation  of  events,  of  but 
little  originality,  yet  always  equal  to  whatever  events  fortune  might 
marshal;  a  character  fairly  developed  in  every  direction,  well- 
rounded  and  Washington-like ;  an  intellect  of  great  power,  but 
with  few  gifts  of  learning ;  a  circle  of  virtues ;  the  store  of  a  well- 
regulated  life,  to  which  there  was  one  unfailing  golden  key — A 

SENSE  OF  DUTY. 


38  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Lee  family  in  Virginia. — "  Light-Horse  Harry." — Early  life  of  Robert  E.  Lee. — 
His  cadetship  at  West  Point. — His  home  at  Arlington  Heights. — Services  in  the 
Mexican  war. — Commended  by  General  Scott. — Appointed  Colonel  in  the  First 
Cavalry. — The  John  Brown  raid. — Colonel  Lee  and  the  outlaws. — The  first  act  of 
"rebellion"  at  Harper's  Ferry. — Governor  Wise  arms  Virginia. 

ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE  belonged  to  a  family  conspicuous  for 
two  centuries,  not  only  in  the  local  annals  of  Virginia,  but  on  the 
ample  pages  of  the  colonial  and  revolutionary  periods  of  America. 
The  genealogy  of  the  Lee  family  in  Virginia  is  traced  to  1666. 
About  that  time  Richard  Lee,  the  early  ancestor  of  the  Confederate 
chieftain,  made  large  settlements  in  that  part  of  Virginia  situated 
between  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Potomac  rivers,  and  designated 
as  the  Northern  Neck.  He  was  faithful  to  the  loyal  sentiments  of 
those  times ;  he  acted,  for  some  time,  as  secretary  to  Sir  William 
Berkeley,  the  Governor  of  Virginia;  and  on  the  restoration  of 
Charles  II.,  he  exercised  no  little  influence  in  restoring  the  colony 
to  its  allegiance,  although  in  Cromwell's  time  Virginia  had  taken  a 
step  towards  independence,  and  had  obtained  a  quasi  recognition 
in  ft  treaty  signed  by  the  Protector's  own  hand.  He  shared  in  the 
ceremonies  of  crowning  the  restored  monarch  King  of  England, 
Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Virginia;  from  which  came  the  legend  on 
the  ancient  arms  of  the  last  commonwealth :  En  dat  Virginia 
quartam. 

A  grandson  of  this  Richard  Lee,  Thomas  Lee,  was  one  of  the 
first  of  the  leading  men  of  the  colony  of  Virginia ;  was,  for  some 
time,  president  of  the  council ;  was  known  for  the  ardour  of  his 
enterprises  in  the  exploration  of  the  then  wild  country  of  the 
Ohio  River ;  and,  although  he  preceded  the  Revolution  by  a  gene 
ration,  he  appeared  to  have  had  a  foresight  of  that  remarkable 
event,  and  is  reported  to  have  designated,  with  comparative  accu 
racy,  the  present  site  of  Washington  City  as  the  seat  of  the  new 
government.  He  died  in  1750. 

Thomas  Lee  left  six  sons,  three  of  whom  obtained  historical 


GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  39 

distinction.  Kichard  Henry  Lee  was  a  member  of  the  first  Conti 
nental  Congress;  and  his  was  the  first  voice  to  move  a  resolution, 
on  the  7th  June,  1776,  "that  these  united  colonies  are,  and  of 
right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states;  that  they  are 
absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all 
political  connection  between  them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain 
is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved."  His  brother,  Francis 
Lightfoot  Lee,  signed  with  him  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Arthur  Lee,  another  brother,  was  distinguished  as  a  scholar  and 
diplomatist. 

The  descent  of  Gen.  E.  E.  Lee,  of  Confederate  times,  is  traced 
from  Henry  Lee,  a  brother  of  Thomas.  This  ancestor  mar 
ried  a  Miss  Bland ;  his  third  son,  named  Henry,  was  united  to  a 
Miss  Grimes ;  and  from  this  marriage  came  the  father  of  Gen. 
Lee — the  famous  "  Light-Horse  Harry,"  of  the  period  of  the 
Eevolution.  The  immediate  ancestor  of  General  Lee  achieved, 
perhaps,  the  most  brilliant  name  in  the  Lee  family.  He  was  a 
brave,  elastic  officer,  referred  to  by  all  the  historians  of  the  Eevo 
lution  as  an  excellent  cavalry  officer;  he  commanded  a  legion 
noted  for  its  daring  exploits;  he  distinguished  himself  by  the  cap 
ture  of  a  British  fort  at  Paul  us  Hook ;  and  he  served,  with  con 
stant  brilliant  effects,  under  Greene  in  the  Carolinas,  who  declared 
that  he  was  "under  obligations  to  Lee  which  he  never  could 
cancel,"  and,  with  his  own  hand,  wrote  to  him :  "  No  man  in  the 
progress  of  the  campaign  had  equal  merit  with  yourself."  He 
was  an  especial  and  intimate  friend  of  Washington ;  he  obtained 
the  regard  of  his  government,  a  brilliant  share  of  popular  applause, 
a  vote  of  thanks  from  Congress,  and  a  medal  on  which  his  services 
were  designated  in  the  following  beautiful  and  classical  words: 
"Notwithstanding  rivers  and  intrenchments,  he,  with  a  small  band, 
conquered  the  foe  by  warlike  skill  and  prowess,  and  firmly  bound 
~by  his  humanity  those  who  had  been  conquered  by  his  arms"  It  is 
curious  that  this  description  of  glory  the  rigid  pen  of  history  may 
almost  exactly  repeat  in  epitomizing  the  deeds  of  the  son. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  name  of  Eobert  E.  Lee  comes 
before  the  country  with  a  very  abundant  historical  association,  and 
a  rare  measure  of  the  glory  of  the  Eevolution.  Two  of  his 
grand-uncles  were  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence; 
one  of  them,  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  was  the  orator  of  the  Eevolu- 


40  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

tion,  and  among  the  most  beautiful  characters  of  his  times,  deeply 
sympathizing  with  Washington  and  Peyton,  Eandolph  and  Pen- 
dleton,  and  Nicholas  and  Henry,  in  their  religious  character  and 
sentiments ;  while  the  immediate  ancestor,  glorious  "  Light-Horse 
Harry,"  won  a  brilliant  reputation  in  arms,  and  obtained  an  ines 
timable  recognition  in  the  "  love  and  thanks  "  of  Washington 
himself. 

After  the  battle  of  Eutaw  Springs,  Henry  Lee  returned  to  Vir 
ginia,  and  married  a  daughter  of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee,  of  Stafford. 
His  political  career  was  short,  but  very  honourable.  He  served  two 
terms  in  Congress,  and  in  1791  was  made  Governor  of  Virginia. 
His  first  wife  having  died,  he  contracted  a  second  marriage  with 
Anne,  daughter  of  Charles  Carter,  of  Shirley.  The  second  son 
was  Robert  Edward  Lee,  born  in  1806,  at  the  family  seat  of  Strat 
ford.  In  1818  Henry  Lee  died,  while  visiting  a  member  of  Gen. 
Greene's  family,  in  Georgia,  and  his  remains  were  committed  to  a 
grave  on  the  lands  once  owned  by  his  beloved  commander  and 
companion  in  arms. 

There  is  a  common  curiosity  to  discover,  even  in  the  earliest 
periods  of  the  lives  of  great  men,  some  indication  or  augury  of 
their  future  greatness,  some  infantile  anticipation  of  the  future. 
This  disposition  of  mind  is  often  silly  and  absurd,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  carried  to  the  point  of  extravagance.*  There  is  little 

*  On  one  of  the  pages  of  "  The  Lost  Cause  "  (the  author's  history  of  the  war),  a 
place  was  found  for  the  following  brief  remark : 

"  There  has  been  a  curious  Yankee  affectation  in  the  war.  It  is  to  discover  in  the 
infancy  or  early  childhood  of  all  their  heroes  something  indicative  of  their  future 
greatness,  or  of  the  designs  of  Providence  towards  them.  Thus  their  famous  cavalry 
commanders  rode  wild  horses  as  soon  as  they  could  sit  astraddle ;  and  their  greatest 
commander  in  the  latter  periods  of  the  war — Ulysses  S.  Grant — when  an  infant  de 
sired  a  pistol  to  be  fired  by  his  ear,  and  exclaimed  '  Fick  again  I '  thus  giving  a  very 
early  indication  of  his  warlike  disposition." 

A  Northern  journal  questioned  the  authenticity  of  this  anecdote  of  Grant,  chal 
lenged  the  whole  statement,  and  charged  that  the  author  of  "  The  Lost  Cause "  had 
had  recourse  to  very  small  and  pitiful  inventions  to  make  a  theme  of  ridicule.  The 
author  is  not  only  able  to  reply  to  the  challenge  for  authorities  in  the  instances 
referred  to  above,  but  the  subject  has  expanded  under  investigation,  and  he  finds 
that  he  has  really  fallen  upon  a  topic  of  large  and  characteristic  interest  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  war,  that  has  a  philosophical  bearing  as  well  as  a  ludicrous  aspect. 

The  world  is  not  yet  done  with  the  curiosities  of  Yankee  conceit.  It  has  not  been 
content  to  date  the  fame  of  its  heroes  hi  the  war  from  the  events  of  the  war,  but 
has  ascribed  to  them  infantile  phenomena,  and  invented  a  modern  augury  of  greatness, 


•     GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  41 

indeed  to  reward  such  curiosity  in  the  early  life  of  Lee.  He  grew 
up  in  the  quiet  of  home,  without  showing  any  uncommon  charac 
teristics  of  mind;  and  the  only  thing  remarked  about  him  as  a 
boy  was  that  he  was  disposed  to  be  quiet  and  sedate.  His  associa- 

which  would  be  extremely  fanciful,  if  it  was  not  supremely  absurd  and  disgusting. 
The  conceit  is  part  of  that  Yankee  vanity  which  is  constantly  asserting  its  excellence 
—even  in  the  matter  of  babies.  The  genius  of  Grant  is  traced  to  his  cradle ;  Sheri 
dan  was  enfant  terrible ;  and  the  Yankee  heroes  of  the  war,  before  their  adult  achieve 
ments,  were  the  most  remarkable  children  of  their  generation. 

Now,  as  to  Grant's  early  pricking  of  the  ears  at  warlike  sounds  (something  after 
the  fashion  of  Jupiter's  sons  of  earth)  we  have  the  story  from  his  father,  recited  as 
follows  in  a  recent  Yankee  book,  characteristically  entitled  u  Our  Great  Cap 
tains  : " 

"  Grant  relates  that  when  Ulysses  was  but  two  years  old,  he  took  him  in  his 
arms  and  carried  him  through  the  village  on  some  public  occasion,  and  a  young  man 
wished  to  try  the  effect  of  the  report  of  a  pistol  on  him.  Mr.  Grant  consented, 
though,  as  he  said,  '  the  child  had  never  seen  a  gun  or  pistol  in  his  life.'  The  hand 
of  the  baby  was  accordingly  put  on  the  lock,  and  pressed  there  quietly,  until  the 
pistol  was  discharged  with  a  loud  report.  The  little  fellow  exhibited  no  alarm,  nei 
ther  winking  nor  dodging,  but  presently  pushed  the  pistol  away,  saying,  'Pick  it 
again  !  Pick  it  again  ! ' " 

In  another  part  of  his  book,  the  biographer  of  Grant  tells  us : — 

"A  still  more  characteristic  incident  is  related  of  him  by  his  father.  When 
Ulysses  was  twelve  years  of  age,  his  father  wanted  several  sticks  of  hewn  timber 
from  the  forest,  and  sent  him  with  the  team  to  draw  them  to  the  village,  telling  him 
that  men  would  be  there  with  handspikes  to  help  them  on  to  the  wagon.  The  boy 
went  with  the  team,  but  on  arriving  at  his  destination  the  men  were  not  there,  and 
after  some  little  delay  they  still  did  not  appear.  He  had  been  sent  for  the  timber, 
however,  and  he  had  no  intention  of  going  home  without  it.  Looking  about,  he 
observed  at  a  little  distance  a  tree  which  had  fallen  over,  and  was  leaning  against 
another,  its  trunk  forming  an  inclined  plane.  This,  he  reasoned,  would  enable  him 
to  get  the  timber  into  his  wagon ;  accordingly  he  took  out  his  horses,  and  hitching 
them  to  the  logs,  drew  them  up  to  the  foot  of  the  fallen  tree,  and  backing  his  wagon 
to  the  side  of  the  inclined  plane,  he  pushed  and  drew  the  timber,  piece  after  piece, 
up  the  inclined  plane,  and  shoved  it  into  the  wagon,  and  with  his  load  secured,  drove 
home  triumphantly." 

The  writer  recollects  to  have  seen  recently  in  an  English  newspaper  a  similar 
story  of  two  wise  elephants,  at  Ceylon,  who,  employed  in  raising  logs  to  construct  a 
house,  hit  upon  the  device  of  getting  the  heaviest  logs  to  then*  place  by  pushing  them 
up  two  other  logs  inclined  to  the  ground.  This  is  certainly  something  remarkable  in 
the  life  of  an  elephant ;  but  we  scarcely  think  it  so  wonderful  an  intellectual  display 
as  to  be  mentioned  in  the  biography  of  a  modern  genius  and  hero ! 

Of  Sheridan  we  are  treated  to  the  following  youthful  reminiscences  in  the  pages 
of  "  Our  Great  Captains,"  indicating  his  early  equine  proclivity: — 

"An  incident  of  his  early  childhood  renders  his  subsequent  successes  as  a 
cavalry  officer  less  surprising.  He  was  but  five  years  of  age  when  some  older  boys, 


42  GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.       • 

tion  in  the  first  families  of  Virginia  naturally  gave  him,  even  in 
the  period  of  boyhood,  a  cultivated  appearance,  easy  manners,  and 
a  prompt  perception  of  social  proprieties. 

In  the  year  1825,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  Lee  entered  West  Point 
as  a  cadet  from  Virginia.  He  completed  the  course  of  studies  in 
the  usual  four  years,  without  a  single  mark  of  demerit  against  him, 
and  standing  number  two  in  a  class  of  forty -six,  and  leading,  among 
others,  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  0.  McK.  Mitchell,  Albert  Gr.  Blanchard 
and  Theophilus  H.  Holmes.  At  the  expiration  of  his  cadet  term, 
he  was  immediately  selected  for  service  in  the  corps  of  topo 
graphical  engineers,  receiving  his  appointment  as  brevet  second 

in  a  spirit  of  mischief,  placed  him  on  the  back  of  a  spirited  horse  grazing  in  a  field 
near  his  father's  house,  and  started  the  horse  off  at  a  run ;  but  to  their  terrour,  the 
horse  becoming  frightened,  leaped  the  fences,  and  proceeded  at  a  breakneck  pace 
along  the  highway,  the  little  urchin  clinging  fast  to  his  back.  The  boys  supposed 
that  the  child  would  inevitably  be  killed,  but  after  a  run  of  many  miles  the  horse, 
completely  exhausted  and  covered  with  foam,  stopped  at  the  stable  of  a  hotel  where 
its  owner  was  accustomed  to  put  up,  the  child  still  on  its  back.  The  horse  was  re 
cognized,  and  though  the  child's  statement  that  he  had  come  so  many  miles  on  its 
back,  without  saddle  or  bridle,  was  at  first  doubted,  it  was  soon  confirmed,  and  the 
villagers  began  to  question  him.  'Who  learned  you  to  ride?'  asked  one.  'No 
body,'  said  the  boy.  '  Did  no  one  teach  you  how  to  sit  on  a  horse  ? '  inquired  an 
other.  '  Oh,  yes  I  Bill  Seymour  told  me  to  hold  on  with  my  knees,  and  I  did.' 
'  Weren't  you  scared  ?  '  asked  the  villager.  '  Nary  a  bit,'  said  the  boy.  '  I  wanted 
to  go  on  further,  but  the  horse  wouldn't  go.'  'Aren't  you  sore?'  continued  his 
questioner.  'Kinder,'  said  little  Phil;  'but  I'll  feel  better  to-morrow,  and  then  111 
ride  back  home.' " 

We  might  make  no  end  of  the  wonders  in  the  infantile  lives  of  Northern  generals, 
recorded  in  books,  scattered  through  the  newspapers,  and  handed  down  to  tradition. 
But  we  will  choose  but  one  more  extract — that  from  a  Philadelphia  journal  relating  a 
most  wonderful  phenomenon  in  the  birth  of  the  Yankee  "  Infant  Napoleon :  " 

"  A  son  was  born  to  our  professor,  and  the  event  scarcely  transpired  before  the 
father  announced  it  to  his  delighted  pupils.  Scales  were  instantly  brought  from  a 
neighbouring  grocer.  Into  one  dish  be  placed  the  babe,  into  the  other  all  the  weights. 
The  beam  was  raised,  but  the  child  moved  not  I  The  father  emptying  his  pockets, 
threw  in  his  watch,  coin,  keys,  knives,  and  lancet,  but  to  no  purpose — the  little  hero 
could  not  be  moved.  He  conquered  everything  1  And  at  last,  while  they  were  adding 
more  and  more  weight,  the  cord  supporting  the  beam  gave  way,  and  broke  rather  than  the 
giant  infant  would  yield!  The  father  was  Dr.  McClellan,  and  the  son — General 
McClellan  !  our  young  commander  on  the  Potomac.  The  country  will  see  a  prophetic 
charm  in  this  incident." 

So,  a  prophetic  charm  of  some  sort  or  other,  appears  in  the  early  lives  of  all 
modern  great  Yankees — some  of  them  so  wonderful  as  to  bo  recorded  on  a  cross 
between  biography  and  mythology.  The  augur  or  soothsayer  attends  on  the  birth 
of  each. 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  43 

lieutenant  in  July,  1829.  He  was  employed  for  several  years  on 
the  coast  defences;  and  in  1835  served  as  assistant  astronomer  for 
the  demarcation  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  States  of  Ohio 
and  Michigan. 

In  1832,  Lieutenant  Lee  married  Miss  Custis,  the  daughter  and 
heiress  of  George  W.  Parke  Custis,  the  adopted  son  of  General 
Washington,  and,  through  her,  became  proprietor  of  Arlington 
House  and  the  "White  House  on  the  banks  of  the  Pamunkey.  The 
former  place  was  situated  on  the  heights  of  the  Potomac,  overlook 
ing  Washington  City,  and  for  many  years  was  an  object  of  attrac 
tion  to  visitors,  on  account  of  its  historical  associations,  and  the 
Washington  relics  collected  and  jealously  preserved  by  the  patriotic 
father  of  Mrs.  Lee.  The  house  was  surrounded  by  a  grove  of  stately 
trees  and  underwood,  except  in  front,  where  a  verdant  sloping 
ground  descended  into  a  valley,  spreading  away  in  beautiful  and 
broad  expanse  to  the  river.  To  the  south,  north  and  west,  the 
grounds  were  beautifully  diversified  into  hill  and  valley,  and  richly 
stored  with  oak,  willow  and  maple.  The  view  from  the  height  was 
a  charming  picture.  Washington,  Georgetown,  and  the  interme 
diate  Potomac,  were  all  in  the  foreground,  with  mountain  high  and 
valley  deep  making  a  background  of  picturesque  foliage.  This 
place,  so  charming  to  the  eye,  and  so  full  of  historical  association, 
was  to  obtain  additional  interest  as  the  first  camping-ground  of  the 
"  Grand  Army  "  of  the  North,  that  a  generation  later  was  to  invade 
Virginia,  and  make  its  headquarters  in  the  home  of  Washington ! 

In  1836,  Lee  was  promoted  to  a  first-lieutenancy ;  and  in  1838  he 
was  made  captain.  When  the  Mexican  War  broke  out,  he  was 
placed  on  the  staff  of  Brig.-Gen.  Wool  as  Chief  Engineer,  and  he 
retained  that  post  throughout  the  whole  campaign  under  Gen. 
Scott.  At  the  battle  of  Cerro  Gordo,  April  18,  1847,  he  was 
brevetted  major  for  gallantry.  In  the  August  following  he  again 
won  a  brevet  rank  by  his  meritorious  conduct  at  Contreras  and 
Cherubusco.  In  the  assault  on  Chapultepec,  September  13,  1847, 
he  was  wounded,  and  received  therefor  the  brevet  promotion  of 
lieutenant-colonel. 

Lee's  service  in  Mexico  is  remarkable  for  the  extraordinary 
attention  which  the  young  officer  obtained  from  Gen.  Scott.  He 
appears  to  have  been  the  special  favourite  of  the  veteran  com 
mander,  and  there  is  hardly  a  single  dispatch,  in  which  his 


44  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

name  is  not  honourably  mentioned.  At  Cerro  Gordo,  Gen.  Scott- 
wrote  :  "  I  am  compelled  to  make  special  mention  of  Capt.  K.  E. 
Lee,  Engineer.  This  officer  greatly  distinguished  himself  at  the 
siege  of  Yera  Cruz;  was  again  indefatigable  during  these  opera 
tions  in  reconnoissances,  as  daring  as  laborious,  and  of  the  utmost 
value.  Nor  was  he  less  conspicuous  in  planning  batteries,  and  in 
conducting  columns  to  their  stations,  under  the  heavy  fire  of  the 
enemy."  At  Chapultepec,  he  again  highly  compliments  Capt. 
Lee  "  as  distinguished  for  felicitous  execution  as  for  science  and 
daring."  And,  furthermore,  he  says :  "  Capt.  Lee,  so  constantly 
distinguished,  also  bore  important  orders  from  me,  until  he  fainted 
from  a  wound  and  the  loss  of  two  nights'  sleep  at  the  batteries." 

At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War,  Lee  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  Board  ot  Engineers,  and  remained  as  such  until  1850.  On 
the  1st  September,  1852,  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Capt.  Brew- 
erton  as  Superintendent  of  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 
In  1855,  Col.  Lee  having  been  promoted  to  the  Cavalry  arm  of  the 
service,  and  thereby  incapacitated  by  law  from  exercising  superin 
tendence  at  the  Military  Academy,  was  succeeded  by  Maj.  J.  G. 
Barnard.  The  regiment  to  which  Lee  was  now  appointed  was  the 
Second  Cavalry,  a  new  regiment  organized  under  the  act  of  March 
3,  1855,  its  Colonel  being  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  afterwards  a 
General  in  the  service  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  This  regi 
ment  was  much  employed  in  the  Indian  wars  on  the  prairies  of 
Texas.  On  the  16th  March,  1861,  Lee  obtained  his  last  promotion 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States ;  being  appointed  Colonel  in  the 
First  Cavalry.  He  was  to  hold  this  position  but  a  few  weeks. 

In  the  autumn  of  1859  occurred  the  memorable  raid  of  John  Brown 
in  Virginia ;  an  event  which  placed  the  name  of  Col.  Lee  before 
the  public  in  some  very  dramatic  circumstances.  The  outlaw  had 
already  obtained  considerable  notoriety  in  the  troubles  in  Kansas ; 
and  among  all  the  men  employed  to  harass  and  hunt  down  the  pro- 
slavery  settlers  in  that  Territory,  he  was  the  most  merciless  and 
cold-blooded.  His  murderous  deeds  there  have  since  been  para 
phrased  by  Northern  writers  as  "  the  heroic  exploits  of  the  stern 
old  man."  His  career  of  crime  did  not  end  with  the  supremacy 
of  the  Free-State  party  in  Kansas  ;  but  having  done  his  work  there, 
he  entered  upon  the  monstrous  design  of  making  an  irruption  into 
Virginia  to  excite  and  to  aid  an  insurrection  of  the  slaves  against 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  45 

their  masters,  and  to  extend  the  murderous  and  incendiary  pro 
gramme  to  the  furthest  limits  of  the  South.  His  passion  was  to 
become  the  instrument  of  abolishing  slavery,  by  the  strong  arm, 
throughout  the  slaveholding  States.  His  plan  was  larger  than  was 
generally  supposed.  After  his  arrest  he  declared  that  he  had  been 
promised  aid  from  Maryland,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  North  and  South 
Carolina,  and  Canada.  With  an  army,  then,  consisting  of  blacks 
and  whites,  he  designed  to  make  the  Blue  iRidge  his  base ;  and, 
advancing  southward,  extending  as  he'  went  his  conquests  and  his 
power,  he  expected  to  penetrate  into  Northern  Georgia  and  form  a 
junction  there  with  a  column,  which  was  to  proceed  in  the  same 
triumphant  manner  from  Beaufort,  South  Carolina,  along  a  route 
which  had  been  already  defined. 

The  first  step  of  this  extensive  design  was  on  the  frontier  of 
Virginia.  The  outlaw  had  purchased  two  hundred  Sharpe's  car 
bines,  two  hundred  revolver  pistols,  and  about  one  thousand  pikes, 
with  which  to  arm  the  slaves.  These  arms  he  had  collected  and 
deposited  in  the  vicinity  of  Harper's  Ferry.  When  the  plot  was 
ripe  for  execution,  a  little  before  midnight  on  Sunday  evening,  the 
16th  October,  1859,  he,  with  sixteen  white  and  five  negro  con 
federates,  rushed  across  the  Potomac  to  Harper's  Ferry,  and  there 
seized  the  armory,  arsenal,  and  rifle  factory  belonging  to  the  United 
States.  When  the  inhabitants  awoke  in  the  morning,  they  found, 
greatly  to  their  terrour  and  surprise,  that  these  places,  with  the  town 
itself,  were  all  in  possession  of  John  Brown's  adventurous  force. 

The  slaves  in  the  adjoining  county  did  not  rise  as  Brown 
had  expected,  and  made  no  response  to  his  signal  of  attack.  The 
news  spread  rapidly  over  the  country  ;  public  rumor  greatly  exag 
gerated  the  strength  of  the  outlaw's  force ;  and  large  numbers  of 
volunteers  from  Virginia  and  Maryland  were  soon  hastening  to  the 
scene  of  action.  The  action  of  the  Government  at  Washington  was 
prompt,  and  President  Buchanan  immediately  sent  forward  a 
detachment  of  marines  under  Col.  Kobert  E.  Lee,  who  was 
accompanied  by  his  aide,  Lieut.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart.  Col.  Lee 
and  his  command  arrived  at  the  Ferry  in  the  night  of  the  17th. 
The  news  was  too  late  in  reaching  Eichmond  to  enable  the  Gover 
nor  of  the  State,  Henry  A.  Wise,  to  reach  the  ground  with  State 
forces ;  but  a  large  number  of  militiamen  and  volunteers  had  collected 
at  the  Ferry  when  Col.  Lee  arrived,  and  were  meditating  an  attack 


46  GENERAL  EGBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

upon  Brown  and  his  party,  who  had  now  gathered  in  the  engine-house, 
and  debating  the  policy  of  storming  the  refuge,  and  running  the 
hazard  of  having  the  prisoners  massacred,  whom  the  outlaw  held  in 
the  building.  This  weak  hesitation  was  terminated  by  Col.  Lee's 
appearance.  His  manner  was  cool  and  severe.  He  determined 
that  the  next  morning  the  engine-house  should  be  stormed  by  the 
marines,  unless,  before  that  time,  the  enemy  surrendered.  During 
the  night,  volunteer  parties  of  the  hot-blooded  Virginians,  jealous 
of  the  honour  of  their  State,  and  ashamed  of  their  former  hesitation, 
besought  Col.  Lee  to  let  them  have  the  privilege  of  storming  the 
engine-house.  All  such  propositions  were,  however,  refused.  As 
daylight  dawned,  troops  were  stationed  around  the  engine-house  to 
cut  off  all  hope  of  escape,  and  the  United  States  marines  were 
divided  into  two  squads  for  storming  purposes. 

At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  Brown  was  summoned  to  sur 
render,  under  a  regular  flag  of  truce,  and  was  promised  protection 
from  violence,  and  a  trial  according  to  law.  He  replied  with  the 
absurd  proposition  :  "  That  his  party  should  be  permitted  to  march 
out  with  their  men  and  arms,  taking  their  prisoners  with  them  ; 
that  they  should  proceed  unpursued  to  the  second  toll-gate,  when 
they  would  free  their  prisoners,  the  soldiers  then  being  permitted 
to  pursue  them,  and  they  would  fight,  if  they  could  not  escape." 
Col.  Lee  ordered  the  attack.  The  marines  advanced  by  two  lines 
quickly  on  each  side  of  the  door,  battered  it  down,  and  in  a  moment 
terminated  the  affair ;  but  one  volley  being  fired,  which  killed  one 
of  their  number,  while  Brown  was  brought  to  the  ground  by  a 
blow  on  the  skull  from  Lieut.  Stuart's  sword.  The  whole  band 
of  insurgents,  with  the  exception  of  two  who  had  escaped,  were 
either  killed  or  captured.  John  Brown  himself  was  wounded 
almost  mortally,  but  was  to  survive  for  the  gallows.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  his  party  had  murdered  five  individuals,  four  of 
them  unarmed  citizens,  and  had  wounded  nine  others.  Col.  Lee 
had  terminated  a  threatening  revolt  with  singular  nerve  and  deci 
sion  ;  and  having  done  his  duty,  at  once  withdrew  from  the  scene 
of  excitement,  turned  his  prisoners  over  to  the  United  States  Dis 
trict-Attorney  (Mr.  Robert  Ould),  and  quietly  returned  to  "Washing 
ton  to  resume  his  cavalry  command. 

The  blood  shed  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  the  first  drops  of  the 
crimson  deluge  that  was  to  overwhelm  the  South,  and  whose  tide^ 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  47 

were  to  flow  across  the  breadth  of  a  continent.  It  was  no  acci 
dental  event.  It  was  not  the  isolated  act  of  a  desperate  fanatic. 
The  Abolitionists  of  the  North  gave  significance  to  the  John 
Brown  expedition  by  their  enthusiastic  and  permanent  approbation 
of  its  object,  and  spread  alarm  and  apprehension  through  the 
South  by  their  displays  of  honour  to  his  memory.  After  his  death 
on  the  gallows,  prayers  were  offered  .up  for  him  as  if  he  were  a 
martyr,  and  even  blasphemy  was  employed  to  consecrate  his 
memory.  It  is  curious,  indeed,  that  the  party  that  afterwards  made 
war  upon  the  South  carried  the  memory  of  this  man  in  the  van  of 
their  armies,  and  have  ever  since  honoured  him  as  a  saint  or  a 
martyr  in  a  holy  cause. 

The  event  of  Harper's  Ferry  was  not  without  its  lesson  to  Vir 
ginia.  Governor  Wise  was  one  of  those  who  saw  the  impending 
conflict.  With  the  ostensible  design  of  providing  against  a  rescue 
of  the  criminals  from  the  Charlestown  jail,  he  encouraged  the 
organization  of  military  companies  throughout  the  State,  and  used 
every  legitimate  means  to  excite  a  war  spirit  among  the  people. 
Companies  were  received  at  Charlestown,  and  after  a  short  stay 
there,  were  sent  away  to  make  room  for  others,  in  order  that  the 
war  spirit  might  be  disseminated  throughout  the  State.  The  atten 
tion  of  the  Legislature  was  called  to  the  state  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  initiatory  steps  were  taken  to  put  Virginia  upon  a  war  footing. 
All  over  the  State,  military  organizations  sprang  up,  and  serious 
preparations  were  made  for  war.  It  was  to  come  sooner  than  any 
man  of  that  day  expected. 


48  GENERAL   ROBEKT  EDWARD  LEE. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Abraham  Lincoln  elected  President  of  the  United  States. — Anxiety  and  hesitation  of 
Lee  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities. — His  sense  of  duty. — He  debates  the 
question  of  his  allegiance  to  Virginia. — His  peculiar  school  of  politics. — A  reply 
to  a  Northern  newspaper. — Attitude  of  Virginia. — A  sublime  struggle  in  Lee's 
mind. — He  goes  to  Richmond. — Appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Virginia 
forces. — His  reception  by  the  State  Convention. — Appearance  and  carriage  of 
the  man. — Military  preparations  in  Virginia. — She  joins  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

THE  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by  the  votes  of  the  Republican 
or  Anti-Slavery  party,  President  of  the  United  States,  alarmed 
the  South.  When  he  assumed  office,  March  4,  1861,  the  States  of 
South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia,  Louisiana, 
and  Texas,  had  withdrawn  from  the  Union  ;  and  what  were  loosely 
called  the  Border  Slave  States,  were  agitated  by  the  discussion  of 
instant  and  dread  necessities. 

In  the  first  commotions  which  threatened  war,  Robert  E.  Lee, 
as  a  member  of  the  United  States  Army  and  a  native  Virginian, 
gave  evidence  of  the  most  painful  anxiety.  His  mind  was  torn  by 
conflicting  emotions.  He  was  ardently  attached  to  the  Federal 
service  ;  he  had  spent  more  than  thirty  years  in  it ;  he  had  obtained 
in  it  the  best  honours  of  his  life.  He  was  unskilled  in  politics,  but  he 
had  a  sentimental  attachment  to  the  Union  and  its  traditions.  He 
saw  with  alarm  and  anxiety  the  indications  of  a  movement  to  dis 
solve  the  old  Federal  compact,  and  array  against  it  a  new  league  of 
States.  He  was  sincerely  opposed  to  such  a  movement;  he  saw 
no  necessity  for  it ;  and  in  the  doubts  and  anxieties  of  his  mind, 
he  could  determine  no  other  course  than  to  await  the  action 
of  his  native  State,  Virginia,  and  to  adopt  in  an  overruling  sense 
of  duty,  whatever  she  should  decide.  In  the  subsequent  develop 
ment  of  events,  when  Lee  had  decided  to  stand  by  his  mother  State  ? 
when  she  drew  the  sword,  a  letter  from  his  wife  referred  to  the 
terrible  trials  of  his  mind  in  reaching  this  conclusion.  She 
wrote :  "  My  husband  has  wept  tears  of  blood  over  this  terrible 


GENERAL    ROBERT   EDWARD    LEE.  49 

war;  but  he  must,  as  a  man  of  honour  and  a  Virginian,  share 
the  destiny  of  his  State,  which  has  solemnly  pronounced  for 
independence." 

Lee's  early  hesitation  at  the  commencement  of  hostilities  was 
simply  the  doubt  of  duty.  Ambition,  the  bribes  of  office,  per 
sonal  interest,  did  not  enter  into  a  mind  pure,  conscientious, 
introspective,  anxious  only  to  discover  the  line  of  duty,  and  then 
prompt  and  resolute  to  follow  it.  As  long  as  Virginia  wavered, 
Lee  stood  irresolute.  While  he  maintained  an  attentive  neutrality 
and  waited  for  events,  the  Federal  authorities  at  Washington  used 
every  effort  to  commit  him  to  the  service  of  the  Union,  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  urge  his  choice  by  the  most  splendid  bribes.  Mr.  Blair, 
senior,  has  freely  admitted  that  at  this  time  he  was  deputed  by 
President  Lincoln  to  sound  Lee,  and  to  suggest  to  him  his  early 
appointment  to  the  chief  command  of  the  Federal  forces,  in  the 
event  of  his  declaration  for  the  Union.  Those  who  thus 
approached  Lee  to  tempt  his  ambition  little  knew  the  man.  They 
did  not  have  the  key  to  those  quiet  meditations  which  made  him 
reticent  and  kept  him  undecided.  His  only  thought  was  duty. 
There  is  a  very  noble  letter  written  several  years  before  the  war 
by  Lee,  which  exhibits  the  man  and  indicates  his  characteristic 
idea  of  the  conduct  of  life.  He  wrote  to  his  son,  who  was  at  West 
Point  in  1852,  the  following  lesson  : 

"  In  regard  to  duty,  let  me  in  conclusion  of  this  hasty  letter, 
inform  you  that  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago  there  was  a  day  of 
remarkable  gloom  and  darkness — still  known  as  *  the  dark  day  ' 
- — a  day  when  the  light  of  the  sun  was  slowly  extinguished,  as  if 
by  an  eclipse.  The  Legislature  of  Connecticut  was  in  session,  and 
as  its  members  saw  the  unexpected  and  unaccountable  darkness 
coming  on,  they  shared  in  the  general  awe  and  terrour.  It  was 
supposed  by  many  that  the  last  day — the  day  of  judgment — had 
come.  Some  one,  in  the  consternation  of  the  hour,  moved  an 
adjournment.  Then  there  arose  an  old  Puritan  legislator,  Deven- 
port,  of  Stamford,  and  said,  that  if  the  last  day  had  come,  he 
desired  to  be  found  at  his  place  doing  his  duty,  and,  therefore, 
moved  that  candles  be  brought  in,  so  that  the  house  could  pro 
ceed  with  its  duty.  There  was  quietness  in  that  man's  mind,  the 
quietness  of  heavenly  wisdom  and  inflexible  willingness  to  obey 
present  duty.  Duty,  then,  is  the  sublimest  word  in  our  language. 

4 


50  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

Do  your  duty  in  all  things  like  the  old  Puritan.     You  cannot  do 
more,  you  should  never  wish  to  do  less." 

Such  was  the  lesson  which  Gen.  Lee  was  now  to  observe  and 
exemplify  in  his  own  life.  Assailed  by  importunities,  tempted  by 
the  highest  military  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Federal  Government, 
solicited  by  the  voices  of  friendship,  he  remained  silently  waiting 
for  the  call  of  duty.  He  was  prompt  to  respond  to  it.  On  the 
17th  April,  1861,  Virginia  seceded  from  the  Union ;  on  the  19th 
Lee  knew  it ;  on  the  20th  he  dissolved  his  connection  with  the 
Federal  army,  and  sent  the  following  letter  to  Gen.  Scott : 


ARLINGTON,  VA.,  April  20,  1861. 

GENERAL  : — Since  my  interview  with  you  on  the  18th  instant, 
I  have  felt  that  I  ought  not  longer  to  retain  my  commission  in  the 
army.  I  therefore  tender  my  .resignation,  which  I  request  you 
will  recommend  for  acceptance.  It  would  have  been  presented  at 
once,  but  for  the  struggle  it  has  cost  me  to  separate  myself  from  a 
service  to  which  I  have  devoted  all  the  best  years  of  my  life  and 
all  the  ability  I  possessed. 

During  the  whole  of  that  time — more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury — I  have  experienced  nothing  but  kindness  from  my  superiours, 
and  the  most  cordial  friendship  from  my  comrades.  To  no  one, 
General,  have  I  been  as  much  indebted  as  to  yourself  for  uniform 
kindness  and  consideration,  and  it  has  always  been  my  ardent 
desire  to  merit  your  approbation.  I  shall  carry  to  the  grave  the 
most  grateful  recollections  of  your  kind  consideration,  and  your 
name  and  fame  will  always  be  dear  to  me. 

Save  in  defence  of  my  native  State,  I  never  desire  to  draw  my 
sword.  Be  pleased  to  accept  my  most  earnest  wishes  for  the  con 
tinuance  of  your  happiness  and  prosperity,  and  believe  me,  most 
truly  yours, 

R  E.  LEE. 

LIEUT.-GEN.  WINFIELD  SCOTT, 

Commanding  United  States  Army. 

A  copy  of  the  preceding  letter  was  inclosed  in  the  following 
letter  to  a  relative,  which  more  completely  discovers  the  state  of 
Gen.  Lee's  mind : 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  51 

AKLINGTON,  YA.,  April  20,  1861. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  : — I  am  grieved  at  my  inability  to  see  you 
*  .  .  I  have  been  waiting  "for  a  more  convenient  season," 
which  has  brought  to  many  before  me  deep  and  lasting  regret. 
.Now  we  are  in  a  state  of  war  which  will  yield  to  nothing.  The 
whole  South  is  in  a  state  of  revolution,  into  which  Virginia,  after 
a  long  struggle,  has  been  drawn,  and  though  I  recognize  no  necessity 
for  this  state  of  things,  and  would  have  forborne  and  pleaded  to  the 
end  for  redress  of  grievances,  real  or  supposed,  yet  in  my  own 
person  I  had  to  meet  the  question,  whether  I  should  take  part  against 
my  native  State.  With  all  my  devotion  to  the  Union,  and  the  feel 
ing  of  loyalty  and  duty  of  an  American  citizen,  I  have  not  been 
able  to  make  up  my  mind  to  raise  my  hand  against  my  relatives, 
my  children,  my  home.  I  have,  therefore,  resigned  my  commis 
sion  in  the  army,  and  save  in  defence  of  my  native  State,  with  the 
sincere  hope  that  my  poor  services  may  never  be  needed,  I  hope  I 
may  never  be  called  on  to  draw  my  sword. 

I  know  you  will  blame  me,  but  you  must  think  as  kindly  of  me 
as  you  can,  and  believe  that  I  have  endeavoured  to  do  what  I  thought 
right.  To  show  you  the  feeling  and  struggle  it  has  cost  me,  I  send 
a  copy  of  my  letter  to  Gen.  Scott,  which  accompanied  my  letter  of 
resignation.  I  have  no  time  for  more. 

.  .  .  .  May  God  guard  and  protect  you  and  yours,  and 
shower  upon  you  every  blessing,  is  the  prayer  of  your  devoted 
brother, 

E.  E.  LEE. 

A  Northern  publication  has  remarked  on  the  letter  quoted  above, 
that  it  exhibited  a  narrowness  of  mind,  and  a  very  imperfect  patriot 
ism,  in  that  Gen.  Lee  was  not  able  to  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the 
country  his  affections  for  Virginia,  and  pleaded  a  partiality  for  his 
State  against  his  duty  to  the  general  government. 

But  this  commentary  is  as  unjust  as  it  is  plausible — an  instance 
of  that  shallow  fallacy,  the  petitio  principii.  It  begs  the  whole 
question,  and  proceeds  on  the  supposition  that  there  was  no  fed 
eration  of  the  American  States,  that  the  government  at  Washington 
represented  a  national  unit,  and  that  any  hesitation  between  its 
authority  and  that  of  the  State  was  the  hesitation  between  loyalty 
and  a  mere  local  affection.  It  ignores  that  school  of  politics  to 


52  GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

which  Gen.  Lee  belonged,  which  included  the  whole  mind  of  the 
South,  and  which  for  three  generations  had  persistently  regarded 
the  Union  as  the  creature  of  the  States,  representing  only  their 
convenience,  and  having  no  mission  whatever  apart  from  them.  In 
this  'view  of  the  relations  between  the  Federal  government  and  the 
State,  it  is  clear  that  the  latter  was  superiour  in  its  claims  upon  the 
affections  of  the  intelligent;  that  it  was  the  peculiar  object  of  pa 
triotism  ;  that  it  was  the  symbol  of  the  love  of  country,  rather  than 
the  Union  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the  school  of  politics  referred 
to,  was  the  mere  geographical  designation  of  a  league  created  by 
the  States,  and  designed  for  the  benefit  and  pleasure  of  each.  All 
the  accusations  with  which  the  Northern  press  has  abounded  about 
the  "  disloyalty  "  or  infidelity  of  those  who  left  the  Federal  service, 
to  take  part  in  the  war  with  the  States  to  which  they  belonged, 
have  been  ingeniously  coloured  by  the  confusion  of  two  schools  of 
politics,  and  have  no  other  foundation  than  a  plausible  and  inso 
lent  dogma  of  partisan  sophistry.  Lee  went  with  Virginia  in  the 
war,  and  to  her  side  of  the  contest ;  for  however  he  valued  the 
Union,  and  saw  no  necessity  for  the  secession  of  his  State,  he 
could  not  assume  to  judge  for  its  whole  population  ;  and  whatever 
the  position  of  his  State,  he  felt  bound  to  recognize  it  as  that  politi 
cal  community  to  which,  as  the  original  and  only  permanent  ele 
ment  in  the  American  system,  his  allegiance  belonged ;  as  his 
home,  around  which  the  affections  of  the  man  naturally  cling;  as 
the  abode  of  family  and  friends,  where  the  protection  of  his  arm 
and  sword  was  due  in  the  season  of  danger. 

Cold,  indeed,  would  have  been  the  heart  of  any  son  of  Virginia 
in  which  welled  not  up  affection,  admiration,  and  sympathy,  when 
he  observed  the  extraordinary  perils  which  beset  her  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  war,  and  the  heroic  attitude  she  had  assumed  in 
the  very  jaws  of  danger.  She  had  not  seceded  in  any  expectation 
of  a  peaceable  solution  of  the  difficulty,  but  in  the  very  presence 
of  a  war  that  frowned  upon  her  borders,  vexed  her  waters,  and 
plainly  threatened  to  make  her  smiling  fields  the  theatre  of  its 
revenge  and  crime.  Lee  had  seen  at  Washington  the  mighty 
power  preparing  to  crush  his  State,  and  gathering  its  forces  for  the 
bound  upon  its  prey ;  he  knew  that  the  enemy  held  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  her  greatest  place  of  arms,  and  the  gate  to  all  the  water  ave 
nues  into  her  interiour ;  he  was  sensible  that  the  persistent  neutral- 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  53 

itj  of  Kentucky  would  practically  expose  Virginia  on  three  sides 
to  her  invaders  ;  he  appreciated,  as  a  military  man,  the  weak  and 
dangerous  situation;  and  when  he  found  his  noble  State  daring  the 
worst,  taking  counsel  only  of  her  honour,  stepping  into  the  breach, 
and  baring  her  bosom  to  the  strokes  of  relentless  war,  his  heart 
would  have  been  hard,  and  his  spirit  dull,  had  they  not  sympa 
thized  with  the  touching  scene,  and  his  trained  sword  been  drawn 
in  defence  of  his  native  land. 

Whenever  a  man  acts  conscientiously,  from  a  sincere  conviction 
of  duty,  a  just  world  gives  credit  for  his  motives,  and  describes  his 
conduct  as  generous  and  noble,  whatever  may  have  been  the  errour 
of  his  decision.  Judged  even  by  this  rule,  Lee's  adhesion  to  his 
native  State,  on  her  declaration  of  war,  was  a  noble  action,  because 
it  could  not  have  been  determined  by  any  other  consideration  than 
that  of  duty,  and  sacrificed  to  that  sense  the  meaner  questions  of  for 
tune.  To  act  as  he  did,  was  to  turn  his  back  upon  the  highest  military 
office  in  the  gift  of  the  Washington  government ;  to  incur  the  most 
painful  censures ;  to  sacrifice  his  private  estates,  which  were  on  the 
direct  lines  of  the  Federal  invasion,  and  to  put  his  house  and  for 
tunes  at  the  mercy  of  a  declared  enemy.  Powerful  must  have  been 
the  sense  of  duty  that  could  have  conquered  such  considerations, 
and  sublime  must  have  been  the  struggle  of  myid  in  which  every 
selfish  passion  and  thought  of  expediency  ultimately  surrendered 
to  the  conviction  of  right,  and  the  voice  of  conscience  proclaimed 
the  victory. 

Almost  immediately  upon  his  arrival  in  Richmond,  the  State 
Convention,  still  assembled  there,  voted  Lee  the  appointment  of 
Major-General,  in  command  of  all  the  military  forces  in  Virginia. 
There  had  been  great  anxiety  and  speculation  as  to  what  would  be 
his  choice  in  the  war  ;  the  newspapers  had  variously  reported  his 
position  ;  a  value  and  interest  had  been  given  to  his,  above  all  other 
early  military  names  of  the  war ;  it  was  known  that  Gen.  Scott 
had  indorsed  him  as  his  ablest  lieutenant ;  and  when  at  last  it  was 
made  certain  that  he  had  abandoned  the  Federal  service,  and  thrown 
his  great  name  and  abilities  into  the  scale  for  Virginia,  the  joy  in 
Richmond  was  extreme.  There  had  been  a  hope  that  Gen.  Scott, 
himself,  would  have  espoused  the  cause  of  his  native  State,  Vir 
ginia  ;  but  when  he  declared  differently,  the  people  of  Virginia 
were  more  than  consoled  in  the  loss  of  a  valetudinarian  General, 


54  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

by  the  gain  of  Lee,  who  was  popularly  reported  to  have  inspired 
the  whole  campaign  in  Mexico,  to  be  superiour  in  mind  to  his  aged 
chief,  to  have  been  designated  as  his  early  successor  in  command 
of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  to  have  the  advantage  of 
ripe  years  and  a  vigorous  body.  "When,  on  the  22d  April,  the 
name  of  Eobert  E.  Lee  was  thus  communicated  by  Governor 
Letcher  to  the  Convention  as  nominee  for  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Virginia  forces,  there  was  an  eager  and  affirmative  response. 
The  confirmation  was  unanimous,  and  without  a  moment's  hesita 
tion.  It  was  made  with  a  heartiness  that  attested  the  cordial  and 
unbounded  confidence  of  Virginia  in  the  man  to  whom,  more  than 
all  others,  she  now  intrusted  her  destinies. 

The  next  day,  a  grand  ceremony  was  appointed  in  the  main  hall 
of  the  Capitol.  It  was  announced  that  Maj.-Gen.  Lee,  with  a 
distinguished  company,  would  be  personally  introduced  to  the 
Convention,  and  might  be  expected  to  make  a  remarkable  speech 
on  the  occasion.  The  hall  was  crowded  with  an  eager  audience  ; 
all  the  members  of  the  Convention  stood,  as  a  mark  of  respect ;  on 
the  right  of  the  presiding  officer  were  Governor  Letcher  and  Mr. 
Stephens,  the  Vice-President  of  the  Confederacy,  and  on  the  left 
the  members  of  the  "Advisory  Council"  of  Virginia,  while  Gen. 
Lee,  in  the  immediate  company  of  the  committee  appointed  to 
receive  him,  advanced  to  the  centre  of  the  main  aisle.  Every 
spectator  admired  the  personal  appearance  of  the  man,  his  dignified 
figure,  his  air  of  self-poised  strength,  and  features  in  which  shone 
the  steady  animation  of  a  consciousness  of  power,  purpose,  arid 
position.  He  was  in  the  full  and  hardy  flush  of  ripe  years  and 
vigorous  health.  His  figure  was  tall,  its  constituents  well  knit 
together ;  his  head,  well  shaped  and  squarely  built,  gave  indica 
tions  of  a  powerful  intellect ;  a  face  not  yet  interlined  by  age,  still 
remarkable  for  its  personal  beauty,  was  lighted  up  by  eyes  black 
in  the  shacte,  but  brown  in  the  full  light,  clear,  benignant,  but  with 
a  deep  recess  of  light,  a  curtained  fire  in  them  that  blazed  in 
moments  of  excitement ;  a  countenance,  the  natural  expression  of 
which  was  gentle  and  benevolent,  yet  struck  the  beholder  as  mask 
ing  an  iron  will.  His  manners  were  at  once  grave  and  kindly  ; 
without  gayety  or  abandon,  he  was  also  without  the  affectation  of 
dignity.  Such  was  the  man  whose  stately  figure,  in  the  Capitol  at 
Kichmond,  brought  to  mind  the  old  race  of  Virginians,  and  who 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  55 

was  thereafter  to  win  the  reputation,  not  only  as  the  first  com 
mander,  but  also  as  the  first  gentleman  of  the  South,  the  most 
perfect  and  beautiful  model  of  manhood  in  the  war. 

Gen.  Lee  was  received  with  a  fulsome  piece  of  rhetoric.  The 
presiding  officer  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  Janney,  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  make  the  gaudy  speech  common  on  such  occa 
sions.  He  conceived  that  the  audience,  in  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  stood,  might  hear  the  echo  of  the  voices  of  the  states 
men,  the  soldiers  and  sages  of  by -gone  days  ;  he  declared  that  Vir 
ginia,  having  taken  a  position  in  defiance  of  the  Federal  authority, 
was  "  animated  by  one  impulse,  governed  by  one  desire  and  one 
determination,  and  that  was  that  she  should  be  defended,  and  that 
no  spot  of  her  soil  should  be  polluted  by  the  foot  of  an  invader;" 
and,  speaking  directly  to  Gen.  Lee,  he  reminded  him  of  the  histori 
cal  inspirations  connected  with  his  name,  remarking  the  singular 
circumstance  that  his  native  county  of  Westmoreland  had  shown 
peculiar  productive  power  in  having  given  birth  to  the  Father  of 
his  Country,  to  Eichard  Henry  Lee,  and  to  Monroe.  Connecting 
the  memory  of  Washington,  he  closed  with  this  glowing  exhorta 
tion  :  "  When  the  Father  of  his  Country  made  his  last  will  and 
testament,  he  gave  his  swords  to  his  favourite  nephews  with  an 
injunction  that  they  should  never  be  drawn  from  their  scabbards 
except  in  self-defence,  or  in  defence  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
their  country,  and,  that  if  drawn  for  the  latter  purpose,  they  should 
fall  with  them  in  their  hands,  rather  than  relinquish  them.  Yes 
terday  your  mother,  Virginia,  placed  her  sword  in  your  hand,  upon 
the  implied  condition  that  we  know  you  will  keep  it  to  the  letter 
and  in  spirit,  that  you  will  draw  it  only  in  defence,  and  that  you 
will  fall  with  it  in  your  hand  rather  than  the  object  for  which  it 
was  placed  there  shall  fail." 

"The  reply  of  Gen.  Lee  was  very  simple  and  short ;  but  touch 
ing  in  its  brevity,  Washington-like  in  its  modesty,  and  pervaded 
by  a  deep  tone  of  solemnity  that  penetrated  the  excited  and  giddy 
assembly  that  had  expected  a  fulsome  harangue.  He  could  not 
have  spoken  more  appropriately.  He  said : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  Profoundly 
impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  for  which  I  must  say 
I  was  not  prepared,  I  accept  the  position  assigned  me  by  your  par 
tiality.  I  would  have  much  preferred,  had  your  choice  fallen 


56  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

upon  an  abler  man.  Trusting  in  Almighty  God,  an  approving 
conscience,  and  the  aid  of  my  fellow-citizens,  I  devote  myself  to 
the  service  of  my  native  State,  in  whose  behalf  alone  will  I  ever 
again  draw  my  sword." 

When  this  ceremony  took  place,  Virginia  had  not  formally 
perfected  her  alliance  and  association  with  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy.  On  the  24th  April,  it  was  determined  by  the  Conven 
tion,  that  pending  the  popular  vote  on  the  queston  of  secession, 
military  operations,  offensive  and  defensive,  in  'Virginia,  should  be 
under  the  chief  control  and  direction  of  the  President  of  the  Con 
federate  States.  Confederate  troops  from  South  Carolina  and  the 
States  of  the  Gulf  were  now  being  rapidly  thrown  forward  into  Vir 
ginia.  On  the  10th  May,  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  War 
invested  Lee  with  the  control  of  the  forces  in  Virginia  by  the  fol 
lowing  order : 

MONTGOMEEY,  May  10,  1861. 

To  MAJ.-GEN.  E.  E.  LEE: — To  prevent  confusion,  you  will 
assume  the  control  of  the  forces  of  the  Confederate  States  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  assign  them  to  such  duties  as  you  may  indicate,  until 
further  orders ;  for  which  this  will  be  your  authority. 

I.  P.  WALKER,  Secretary  of  War. 

About  this  time  Gen.  Lee  was  busily  engaged  in  organizing 
and  equipping  the  military  forces,  hurrying  from  every  part  of 
Virginia,  and  rapidly  arriving  on  the  trains  from  the  South.  It 
was  not  a  brilliant  service,  but  one  of  peculiar  vexation  and  diffi 
culty.  It  required  all  his  experience  and  skill  to  establish  dis 
cipline  and  order ;  to  subdue  the  excessive  spirits  of  the  volun 
teers ;  to  organize  quartermaster  and  commissary  departments ;  and 
to  bring  out  of  the  general  excitement  and  confusion  the  substance 
and  form  of  great  armies.  More  than  fifty  thousand  men  were 
already,  in  the  early  days  of  May,  1861,  under  arms  in  Virginia; 
and  to  organize  these,  and  to  distribute  them  so  as  to  enable  the 
immediate  concentration  of  troops  upon  the  borders  of  the  State, 
wherever  the  movements  of  the  enemy  might  demand  their  pres 
ence,  was  the  immense  task  imposed  upon  Lee.  He  sat  almost 
daily  in  the  military  council  with  Gov.  Letcher  and  others;  he 
performed  an  amount  of  labor  that  was  almost  incredible,  yet 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  57 

always  working  with  ease  and  exactness ;  and  he  made  the  reputa 
tion  of  a  skilful  organizer  of  armies,  before  he  commenced  the 
career  of  active  commander  in  the  field. 

Meanwhile,  the  popular  vote  of  Virginia  having  pronounced 
almost  unanimously  for  secession,*  and  this  formality  having  been 
accomplished,  the  State  linked  her  destiny  with  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  ;  and  that  government  signified  the  appreciation  of  the 
accession  of  the  great  Commonwealth,  by  transferring  its  capital  to 
Richmond,  and  making  Virginia  at  once  the  administrative  centre 
of  the  new  power  and  the  main  seat  of  war.  Early  in  June,  Maj.- 
Gen.  Lee  was  created  a  full  General  in  the  Confederate  service. 
But  he  was  assigned  to  an  obscure  and  difficult  field  of  service ; 
and  the  reader  will  be  surprised  and  pained  to  find  his  reputation 
soon  clouded  by  quick  and  grievpus  misfortunes. 

*  The  aggregate  of  the  popular  vote  of  Virginia,  on  the  ordinance  of  secession, 
so  far  as  exactly  known,  was  as  follows : 

For  Ratification   .  .  '.:      ; .;  ;    .     .:'.    •>  ?.       .'-'-;     '    '   .  •     ;    .'  125,950 

For  Rejection  .  .       .., ,    .    .':.,..-.,     .••.?,        .    ^       ,    .  „        20,373 

Majority  for  Ratification    .  .  .  i.  '4  .-•     '    „ ,'  105,577 

There  were  irregular  and  conjectural  returns  from  some  of  the  counties,  which 
probably  reduced  the  majority  to  little  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  votes. 


58  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 


CHAPTER  IY. 

Gen.  Lee  sent  to  Northwestern  Virginia. — Description  of  the  theatre  of  the  war. — 
Unfortunate  military  councils  in  Richmond. — Proclamation  of  Governor  Letcher. — 
A  caricature  of  secession. — Disaster  of  Rich  Mountain. — Gen.  Lee's  plans  there 
after. — He  is  foiled  at  Cheat  Mountain. — Marches  to  the  Kanawha  Valley. — 
Escape  of  Rosecrans. — Failure  of  Lee's  Campaign. — He  is  abused  and  twitted  iii 
Richmond.— Scoffs  of  the  Richmond  "  Examiner." — He  is  assigned  to  "the  coast 
service." — Recalled  to  Richmond,  and  made  "  Commanding  General." — This  post 
unimportant,  and  scarcely  honourable. 

WHAT  is  known  as  Northwestern  Virginia  includes  all  that  part 
of  the  State  between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
It  has  sometimes  been  called  the  "  highland  region  "  of  Virginia. 
But  this  comparative  term  is  weak  and  insufficient  to  describe  the 
mountainous  character  of  the  region  and  the  extreme  abruptness 
and  intricacies  of  its  features.  The  towering  ridge  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies  separates  it  from  the  famous  Valley  of  Virginia ;  and  the 
county  of  Randolph,  which  holds  the  practicable  lines  of  commu 
nication  between  the  two,  is  cut  by  a  series  of  lofty  mountain  ridges 
known  as  the  Sewell,  Rich,  Cheat,  Slaughter's,  and  Middle  Moun 
tains,  which  fill  more  than  half  of  the  county,  and  leave  a  belt  of 
table,  or  plain  lands,  hardly  ten  miles  broad,  on  its  western  border. 
There  are  passes  through  Cheat  and  Greenbrier  Mountains  (the 
latter  being  properly  part  of  the  Alleghany  ridge) ;  but  it  needed 
but  an  ordinary  eye  to  see  that  the  entire  extent  of  this  country 
was  but  littla  practicable  for  artillery  and  cavalry.  It  offered  to 
the  movements  of  light-armed  infantry  only  narrow  and  rough 
roads,  winding  along  the  edges  of  chasms,  through  rugged  valleys, 
over  mountain-tops,  and  across  the  beds  of  streams  and  rivers. 
Through  the  ravines  ran  watercourses  which,  uniting,  flowed  away 
until  they  fell  into  the  Tygart's  Valley  and  Cheat  Rivers,  and  ran 
northward  and  westward  to  find  their  way  at  last  into  the  Ohio. 
In  the  spring  and  summer  this  whole  mountain  region  was  habit 
ually  visited  by  heavy  rains,  which  saturated  the  forest  cover, 
deluged  the  few  open  fields,  and  converted  the  road-beds  into  a 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  59 

mixture  of  mud  and  clay  impassable  for  artillery  and  baggage 
wagons. 

It  was  undoubtedly  a  great  military  errour,  but  one  for  which 
Gen.  Lee  was  not  responsible,  to  attempt  the  retention  and  occu 
pation  by  the  Confederate  arms  of  a  country  so  rugged  and  intri 
cate,  and  so  remote  in  its  relations  to  the  dominant  campaigns  of 
the  war.  It  needs  only  a  glance  at  the  map  to  indicate  to  the 
observer  the  important  fact  that  the  communications  of  Northwest- 
ern  Virginia  were  much  more  easy  with  the  enemy's  country  than 
with  the  remainder  of  Virginia.  The  Ohio  Eiver  washed  its  west 
ern  border  ;  the  Monongahela  pierced  its  northern  boundary  ;  and 
in  addition  to  these  water  facilities  of  the  enemy,  two  railroads, 
from  the  Ohio  eastward,  united  at  Grafton,  and  enabled  the  Federal 
government  to  pour  troops  rapidly  into  the  very  heart  of  the 
country.  The  Confederates  had  no  access  to  it  except  by  tedious 
mountain  roads ;  having  neither  navigable  river  nor  railroad  by 
which  to  transport  their  troops,  to  compete  with  equal  pace  in  the 
occupation  of  the  country,  and  to  retreat  with  facility  in  case  of 
disaster.  The  true  military  policy  appears  to  have  been  to  have 
left  the  enemy  in  possession  of  Northwestern  Virginia,  to  tolerate 
his  advance  from  that  direction  until  he  involved  himself  in  the 
arduous  mountain  roads,  to  tempt  him  to  lengthen  his  own  lines 
of  communication,  and  to  have  awaited  his  attacks  on  the  nearer 
side  of  the  wilderness,  where  the  Confederates  might  have  adroitly 
transferred  to  him  the  difficulties  of  transportation,  and  concen 
trated  with  ease  to  crush  him.  The  country  that  was  to  be  con 
tested  was  no  vital  part  of  Virginia  ;  it  was  embraced  between  the 
most  populous  and  fanatical  parts  of  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Penn 
sylvania  ;  and  its  resources  were  inconsiderable. 

But  the  considerations  we  have  referred  to  did  not  prevail. 
The  policy  of  the  military  council  in  Eichmond  to  hold  Northwest 
ern  Virginia,  and  drive  the  enemy  out  of  this  region,  originated  in  a 
mistaken  generosity  towards  the  inhabitants ;  proceeded  from  an 
unwillingness  to  leave  what  was  supposed  to  be  a  loyal  population 
to  the  oppressions  of  a  few  traitors,  backed  by  invaders;  and 
assumed  the  fact  that  a  Confederate  army  would  obtain  there  the 
active  assistance  of  the  people,  which  would  be  a  great  compensa 
tion  as  against  the  superiour  force  of  the  enemy,  and  with  respect  to 
the  topographical  disadvantages  of  the  country.  It  may  be  gene- 


60  GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

rally  described  as  part  of  the  early  and  much-mistaken  military 
policy  of  the  South,  to  cover  everything.  When  the  Confederate 
Military  Department  took  control  at  Richmond,  it  adopted  towards 
Northwestern  Virginia  the  view  that  Governor  Letcher  and  his 
advisory  council  had  already  decided. 

The  policy  and  hopes  of  the  latter  are  sufficiently  indicated  in 
the  following  proclamation  of  Governor  Letcher,  dated  June  14, 
1861: 

"  To  the  People  of  Northwestern  Virginia : 

"The  sovereign  people  of  Virginia,  unbiassed,  and  by  their 
own  free  choice,  have,  by  a  majority  of  nearly  one  hundred  thou 
sand  qualified  voters,  severed  the  ties  that  heretofore  bound  them 
to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and  united  this  Common 
wealth  with  the  Confederate  States.  That  our  people  have  the 
right  Ho  institute  a  new  Government,  laying  its  foundations  on 
such  principles,  and  organizing  its  powers  in  such  form  as  to  them 
shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness,'  was 
proclaimed  by  our  fathers,  and  it  is  a  right  which  no  freeman 
should  ever  relinquish.  The  State  of  Virginia  has  now,  the 
second  time  in  her  history,  asserted  this  right,  and  it  is  the  duty  of 
every  Virginian  to  acknowledge  her  act  when  ratified  by  such  a 
majority,  and  to  give  his  willing  cooperation  to  make  good  the 
declaration.  All  her  people  have  voted.  Each  has  taken  his 
chance  to  have  his  personal  views  represented.  You,  as  well  as 
the  rest  of  the  State,  have  cast  your  vote  fairly,  and  the  majority  is 
against  you.  It  is  the  duty  of  good  citizens  to  yield  to  the  will  6f 
the  State.  The  Bill  of  Rights  has  proclaimed  '  that  the  people  have 
a  right  to  uniform  government ;  and,  therefore,  that  no  govern 
ment  separate  from  or  independent  of  the  government  of  Virginia 
ought  to  be  erected  or  established  within  the  limits  thereof.' 

"The  majority,  thus  declared,  therefore  have  a  right  to  govern. 
But  notwithstanding  this  right,  thus  exercised,  has  been  regarded 
by  the  people  of  all  sections  of  the  United  States  as  undoubted 
and  sacred,  yet  the  Government  at  Washington  now  utterly  denies 
it,  and  by  the  exercise  of  despotic  power  is  endeavouring  to  coerce 
our  people  to  abject  submission  to  their  authority.  Virginia  has 
asserted  her  independence.  She  will  maintain  it  at  every  hazard. 
She  is  sustained  by  the  power  of  ten  of  her  sister  Southern  States, 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  61 

ready  and  willing  to  uphold  her  cause.  Can  any  true  Virginian 
refuse  to  render  assistance  ?  Men  of  the  Northwest,  I  appeal  to 
you,  by  all  the  considerations  which  have  drawn  us  together  as  one 
people  heretofore,  to  rally  to  the  standard  of  the  Old  Dominion. 
By  all  the  sacred  ties  of  consanguinity,  by  the  intermixtures  of  the 
blood  of  East  and  West,  by  common  paternity,  by  friendships 
hallowed  by  a  thousand  cherished  recollections  and  memories  of 
the  past,  by  the  relics  of  the  great  men  of  other  days,  come  to 
Virginia's  banner,  and  drive  the  invader  from  your  soil.  There 
may  be  traitors  in  the  midst  of  you,  who,  for  selfish  ends,  have 
turned  against  their  mother,  and  would  permit  her  to  be  ignomin- 
iously  oppressed  and  degraded.  But  I  cannot,  will  not  believe 
that  a  majority  of  you  are  not  true  sons,  who  will  not  give  your 
blood  and  your  treasure  for  Virginia's  defence. 

"  I  have  sent  for  your  protection  such  troops  as  the  emergency 
enabled  me  to  collect,  in  charge  of  a  competent  commander.  I 
have  ordered  a  large  force  to  go  to  your  aid,  but  I  rely  with  the 
utmost  confidence  upon  your  own  strong  arms  to  rescue  your  fire 
sides  and  altars  from  the  pollution  of  a  reckless  and  ruthless  enemy. 
The  State  is  invaded  at  several  points,  but  ample  forces  have  been 
collected  to  defend  her. 

*  x  *•  x  -x-  * 

"  The  troops  are  posted  at  Huttonsville.  Come  with  your  own 
good  weapons  and  meet  them  as  brothers  ! 

"  By  the  Governor :  JOHN  LETCHER." 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  the  people  of  Northwestern  Vir 
ginia  did  not  respond  to  this  appeal,  but  indicated  a  preference  for 
the  Federal  authority,  proceeded  to  construct  a  new  government, 
and  thus  offered  to  the  army  from  Eichmond  that  entered  this 
region,  the  aspect  and  character  of  a  hostile  State,  and  shifted  the 
perils  and  disadvantages  attending  an  invading  force  from  the 
Federals  to  the  Confederates.  On  the  20th  August,  a  Convention 
passed  an  ordinance  creating  anew  State,  the  boundary  of  which 
included  the  counties  of  Logan,  Wyoming,  Ealeigh,  Fayette, 
Nicholas,  Webster,  Randolph,  Tucker,  Preston,  Monongahela, 
Marion,  Taylor,  Barbour,  Upshur,  Harrison,  Lewis,  Braxton,  Clay, 
Kanawha,  Boone,  Wayne,  Cabell,  Putnam,  Mason,  Jackson,  Eoane, 
Calhoun,  Wirt,  Gilrner,  Eitchie,  Wood,  Pleasants,  Tyler,  Dodd- 


62  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

ridge,  "Wetzel,  Marshall,  Ohio,  Brooke,  and  Hancock.  A  provi 
sion  was  incorporated  permitting  certain  adjoining  counties  to  come 
in  if  they  should  desire,  by  expression  of  a  majority  of  their  people 
to  do  so.  The  infinite  absurdity  was  committed  at  Washington, 
of  acknowledging  as  the  State  of  Virginia  a  band  of  disaffected 
counties;  and  the  Federal  government,  although  conducting  its 
war  on  the  theory  that  the  withdrawal  of  the  States  from  the 
Union  was  heresy  and  treason,  did  not  hesitate  when  it  suited  its 
purposes  to  put  itself  into  the  most  glaring  and  grotesque  incon 
sistency  of  adopting  and  confirming  a  very  caricature  of  secession. 

The  defence  of  Northwestern  Virginia  was  first  undertaken  by 
Gen.  Lee,  in  dispatching  Col.  Porterfield  to  that  region,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  there  a  local  force.  The  results  of  the  recruit 
ing  service  were  small,  and  to  meet  the  occupation  by  McClellan, 
who  in  the  latter  part  of  May  was  throwing  a  force  across  the 
Ohio,  reinforcements  to  the  amount  of  about  six  thousand  men 
were  directed  upon  Northwestern  Virginia,  under  command  of 
Gen.  Garnett,  who  had  belonged  to  the  Federal  service.  On  the  llth 
July,  this  little  army,  threatened  by  fourfold  numbers  and  resources, 
and  while  imprudently  divided — Gen.  Garnett  having  detached 
Pegram  from  the  main  position  at  Laurel  Hill,  which  commanded 
the  turnpike  from  Staunton  to  "Wheeling,  to  hold  Eich  Mountain, 
five  miles  below — was  assailed  by  two  columns  of  the  enemy. 
Both  parts  were  compelled  to  retreat  across  the  Alleghanies,  with 
the  loss  of  their  baggage  and  artillery,  and  about  a  thousand  pris 
oners  ;  and  at  Carrick's  Ford,  at  the  passage  of  the  Cheat  River, 
Gen.  Garnett  himself  was  killed,  while  attempting  to  rally  the  rear 
guard  of  the  retreat. 

After  this  disaster,  it  was  determined  that  Gen.  Lee  himself  should 
take  the  field  ;  and  he  at  once  proceeded  to  organize  a  campaign, 
with  the  object  of  obtaining  possession  of  the  Valley  of  the  Kana- 
wha,  as  well  as  the  country  to  the  northward,  from  which  Gen. 
Garnett  had  been  driven.  He  took  immediate  command  of  the 
remains  of  Garnett's  army  at  Monterey,  and  also  directed  the 
movements  of  Gens.  Floyd  and  Wise  in  the  lower  country ;  the 
latter,  after  the  affair  of  Eich  Mountain,  having  retreated  to  Lewis- 
burg,  on  the  Greenbrier  Eiver,  and  Floyd's  force  of  about  four 
thousand  men  having  been  sent  to  his  relief. 

The  field  was  one  of  little  promise  for  Lee.     He  found  himself 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  63 

in  the  midst  of  a  hostile  population ;  the  wild  ranges  in  which  he 
was  to  operate,  were  known  only  to  the  most  experienced  woods 
men  and  hunters  frequenting  them ;  and  although  he  endeavoured 
to  shorten  the  arduous  line  of  communication  over  the  mountain 
roads,  by  leaving  the  Central  Eailroad  at  a  point  forty  miles  west 
of  Staunton,  and  penetrating  the  northwest,  through  the  counties 
of  Bath  and  Pocahontas,  at  the  Yalley  Mountain,  he  found  that  a 
season  of  unusual  rains  robbed  him  even  of  this  success. 

Gen.  Eosecrans  was  at  this  time  commander-in-chief  of  the 
enemy's  forces  in  Western  Virginia,  and  had  left  Gen.  Eeynolds 
at  Cheat  Mountain  to  hold  the  passes,  and  the  roads  to  Weston 
and  Grafton.  The  month  of  August  and  the  early  part  of  Sep 
tember  were  consumed  by  a  series  of  skirmishes,  between  the 
force  under  Gen.  Lee  and  that  under  Gen.  Eeynolds.  at  Cheat 
Mountain.  These  actions  were  of  but  little  account ;  Lee's  main 
object  being  to  dislodge  the  enemy  by  manoeuvres,  rather  than  by 
direct  attack,  and  to  get  a  foothold  on  his  flanks  or  on  his  rear. 
At  one  time  he  had  endeavoured  to  surround  and  capture  the 
enemy's  forces  which  occupied  a  block-house  on  one  of  the  three 
summits  of  the  Cheat  Mountain,  and  were  also  strongly  intrenched 
at  a  place  called  Elk  Water,  the  junction  of  Tygart's  Yalley  Eiver 
and  Elk  Run.  The  plan  was  well  formed;  but  Col.  Eusb,  with  a 
number  of  Arkansas  troops,  having  failed  to  attack  what  was 
known  as  the  Cheat  Summit  Fort,  Gen.  Lee  found  the  whole  day 
disconcerted,  and  was  compelled  to  withdraw  his  troops  without 
any  results  whatever. 

The  disappointed  commander  now  resolved  to  march  to  the  relief 
of  Gens.  Floyd  and  Wise,  and  to  unite  the  whole  Confederate  army 
in  the  Kanawha  Valley.  The  movement  was  successfully  accom 
plished,  and  Lee  concentrated  his  forces  at  Sewell  Mountain  about 
the  end  of  September,  having  left  a  detachment  of  about  2,500  men, 
under  Gen.  Henry  A.  Jackson,  to  guard  the  road  leading  to  Staun 
ton,  and  the  line  of  the  Greenbrier  Eiver.  He  had  now  in  hand  an 
army  of  quite  15,000  men ;  he  undoubtedly  outnumbered  Eose 
crans,  who  had  followed  him,  and  was  now  daily  engaged  in  skir 
mishing  with  Wise's  troops  at  Sewell  Mountain  ;  and  it  was  thought 
that  Lee  might  now  deliver  battle  with  effect,  and  bring  to  some 
sort  of  issue  a  hitherto  fruitless  and  desultory  campaign.  Expecta 
tion  was  high,  and  at  last  became  feverish.  For  twelve  days  the 


t 

64  GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD  LEE. 

two  armies  remained  in  position,  each  waiting  an  attack  from  the 
other.  Finally,  one  morning,  it  was  discovered  by  Lee  that  his 
enemy  had  disappeared  in  the  night,  and  reached  his  old  posi 
tion  on  the  Gauley  Kiver,  thirty-two  miles  distant.  Gen.  Lee  was 
unable  to  follow.  The  swollen  streams  and  the  mud  made  any 
thing  like  hopeful  and  effective  pursuit  impossible  ;  and  the  advent 
of  winter  was  soon  to  close  active  operations,  and  to  leave  the  cam 
paign  exactly  where  it  started — the  Federals  holding  the  country 
west  of  the  Alleghanies,  the  Confederates  occupying  the  mountains 
and  the  Greenbrier  Yalley. 

Even  this  slight  tenure  was  to  be  abandoned  ;  the  Confederate 
troops  were  recalled  to  other  fields,  and  in  November  Gen.  Lee 
returned  to  Eichmond  with  a  sadly  diminished  reputation.  The 
campaign  west  of  the  Alleghanies  was  a  sorry  affair,  and  an  un 
doubted  failure.  It  had  accomplished  nothing ;  it  had  expended 
much  of  time  and  troops ;  it  had  not  only  surrendered  the  country 
which  it  was  to  contest,  but  it  had  done  so  without  giving  to  the 
enemy  a  single  lesson  of  resolution,  or  dealing  him  one  important 
stroke  of  arms ;  and  it  had  sacrificed  to  disease  alone,  thousands 
of  men  who  had  fallen  victims  to  pneumonia  and  other  sickness, 
consequent  upon  exposure  to  cold  and  rain.  A  just  explanation 
of  Gen.  Lee's  failure  is  perhaps  to  be  found  in  the  circumstances 
against  which  he  had  to  contend — the  disconcert  of  subordinate 
officers  ;  and  the  principal  fact,  which  history  has  abundantly  illus 
trated,  that  the  greatest  abilities  often  fail  in  small  and  petty  work, 
where  the  field  is  not  commensurate  with  the  man,  is  not  suited  for 
the  display  of  his  characteristics,  and  is  destitute  of  any  great  inspi 
ration.  But  there  were  many  persons  in  Eichmond  who  were  not 
inclined  to  a  generous  view  of  the  disappointment  Gen.  Lee  had 
given  the  public  in  his  first  campaign,  and  who  at  once  fell  to  ridi 
culing  and  decrying  him.  He  was  twitted  as  "  Letcher's  pet." 
He  was  described  as  a  man  living  on  a  historical  name  and  a  showy 
presence,  with  no  merit  of  mind — one  who,  puffed  by  what  his 
family  had  done,  had  cultivated  a  heavy  dignity  and  a  superiour 
manner,  with  no  brains  to  support  the  display.  It  was  remembered 
that  on  his  first  assumption  of  command,  he  had  advised  that  the 
volunteer  spirit  of  the  country  was  unsteady  and  excessive — that  it 
needed  repression.  It  was  said  that  he  was  tender  of  blood,  and 
sought  to  accomplish  his  campaign  in  the  mountains  by  strategy, 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  65 

rather  than  by  fighting ;  it  was  assumed  that  he  was  the  represen 
tative  of  West  Point  in  opposition  to  the  school  of  "  fighting  Gen 
erals  ;  "  and  all  these  things  were  readily  put  to  his  discredit  in  the 
early  and  flushed  periods  of  the  war,  when  the  Southern  populace 
clamoured  for  bloody  battles,  and  were  carried  away  by  the  imagi 
nation  that  a  sudden  rush  of  raw  men  to  arms  would  be  sufficient 
to  overpower  the  adversary  and  accomplish  their  independence. 
Lee's  views  were  not  generally  appreciated ;  his  failure  in  moun 
tain  warfare  was  taken  by  many  persons  as  decisive  of  his  military 
reputation;  and  at  the  period  referred  to  in  Eichmoiid,  he  was  the 
most  unpopular  commander  of  equal  rank  in  the  Confederate  service. 
A  rumour  was  circulated  about  this  time,  that  the  one  ambition  of 
Lee's  life  was  to  be  Governor  of  Virginia  after  the  war,  and  to  manu 
facture  reputation  in  the  contest  to  recommend  him  for  the  position. 
The  writer  recollects  with  what  derision  the  rumour  was  received  in 
certain  quarters  in  Eichmond ;  how  Mr.  Daniel,  the  editor  of  the 
Examiner,  hooted  it,  and  made  it  part  of  his  quarrel  with  John 
Letcher,  who  was  supposed  to  be  nursing  Lee's  conceit :  and  how 
the  claim  of.  the  reputed  candidate  was  generally  put  down  as 
absurd  and  insolent.  And  yet,  a  few  years  later,  and  the  man  thus 
derided  might  have  had  the  Dictatorship  of  the  entire  Southern 
Confederacy,  if  he  had  but  crooked  his  finger  to  accept  it ! 

Happily  the  Government  did  not  share  and  refused  to  reflect  this 
early  popular  injustice  towards  Lee.  But  in  view  of  his  loss  of  so 
much  of  the  public  confidence,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  put  him 
into  no  very  active  and  conspicuous  command  ;  and  he  was  accord 
ingly  sent  South,  and  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  coast  defences 
of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  His  duties  consisted  in  super 
intending  the  fortifications  along  the  coast,  and  exercising  his 
engineering  skill  to  add  to  their  security.  These  duties  were  effi 
ciently  performed  ;  the  district  of  South  Carolina  was  placed  in  an 
admirable  state  of  defence  ;  and  Gen.  Lee  appears  to  have  won  in 
this  department  a  new  accession  of  popularity  and  personal  esteem. 
In  February,  1862,  there  was  some  motion  to  make  him  Secretary 
of  "War ;  but  it  was  considered  by  Congress  that  he  did  not  com 
mand  enough  of  the  public  confidence  for  this  important  position. 
It  was  then  decided  by  President  Davis  to  recall  him  to  Eichmond, 
and  to  confer  on  him  the  new  appointment  of  "  Commanding  Gen 
eral,"  to  take  charge  of  the  military  movements  of  the  war.  The 

5 


66  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

title  of  the  new  office  was  a  sonorous  one  ;  but  as  Mr.  Davis  had 
practically  annihilated  the  bill  creating  it  by  requiring  the  miscall 
ed  generalissimo  "  to  act  under  the  direction  of  the  President,"  it 
may  be  briefly  remarked  that  the  new  position  of  Gen.  Lee  was 
not  an  important  one,  and  was  scarcely  an  honourable  one.  He 
was  nothing  more  than  a  supernumerary  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Davis.  But  the  great  man  waits  the  proper  call  of  events,  and  the 
occasion  commensurate  with  his  power.  In  this  uncertain  period 
of  Lee's  reputation  a  Southern  journal  ventured  to  declare  that 
"  the  time  would  yet  come  when  his  superiour  abilities  would  be 
vindicated  both  to  his  own  renown  and  the  glory  of  his  country." 


GENERAL   EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  67 


CHAPTER  Y. 

McClellan's  march  up  the  Peninsula. — Recollections  of  the  "  White  House." — Battle 
of  Seven  Pines. — Review  of  condition  of  the  Confederacy. — An  act  "  to  disband 
the  armies  of  the  Confederacy." — Carnival  of  misrule. — G-en.  Lee  in  command  of 
the  forces  around  Richmond. — Nearly  two-thirds  of  his  army  raw  conscripts. — 
His  adoption  of  Gen.  Johnston's  idea  of  concentration. — Manners  of  Lee  as  a 
commander. — The  great  battle  joined. — Beaver-Dam  Creek. — Gen.  Lee  resting  at 
a  farm-house. — The  glory  of  G-aines'  Mills. — Brilliant  audacity  of  Gen.  Lee  in  de 
livering  this  battle. — Retreat  of  McClellan. — Frazier's  Farm. — Malvern  HilL — 
The  circuit  of  Lee's  victories  broken. — His  official  summary  of  "  the  Seven  Days' 
battles." 

IN  the  early  days  of  May,  1862,  McClellan,  with  his  numerous 
and  bedraggled  army,  was  toiling  up  the  peninsular  shape  of  land 
formed  by  the  James  River  and  the  estuary  of  the  York,  while 
Johnston,  in  command  of  the  Confederate  forces,  fell  back  towards 
Richmond  with  admirable  precision,  leaving  no  considerable  trace 
of  disaster  on  his  retreat.  On  this  memorable  march,  the  advanced 
guard  of  the  Federals  occupied  the  White  House  on  the  Pamunkey 
River,  formerly  the  property  and  home  of  George  Washington,  and 
which  had  come  into  the  possession  of  Gen.  Lee  when  he  married 
Miss  Custis.  Since  the  war  it  had  been  designated  by  Gen.  Lee 
as  his  family  seat,  and  was  occupied  by  his  wife  until  the  enemy 
approached,  and  she  fled  towards  Richmond  for  safety.  It  is  a 
remarkable  circumstance,  and  one  much  to  the  honour  of  McClel 
lan,  who  was  steadily  opposed  to  all  private  spoliation  in  the  war, 
that  he  respected  the  historical  associations  of  the  place,  and  pro 
tected 'the  property  from  all  ravages  of  the  soldiery.  It  was  here 
the  "  Father  of  his  Country"  had  lived,  and  within  a  few  miles  stood 
the  church  in  which  he  had  been  married.  When  Mrs.  Lee  departed 
from  the  house  on  the  approach  of  the  Federal  army,  she  left  a 
note  on  a  table  which  read :  "  Northern  soldiers  who  profess  to 
reverence  Washington,  forbear  to  desecrate  the  home  of  his  first 
married  life,  the  property  of  his  wife,  now  owned  by  her  descend 
ants."  It  happened  that  almost  the  first  officer  who  entered  the 


68  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

house  was  a  cousin  of  the  Lee  family,  who  had  continued  to  serve 
in  the  United  States  army,  and  commanded  a  regiment  of  cavalry. 
Gen.  McClellan  strictly  complied  with  the  request  of  the  owners 
of  the  house,  and  not  only  forbade  any  of  his  troops  to  enter  the 
premises,  but  even  abstained  from  doing  so  himself,  preferring  to 
encamp  in  the  adjoining  field.  Upon  the  wall  of  the  room  where 
Mrs.  Lee's  note  had  been  found,  one  of  the  guard  wrote  an  answer  : 
"  A  Northern  officer  has  protected  your  property,  in  sight  of  the 
enemy,  and  at  the  request  of  your  officer." 

This  incident  is  a  very  pleasant  one ;  so  exceptional  to  the  usual 
conduct  of  the  Federal  armies,  and  in  such  honourable  contrast  to 
what  afterwards  ensued  in  the  war  of  incendiarism,  plunder,  and 
wanton  destruction.  But  as  an  illustration  of  the  rancour  at 
Washington,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  this  little  exhibition  of 
leniency  by  McClellan,  called  forth  many  animadversions,  and  was 
even  brought  to  the  attention  of  Congress,  where  occasion  was  taken 
to  accuse  him  of  want  of  patriotism,  and  a  false  sentimentalism 
towards  those  in  arms  against  the  government.  The  entire  circum 
stance,  slight  in  itself,  is  interesting  as  indicating  a  line  of  dispute 
in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  on  one  side  of  which  a  violent  party 
clamoured  for  measures  of  savage  revenge,  and  would  even  have 
obliterated  all  respect  for  the  landmarks  of  history  in  a  wild  scene 
of  indiscriminate  ruin. 

Near  the  White  House  the  final  depot  of  stores  was  organized  by 
McClellan,  and  a  base  of  operations  established  for  a  direct  advance 
on  Eichmond.  By  the  close  of  May  he  had  advanced  on  the 
Chickahominy,  and  made  an  unopposed  march  to  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  Confederate  capital.  On  the  30th  May  Johnston  made 
dispositions  for  an  attack  on  the  left  wing  of  the  Federals,  which 
had  been  thrown  forward  to  a  point  within  six  miles  of  Kichmond, 
and  fought  the  brilliant  battle  of  "  Seven  Pines,"  severely  punishing 
the  enemy's  divisions,  but  gaining  no  permanent  ground.  In  this 
engagement  Gen.  Johnston  was  struck  down  with  a  severe  wound. 
In  consequence  of  this  casualty,  President  Davis  yielded  to  a  com 
mon  desire,  and  on  the  3d  June  appointed  Gen.  E.  E.  Lee  to  take 
chief  command  of  the  Confederate  forces  around  Eichmond. 

At  this  critical  period  of  the  Confederate  arms  it  will  be  well  to 
make  a  brief  review  of  the  general  situation,  and  especially  of  cer 
tain  radical  changes  about  this  time  taking  place  in  the  military 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  69 

system  of  the  South.  When  Gen.  Lee  took  command  at  Eichmond 
the  condition  of  the  Confederacy  was  decidedly  gloomy,  and  its 
military  fortunes  for  many  months  had  been  evidently  on  the 
decline.  The  Border  States,  which  had  at  first  borne  the  brunt  of 
battle,  had  given  way ;  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Western  Virginia 
had  gradually  been  occupied  by  the  enemy's  troops ;  and  the  coasts 
of  the  Confederacy,  assailed  by  fleets  to  which  they  had  but  little 
to  oppose,,  had  yielded  a  footing  to  the  Federal  armies.  New  Orleans 
had  been  captured,  and  the  curtain  had  fallen  on  the  policy  of 
Europe,  either  as  regarded  recognition  or  intervention.  Eichmond 
was  threatened  by  an  army  within  a  few  miles  of  her  limits,  the 
strict  effective  of  which  was  1 15,000  men ;  whilst  converging  on 
the  apparently  devoted  city  from  the  west  and  north  marched  the 
three  distinct  armies  of  Fremont,  Banks  and  McDowell,  making  an 
aggregate  of  little  less  than  200,000  men  threatening  the  capital  of 
the  Confederacy. 

In  the  internal  condition  of  the  South  there  had  been  yet  more 
serious  causes  of  alarm  and  anxiety ;  and  the  Confederate  armies 
may  be  described  as  having  just  narrowly  escaped  annihilation  by 
demagogical  laws,  and  as  passing  through  the  severe  and  critical 
period  of  a  new  organization  and  morale,  acquiring  for  the  first 
time  the  substance  and  integrity  of  real  armies.  In  December,  1861, 
the  weak  Provisional  Congress  at  Eichmond  had  passed  an  act,  the 
true  title  of  which  would  have  been  "to  disband  the  armies  of  the 
Confederacy."  This  law,  inspired  by  the  lowest  demagogism, 
permitted  the  men  to  change  their  arm  of  the  service,  to  elect  new 
officers,  and  to  reorganize  throughout  the  army.  It  was  said  that 
the  soldiers  claimed  the  letter  of  their  contract,  to  leave  the  service 
at  the  expiration  of  one  year ;  and  the  weak  legislators  at  Eichmond 
thought  it  necessary  to  indulge  what  was  called  their  democratic 
sense  of  individualism,  by  allowing  them  to  reduce  the  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  army  to  whatever  standards  would  content 
them,  and  to  convert  their  camps  into  a  carnival  of  misrule,  and 
into  the  vilest  scenes  of  electioneering  for  commissions.  This  so- 
called  "  reorganization  "  had  gone  on  in  the  face  of  an  enemy,  who, 
if  he  had  taken  timely  advantage  of  it,  would  have  found  little  else 
than  demoralized  men  disgracing  the  uniform  of  soldiers,  covering 
the  most  vital  points  of  the  Confederacy.  Every  candidate  who 
was  anxious  to  serve  his  country  with  braid  on  his  shoulders  plied 


70  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

the  men  with  the  lowest  arts  of  the  cross-roads  politician,  even  to 
the  argument  of  whiskey,  and  contributed  to  the  general  demoraliza 
tion  ;  until  the  men,  feeling  the  power  to  dethrone  their  present  offi 
cers,  lost  all  respect  for  their  authority,  and  became  the  miserable 
tools  of  every  adventurer  and  charlatan  who  imposed  upon  their 
confidence. 

On  this  scene  of  disorder — upon  which  the  enemy  had  happily 
not  broken — followed  the  rigorous  act  of  conscription,  which  at 
once  dated  a  new  military  era  in  the  Confederacy,  and  enabled  it 
to  recruit  and  reorganize  its  forces,  at  least  in  time  to  meet  the 
tardy  steps  of  the  enemy  in  Virginia.  But  the  forces  which  came 
under  Lee's  hands  were  raw ;  there  was  no  time  to  season  the  new 
recruits  ;  and  the  commander  of  the  forces  around  Eichmond  had 
to  contend  with  all  the  disadvantages  incident  upon  the  transition 
period  in  the  military  affairs  of  the  Confederacy.  The  reader  will 
doubtless  be  surprised  by  the  authentic  statement,  that  of  the  force 
gathered  by  Lee  for  the  encounter  before  Kichmond,  nearly  two- 
thirds  were  new  conscripts,  who  had  never  been  under  fire,  and 
were  only  half  instructed.  This  fact  affords  a  pregnant  commen 
tary  on  McClellan's  delays  ;  and  it  indicates — what  we  shall  pres 
ently  see  in  the  battles  around  Richmond — a  singular  want  of 
mobility  in  Lee's  army,  that  curtailed  the  plans  of  the  commander, 
diminished  his  victory,  and  deprived  him  of  more  than  half  the 
expected  fruits  of  his  own  consummate  generalship. 

After  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  both  armies  intrenched  them 
selves.  McOlellan  erected  field-works,  and  threw  up  a  line  of 
breastworks,  flanked  with  small  redoubts,  extending  from  the 
White  Oak  Swamp  in  a  semicircle  to  the  Chickahominy,  and 
inclosing  within  the  lines  the  railway  and  the  several  roads  and 
bridges  constructed  to  afford  communication  with  his  right  wing, 
which  continued  to  hold  the  country  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mechanicsville  and  Cold  Harbour.  It  was  now  declared  that  the 
circumvallation,  as  far  as  designed,  was  complete,  and  that  the 
echoes  of  McClellan's  cannon  bore  the  knell  of  the  capital  of  the 
Confederacy. 

It  is  but  just  to  observe  here,  that  that  theory  of  action  to 
which  the  Southern  Confederacy  most  owed  its  safety,  viz. :  to 
draw  in  its  forces  around  the  capital,  concentrate  there  all  its  avail 
able  resources,  and  then  fall  with  crushing  weight  upon  the  enemy, 


GENERAL  .ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  71 

had  originated  in  Gen.  Johnston's  clear  and  masterly  mind; 
while  Lee,  without  a  thought  of  rivalry,  readily  conceived  the 
merit  of  his  predecessor's  plan,  and  determined  to  continue  the 
same  line  of  action.  It  is  also  to  be  observed  that  an  unfortunate 
prejudice  of  President  Davis  against  Johnston  had  embarrassed  his 
plans,  and  cross-questioned  all  his  generalship ;  but,  that  when  Lee 
took  command  at  Kichmond,  he  was  favoured  to  the  utmost  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  design  that  Johnston  had  initiated,  was  author 
ized  to  draw  in  the  Confederate  detachments  scattered  along  the 
coast  and  throughout  Virginia,  and  was  by  this  means,  and  the 
growing  results  of  the  conscription,  enabled  to  raise  his  effective 
to  about  ninety  thousand  men.  It  remained,  however,  for  Gen. 
Lee  to  fill  up  the  general  outline  of  action  his  predecessor  had 
traced ;  he  had  to  make  his  own  immediate  plan  of  battle  against 
the  extended  front  of  the  enemy ;  and  this  he  did,  as  we  shall  see, 
not  only  with  the  consummate  skill  of  a  great  mind,  but  with  an 
audacity  that  astonished  his  countrymen,  and  took  the  enemy  com 
pletely  by  surprise. 

There  was  an  early  popular  supposition  that  Lee  was  rather  too 
much  of  the  Fabian  stamp  of  a  commander,  and  disinclined  to  the 
risks  of  battle.  For  several  weeks  after  he  had  assumed  his  import 
ant  command,  his  quiet  manners,  the  absence  of  all  bustle  about  him, 
and  a  singular  appearance  of  doing  nothing,  when  in  fact  he  was 
most  busy,  confirmed  the  popular  impression  of  his  slowness  and 
unwillingness  to  deliver  battle,  and  inclined  the  people  of  Kich 
mond  to  believe  that  he  was  awaiting  the  attack  of  the  enemy, 
which  he  would  at  least  meet  with  all  the  resources  of  a  prudent 
and  skilful  commander.  They  little  imagined  that  he  was  medi 
tating  taking  the  initiative  himself,  and  putting  the  insolent  enemy 
on  the  defensive.  The  quiet,  thoughtful  commander  never  admitted 
an  improper  person  into  his  confidence  ;  he  was  annoyed  by  politi 
cians  and  Congressional  delegations  who  wanted  information  of  his 
plans,  but  never  obtained  it ;  he  was  assailed  by  foolish  clamours 
of  demagogues,  whose  interests  in  the  Confederacy  appeared  to  be 
inclosed  within  the  boundaries  of  their  Congressional  districts  or 
counties,  and  who  complained  that  particular  parts  of  the  country 
had  been  stripped  of  troops  to  defend  Richmond ;  he  was  pursued 
by  popular  impatience  for  a  battle ;  but  to  all  he  was  the  imper 
turbable  gentleman,  opposing  to  curiosity  and  clamour  a  placid  man- 


72  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

ner  and  a  polite  but  supreme  reticence.  Each  day  he  was  seen  on 
horseback  about  the  lines,  dressed  in  a  plain  suit  of  gray,  with  a 
scanty  attendance  of  staff-officers,  presenting,  perhaps,  not  so  im 
pressively  his  importance  and  dignity,  as  a  Federal  brigadier  with 
his  couriers  and  orderlies  at  his  heels.  Each  day  his  army  was 
busy  in  strengthening  their  defensive  works,  and  people  wondered 
at  McClellan's  silence  and  Lee's  apparent  unconcern,  and  specu 
lated  when  the  great  battle  would  be  delivered. 

Lee  waited  for  a  precise  event.  That  event  was  the  junction 
of  Jackson's  forces  from  the  Valley.  His  plan  of  battle  contem 
plated  that  so  soon  as  Jackson,  by  his  manoeuvres  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  should  have  uncovered  the  passage  of 
the  stream  at  Meadow  and  Mechanicsville  bridges,  the  divisions  on 
the  south  bank  should  cross  and  join  Jackson's  column,  when  the 
whole  force  should  sweep  down  the  north  side  of  the  Chickahom 
iny,  towards  the  York  Kiver,  laying  hold  of  McClellan's  communi 
cations  with  the  White  House.  Meanwhile,  for  almost  every  day 
in  June,  the  Federal  commander  had  sent  a  dispatch  to  Washing 
ton  that  he  was  about  to  bring  on  a  general  action.  On  the  25th 
June,  it  was  said  that  he  was  preparing  for  a  general  forward 
movement  by  the  Williamsburg  road.  But  the  preceding  night 
the  swift  and  skilful  Jackson  had  reached  Ashland,  was  within 
striking  distance  of  the  right  wing  of  the  Federal  army,  and  the 
next  day  the  storm  of  battle  was  to  burst  upon  the  hesitating  Mc- 
Clellan  and  his  astounded  troops. 

In  the  morning  of  the  26th  June,  the  only  intimation  that  Lee 
gave  at  the  War  Department  of  the  terrible  work  before  him,  was 
a  simple  brief  note,  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  stating 
that  he  might  be  beyond  a  certain  designated  point  where  couriers 
could  find  him,  should  there  be  anj^thing  of  importance  the  Secre 
tary  might  wish  to  communicate  during  the  day.  That  was  the 
day  of  battle !  In  the  afternoon  quick  beats  of  sound  told  the 
feverish  ear  of  Kichmond  that  a  great  battle  was  in  progress,  and 
that  the  red  flails  of  artillery  were  at  work.  The  evening  sky 
reflected  the  conflagration  at  Mechanicsville  ;  and  as  the  sun  de 
scended,  the  division  of  A.  P.  Hill,  joined  across  the  stream  by 
those  of  Longstreet  and  D.  H.  Hill,  swept  down  the  north  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy,  driving  the  enemy  to  a  further  and  stronger 
line  of  defence. 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  73 

At  Beaver  Dam  Creek,  a  small  tributary  of  the  Chickahominy, 
Porter's  corps  arrested  the  progress  of  the  Confederate  divisions  and 
held  a  position  on  the  almost  perpendicular  bank  of  the  creek, 
which  seemed  to  defy  assault.  But  the  presence  of  Gen.  Lee  upon 
the  field,  accompanied  by  the  President,  impelled  the  troops  to  the 
attack ;  the  gigantic  struggle  was  begun  here ;  the  heroic  troops 
pressed  up  to  the  stream,  but  could  effect  no  lodgment  within  .the 
hostile  works  ;  and  the  cannonade  died  away  about  nine  o'clock  in 
the  night.  Morning,  however,  brought  a  swift  solution  of  the  diffi 
culty  ;  for  at  dawn  Jackson  passed  Beaver  Dam  Creek  above  and 
turned  the  position.  It  was  at  once  evident  to  McClellan  that  the 
position  of  his  right  wing  was  no  longer  tenable,  and  he  therefore 
determined  to  concentrate  his  forces,  and  withdraw  Porter's  com 
mand  to  a  position  near  Games'  Mills,  where  he  could  concentrate 
his  forces,  and  occupy  a  range  of  heights  between  Cold  Harbour 
and  the  Chickahominy. 

It  was  evident  that  the  enemy  designed  to  fix  here  a  decisive 
field ;  and  the  Confederates  advanced  in  perfect  order,  and  with 
deliberate  dispositions  for  the  attack.  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill,  who  had 
the  advance  of  Lee's  column,  swung  round  by  New  Cold  Harbour, 
and  advanced  his  division  to  the  attack.  Jackson,  who  was  to 
form  the  left  of  the  Confederate  line,  had  not  yet  come  up,  and 
Longstreet  was  held  back  until  Jackson's  arrival  on  the  left  should 
compel  an  extension  of  the  Federal  line. 

While  Gen.  Lee  waited  to  get  all  his  division!  in  hand,  he  made 
his  temporary  headquarters  at  a  farm-house  near  the  battle-field, 
and  there  with  perfect  composure  awaited  the  critical  hour  that 
would  probably  decide  the  fate  of  the  city  whose  spires  were  in 
sight.  What  thoughts  must  have  been  in  his  mind  as  he  sat  en 
tirely  alone  on  the  rear  portico  of  the  house,  while  the  foreground 
and  the  adjoining  orchard  were  occupied  by  general  officers,  aides, 
couriers,  arid  prisoners,  making  an  animated  scene  of  war !  Offi 
cers,  who  in  a  few  moments  were  to  stand  face  to  face  with  death, 
chatted  as  gaily  as  if  they  were  going  to  a  picnic.  Some  sat  under 
the  shady  trees,  making  a  hasty  repast.  In  the  brilliant  day,  fields 
flecked  with  sunshine  and  dotted  with  dead  men  stretched  away ; 
the  white  tents  of  Magruder's  and  Huger's  troops  glanced  in  peace 
ful  light  on  the  other  side  of  the  Chickahominy  ;  in  other  direc 
tions  were  fretted  landscapes  of  cultivated  patches,  and  thickets, 


74  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

and  marshes ;  then  wooded  hill-sides ;  while,  just  screened  by  a 
narrow  zone  of  trees,  the  brow  of  an  eminence  crowned  with  bat 
teries  told  where  the  demon  of  destruction  had  taken  cover,  and 
glared  for  a  new  struggle  of  vengeance,  and  a  new  feast  of  slaugh 
ter.  Gen.  Lee  sat  alone,  as  in  a  reverie ;  there  were  marks  of 
thought  on  his  face,  but  no  cloud  of  care  upon  the  fine  open  coun 
tenance  ;  he  awaited  an  hour  on  which  hung  mighty  and  un 
told  destinies,  as  calmly  as  a  signal  for  the  ordinary  duties  of  the 
day.  It  was  past  noon  when  a  courier  rode  up,  and  delivered  some 
papers  to  him.  He  perused  them  calmly.  But  the  next  moment 
he  was  mounted,  and  with  Gen.  Longstreet  by  his  side,  was  gallop 
ing  to  New  Cold  Harbour,  three  miles  distant,  where  it  was  now 
understood  Jackson's  right  wing  had  already  arrived. 

Meanwhile,  A.  P.  Hill  had  attacked  alone,  and  had  gained  no 
advantage,  but  was  losing  ground,  when  Longstreet  advanced  to 
relieve  him.  Terrible  was  the  loss  of  the  attacking  force  as  they 
marched  over  the  open  ground  exposed  to  a  fire  of  artillery  that 
swept  every  approach  to  the  enemy's  lines.  Men  and  officers  fell 
by  hundreds  ;  mounted  officers,  who  lost  their  horses,  led  their  men 
on  foot;  an  artillery  which  was  the  pride  of  McClellan's  army 
appeared  to  devour  the  column  of  attack.  But,  as  the  right  of  the 
Confederate  line  was  thus  struggling  in  vain  against  the  terrible 
fire,  Jackson  and  D.  H.  Hill  pressed  forward  on  the  left,  and  suc 
ceeded  in  driving  back  the  forces  opposed  to  them ;  the  right 
renewed  its  efforH,  and  Gen.  Lee,  seizing  the  decisive  moment, 
ordered  a  general  advance  along  the  whole  Confederate  line.  It 
was  ordered  just  as  the  sun  touched  the  horizon.  Hood's  Texan 
troops  were  the  first  to  pierce  the  enemy's  stronghold,  and  seize  the 
guns  ;  his  left  was  broken  ;  what  batteries  he  saved  retired  in  such 
haste  as  to  overrun  the  infantry,  and  throw  the  whole  mass  of 
fugitives  into  inextricable  disorder ;  and  as  night  fell,  the  Con 
federates  were  satisfied  to  occupy  the  field  of  their  victory. 

It  was  indeed  an  important  field  gained  by  Lee,  and  one  on 
which  McClellan  had  lost  the  flower  of  his  army.  But  it  had  been 
won  by  a  boldness  of  tactics,  a  brilliant  audacity,  such  as  that  in 
which  the  master  of  the  art  of  war  asserts  his  superiority  over  the 
military  commonplace.  To  deliver  an  important  battle,  Gen.  Lee 
had  divided  his  army,  bringing  the  greater  portion  to  the  left  bank 
of  the  Chickahominy,  and  actually  at  a  greater  distance  from  Kich- 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  75 

mond  than  the  main  body  of  the  enemy's  forces.  He  had  left 
McClellan's  centre  and  left  wing  on  the  south  side  of  the  stream, 
with  apparently  easy  access  to  the  city.  Twenty-five  thousand 
Confederates  on  this  side  of  the  Chickahominy — the  troops  of 
Magruder  and  Huger — held  in  check  sixty  thousand  Federal  troops ; 
while  Lee  shattered  the  enemy's  right  wing,  and  inflicted  upon  him 
such  disaster  as  to  put  him  on  his  final  retreat.  He  knew  the  char 
acter  of  his  adversary,  his  caution,  his  methodical  genius  ;  he  cal 
culated  upon  the  exaggerated  opinions  which  McClellan  had  formed 
of  the  Confederate  numbers  ;  and  having  decided  that  it  was  practi 
cable  to  deceive  him  by  feints  of  attack  on  his  centre  and  left,  he 
quickly  determined  to  wrest  a  victory  from  his  right,  and  by  a 
sudden  blow  put  him  beyond  the  possibility  of  reclaiming  it. 

After  the  victory  of  Games'  Mills,  Gen.  Lee  entertained  no 
doubt  that  the  enemy  would  retreat,  but  by  what  line  was  as  yet 
unknown.  He  therefore  retained  the  bulk  of  his  army  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  trusting  to  Magruder  and  Huger  to 
observe  the  movements  of  the  enemy  on  their  front.  It  was  not 
until  the  night  of  the  28th,  that  Gen.  Lee  discovered  that  the 
enemy  had  been  imperfectly  watched  by  some  of  his  division  com 
manders,  and  having  gathered  his  forces,  was  in  rapid  motion  for 
James  Kiver,  pursuing  a  line  of  retreat  through  the  mass  of  forest 
and  swamps  known  as  "White  Oak  Swamp.  McClellan  had  gained 
one  precious  day,  but  he  was  not  yet  out  of  danger ;  he  had  a  con 
siderable  stretch  of  country  to  traverse  ;  his  men  were  dispirited  ; 
and  as  the  unhappy  commander  rode  down  the  long  lines  of  his 
army  to  superintend  the  retreat,  the  men  of  a  single  corps — Porter's 
— alone  cheered  as  he  went  by  ;  and  with  no  other  recognition,  the 
sorrowful  figure  of  the  defeated  General  passed  the  whole  army  on 
its  line  of  march. 

On  the  morning  of  the  29th,  Lee  put  his  columns  in  motion  in 
pursuit.  Magruder  pushed  forward  on  the  Williamsburg  road, 
expecting  that  Jackson,  who  was  to  make  the  passage  at  Grapevine 
Bridge,  and  sweep  down  the  south  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  would 
come  in  to  the  flank  and  rear  of  Savage  Station.  He  found  him 
self,  however,  engaging  only  the  rear-guard  of  the  enemy,  while 
Jackson  was  engaged  nearly  all  day  in  rebuilding  the  bridge  over 
the  Chickahominy.  The  next  morning  McClellan's  whole  army 
was  across  White  Oak  Swamp.  It  had  been  the  precise  design  of 


76  GENERAL  ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

Gen.  Lee,  that  as  the  enemy  debouched  into  the  region  looking  out 
towards  the  James,  that  Jackson,  wno  was  to  press  on  the  heels  of 
the  retreating  army,  should  come  in  immediate  communication  with 
the  force  under  Longstreet,  who  was  to  make  a  detour  by  the  roads 
skirting  the  river,  thus  uniting  the  whole  Confederate  army  so  as 
to  envelop  the  enemy,  or  pierce  his  line  of  retreat.  The  Long 
Bridge,  or  New  Market  road,  on  which  moved  the  two  divisions 
of  Longstreet  and  A.  P.  Hill,  was  nearly  at  right  angles  with  the 
road  pursued  by  the  Federal  army  on  its  retreat ;  but  as  these 
divisions  neared  the  point  of  intersection,  it  happened  that  Jack 
son's  progress  was  arrested  at  "White  Oak  Swamp,  by  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  bridges,  and  that  McClellan  was  thus  enabled,  while 
Jackson  was  paralyzed,  to  turn  upon  the  force  menacing  his  flanks. 
A  severe  fight,  known  as  the  battle  of  Frazier's  Farm,  was  main 
tained  for  several  hours ;  and  it  was  only  by  the  most  desperate 
courage  that  the  small  Confederate  force  held  the  field.  During 
the  night  the  forces  that  had  checked  Longstreet  withdrew ;  and 
Lee,  proceeding  to  collect  his  scattered  divisions — awaiting  the 
arrival  of  Magruder,  who  came  up  about  midnight,  and  that  of 
Huger,  who  should  have  come  up  on  the  right  of  Longstreet,  but 
was  too  slow  to  get  into  action,  and  joined  by  Jackson  the  next 
morning,  who  had  a  good  cause  for  his  delay — had  the  Confederate 
army  again  concentrated  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  July.  But  the 
great  opportunity  had  passed ;  and  when  he  was  next  able  to  strike 
the  enemy  it  was  only  after  the  latter  had  assembled  all  his  forces 
on  Malvern  Hill,  and  had  assured  communication  with  the  Federal 
gunboats  in  the  river. 

The  battle  of  Malvern  Hill  was  a  bloody  attempt  to  take  by 
assault  an  elevated  plateau,  on  which  the  enemy  had  planted  all 
that  remained  of  his  artillery,  and  instanced  again  the  want  of 
concert  between  Lee's  divisions.  The  troops  of  A.  P.  Hill  and 
Longstreet  were  held  in  reserve;  while  Jackson's  divisions,  on  the 
left,  and  those  under  Magruder  and  Huger,  on  the  right,  were 
advanced  to  carry  the  heights  by  storm.  But  an  attack  was  pre 
maturely  made  by  D.  H.  Hill,  commanding  one  of  Jackson's  divi 
sions  ;  it  was  not  supported  by  Magruder  and  Huger ;  and  when 
the  latter  did  finally  advance,  a  brigade  was  thrown  forward  at  a 
time,  only  to  be  beaten  back  in  detail. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  Lee's  eclat  that  the  circuit  of  victory  was 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  77 

broken  here,  and  that  the  last  incident  of  the  struggle  threw  a 
shadow  on  the  succession  of  fields  he  had  won.  But  at  least  the 
final  retreat  of  the  enemy  was  assured ;  the  Confederate  capital  was 
visibly  saved ;  and  although  Lee  had  not  ascended  to  the  climax 
of  success  he  had  designed,  and  destroyed  McClellan,  he  had  accom 
plished  a  great  and  admirable  work  with  an  army,  the  greater  por 
tion  of  which  was  raw  troops,  which  was  badly  officered,  and  which 
had  bungled  the  best  combinations  of  the  commander.  Gen.  Lee 
has  since  declared  that  "  under  ordinary  circumstances  "  the  Fede 
ral  force  which  menaced  Kichmond  should  have  been  destroyed ; 
but  his  army  was  not  as  mobile  as  he  expected ;  there  was  an  evi 
dent  disarray  throughout  it ;  some  of  the  division  commanders 
were  utterly  incompetent ;  the  scene  of  operations  was  a  country 
of  numerous  intricate  roads,  of  marshy  streams,  and  of  forests ;  and 
the  wonder  and  admiration  is  that  the  Confederate  commander 
accomplished  what  he  did  under  circumstances  so  exceptional  and 
injurious. 

In  his  official  report,  Gren.  Lee  wrote  :  "  Eegret  that  more  was 
not  accomplished,  gives  way  to  gratitude  to  the  Sovereign  Euler  of 
the  universe  for  the  results  achieved.  The  siege  of  Eichmond  was 
raised ;  and  the  object  of  a  campaign,  which  had  been  prosecuted, 
after  months  of  preparation,  at  an  enormous  expenditure  of  men 
and  money,  completely  frustrated.  More  than  10,000  prisoners, 
including  officers  of  rank,  52  pieces  of  artillery,  and  upwards  of 
35,000  stand  of  small-arms,  were  captured.  The  stores  and  sup 
plies  of  every  description  which  fell  into  our  hands  were  great  in 
amount  and  value,  but  small  in  comparison  with  those  destroyed 
by  the  enemy.  His  losses  in  battle  exceeded  our  own,  as  attested  by 
the  thousands  of  dead  and  wounded  left  on  every  field ;  while  his 
subsequent  inaction  shows  in  what  condition  the  survivors  reached 
the  protection  to  which  they  fled." 


78  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

General  Lee  the  favourite  of  the  populace. — He  moves  out  to  the  line  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock. — Cedar  Run. — Bold  and  daring  enterprise  of  General  Lee,  in  detaching 
Jackson  to  the  enemy's  rear. — A  peculiarity  of  his  campaigns. — How  he  dis 
regarded  the  maxims  of  military  science. — The  battles  of  Second  Manassas. — Gen. 
Lee  marches  for  the  fords  of  the  Potomac. — His  address  at  Frederick,  Maryland. 
— Jackson  detached  again. — McClellan  finds  an  important  paper. — The  Thermo 
pylae  of  "  South  Mountain  Pass." — Battle  of  Sharpsburg. — Gen.  Lee  obtains  a 
victory,  but  is  unable  to  press  it. — He  retires  to  Virginia. — An  authentic  state 
ment  of  Gen.  Lee's  reasons  for  the  Maryland  campaign. — His  constant  and  char 
acteristic  idea  of  defending  Richmond  by  operations  at  a  distance  from  it. — Con 
gratulations  to  his  troops. — Moral  results  of  the  campaign  of  1862. — Testimonies 
to  Southern  heroism. 

GEN.  LEE  had  fought  what  was  now  the  greatest  battle  of  the 
war,  in  sight  of  Richmond  ;  he  had  effected  the  deliverance  of  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand  people  within  sound  of  his  guns ;  he 
became  the  favourite  of  the  populace,  and  was  cheered  in  the  streets 
of  the  capital.  But  his  great  historical  fame  and  the  best  display 
of  his  abilities  was  to  commence  when  he  withdrew  from  Rich 
mond,  moved  out  to  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  for  two 
years  carried  his  arms  along  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Potomac,  and 
extended  the  blaze  of  war  to  the  very  foreground  of  Washington. 

The  failure  of  McClellan  to  take  Richmond  was  a  great  disap 
pointment  to  the  North,  but,  like  all  its  disappointments,  was  fol 
lowed  by  energetic  measures  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  On 
the  llth  July,  by  order  of  President  Lincoln,  Gen.  Halleck  was 
appointed  General-in-Chief  of  the  whole  land  forces  of  the  United 
States.  Gen.  Burnside,  with  a  large  portion  of  his  army,  was 
recalled  from  North  Carolina,  and  dispatched  to  the  James  River  to 
reinforce  Gen.  McClellan,  and  plans  were  considered  for  another 
advance  on  Richmond,  under  the  guidance  of  Gen.  Pope,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  forces  in  the  vicinity  of 
Washington,  and  in  the  Shenandoan  Valley. 

But  while  these  movements  were  in  progress,  Gen.  Lee  had 


GENERAL  EOBEET  EDWAED  LEE.  79 

detached  Jackson  to  check  Pope  in  his  supposed  advance  on  Gor- 
donsville,  which  he  effectually  did  by  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run ; 
and  in  a  few  weeks,  the  Confederate  commander  removed  from 
James  Eiver,  and  massed  his  army  between  the  Rappahannock 
and  the  Rapidan,  directly  on  the  flank  of  the  new  Grand  Army 
which  Pope  had  assembled.  In  his  expectation,  however,  of  a 
decisive  battle  here,  he  was  disappointed.  Gen.  Pope  had  no 
intention  of  renewing  a  trial  of  strength  with  the  Confederates 
after  his  experience  at  Cedar  Run ;  and  with  a  prudence  which  ill 
assorted  with  his  insolent  address  to  his  troops,  promising  them 
that  they  should  see  nothing  but  the  "  backs  of  rebels,"  he  fell 
back  promptly  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rappahannock,  and, 
crowning  every  hill  with  his  batteries,  prepared  to  dispute  the 
passage  of  the  river. 

In  this  situation  Gen.  Lee  conceived  a  bold  and  daring  enter 
prise,  which  appears  never  to  have  entered  even  the  imagination 
of  the  enemy.  In  the  morning  of  the  24th  August,  he  sent  for 
a  courier,  and  after  asking  Gen.  Chilton,  his  Adjutant-General,  if  he 
was  sure  the  man  could  be  relied  upon,  he  said  to  that  officer : 
"  General,  make  it  a  positive  order  to  Gen.  Jackson  to  march  through 
Thoroughfare  Gap,  and  attack  the  enemy  in  the  rear,  while  I  bring 
up  the  rest  of  the  army ; "  and  then  turning  to  the  courier, 
remarked :  "  Young  man,  if  you  are  not  well  mounted,  my 
Inspector-General  will  see  that  you  are,"  The  order  was  swiftly 
conveyed,  and  by  night  Jackson  had  taken  up  his  hard  and  peril 
ous  march  in  the  direction  indicated. 

The  detachment  of  Jackson  with  twenty  thousand  men,  so  as 
to  have  the  whole  army  of  Pope  interposed  between  it  and  its 
friends,  was  a  hazardous  measure,  and  was  in  fact  contrary  to  the 
maxims  of  the  military  art,  as  it  put  Lee  to  the  risk  of  being 
beaten  in  detail.  But  there  is  a  higher  generalship  than  that  of 
formal  maxims,  which  quickly  and  rightly  estimates  the  mind  and 
temper  of  an  adversary,  and  founds  its  plan  of  action  on  these  con 
ditions,  rather  than  on  fixed  rules  of  military  science,  and  often  in 
defiance  of  them  ;  and  of  this  supreme  and  fine  order  of  general 
ship,  we  shall  find  many  instances  in  the  career  of  Lee.  We  have 
already  seen  a  display  of  it  in  the  battles  around  Richmond,  when, 
to  obtain  a  great  victory,  he  exposed  an  advantage  to  McClellan, 
which  he  calculated  his  mind  and  temper  were  incapable  of  seiz- 


80  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

ing ;  and  we  now  find  him  repeating  the  same  experiment  with 
Pope,  and  using,  as  a  great  General  always  does,  knowledge  of  the 
character  of  his  opponent  as  a  condition  of  his  enterprises.  This 
peculiarity,  indeed,  runs  through  the  whole  of  Gen.  Lee's  campaigns, 
and  is  most  interesting  in  its  suggestions ;  it  exhibits  what  at  first 
view  seems  a  curious  inexplicable  union  of  great  prudence  on  some 
occasions,  with  the  most  daring  enterprise  on  others ;  and  it  offers 
to  the  military  inquirer  a  fine  study  of  those  instances  in  which 
genius  surmounts  the  rules  of  war,  constructs  theories  on  moral  as 
well  as  material  grounds,  and  wins  victories  in  spite  of  the  maxims 
of  science. 

Had  Pope  been  a  Lee,  the  order  which  detached  Jackson  to  the 
rear,  would  indeed  have  been  putting  the  Confederate  army  in  the 
jaws  of  death.  As  it  was,  the  movement  took  him  by  the  surprise 
which  Lee  had  calculated,  and  when  he  heard  that  Jackson  was  in 
his  rear  at  Manassas,  he  was  so  utterly  unable  to  take  into  his  ima 
gination  a  thing  so  opposed  to  his  military  commonplaces,  so  little 
sensible  of  the  extent  of  the  enterprise,  that  he  at  first  supposed  it 
was  only  an  incursion  of  cavalry  upon  his  supplies. 

When  at  last  Pope's  army  faced  towards  Washington,  Lee  and 
Longstreet  at  once  started  on  the  circuitous  march  through  Thor 
oughfare  Gap,  to  join  Jackson.  When  they  came  up  with  him, 
along  the  line  of  the  Manassas  Gap  Eailroad,  he  had  already  fought 
the  battle  of  Groveton  ;  and  on  the  29th  August,  he  sustained  the 
shock  of  Pope's  attack,  with  no  assistance  from  Longstreet,  beyond 
a  few  brigades  sent  to  his  support  in  the  evening.  The  great  battle 
occurred  on  the  30th  August. 

The  enemy  had  been  reinforced,  but  from  the  experience  of  the 
two  preceding  days,  appeared  to  have  lost  much  of  his  confidence, 
and  to  hesitate  in  manoeuvres  for  attack.  For  a  considerable  time 
the  action  was  fought  principally  with  artillery.  Then  followed  an 
advance  in  three  lines  of  the  Federal  infantry,  which  was  repulsed 
with  great  loss  by  the  concentrated  fire  of  some  batteries  posted  on 
a  commanding  position.  It  was  now  evening,  and  Gen.  Lee  per 
ceiving  that  there  was  confusion  in  the  enemy's  lines,  ordered  a 
general  advance.  Jackson  on  the  left,  and  Longstreet  on  the  right, 
pushed  forward.  The  advance  was  never  checked  ;  the  result  was, 
the  enemy  was  driven  back  in  confusion  over  the  old  battle-ground 
of  Bull  Kun ;  a  large  number  of  prisoners  were  captured — 7,000 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  81 

paroled  on  the  field  of  battle — and  the  remains  of  Pope's  army, 
during  the  night  of  the  30th,  crossed  Bull  Eun  stream,  and  took 
refuge  behind  the  field-works  at  Centreville,  where  Sumner's  and 
Franklin's  corps,  which  had  arrived  from  Alexandria  and  the  lines 
around  Washington,  were  drawn  up. 

The  next  morning,  the  enemy  was  discovered  in  the  strong  posi 
tion  at  Centreville,  and  Gen.  Lee's  army  was  put  in  motion  towards 
the  Little  Kiver  turnpike,  to  turn  his  right.  Upon  reaching  Ox 
Hill,  on  the  1st  September,  Gen.  Lee  again  discovered  the  enemy 
in  his  front,  on  the  heights  of  Germantown ;  and  about  5  P.M.  a 
spirited  attack  was  made  by  the  Federals  upon  the  front  and  right 
of  Lee's  columns,  with  a  view  of  apparently  covering  the  with 
drawal  of  their  trains  on  the  Centreville  road,  and  masking  their 
retreat.  The  position  of  the  Confederates  was  maintained  with  but 
slight  loss  on  both  sides.  Maj.-Gen.  Kearney  was  left  by  the  enemy 
dead  on  the  field.  During  the  night  the  enemy  fell  back  .to  Fair 
fax  Court-house,  and  abandoned  his  position  at  Centreville.  The 
next  day,  about  noon,  he  evacuated  Fairfax  Court-house,  taking 
the  roads  to  Alexandria  and  Washington. 

So  far,  the  summer  campaign  in  Virginia  had  been  a  succession 
of  Confederate  victories.  Gen.  Lee  had  already  obtained  an  extraor 
dinary  reputation  for  moderation  in  his  statements  of  success,  and 
when  he  telegraphed  to  Eichmond  that  he  had  obtained,  on  the 
plains  of  Manassas,  "  a  signal  victory,"  the  popular  joy  was  assured. 
The  results  were  large  and  brilliant.  Virginia  was  now  cleared  of 
invading  armies,  and  there  was  no  appearance  of  an  enemy  within 
her  borders,  save  at  the  fortified  posts  along  the  coast,  where  they 
were  protected  by  their  overwhelming  naval  forces,  at  Alexandria, 
and  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and  Martinsburg,  in  the  Valley.  A  circuit 
of  wonderful  victories  illuminated  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy ; 
an  aggregate  force  of  the  enemy,  much  exceeding  200,000  men, 
had  been  defeated  ;  an  immense  spoil  had  been  gathered  ;  and  in  a 
few  weeks  the  war  had  been  carried  from  the  gates  of  Eichmond 
to  the  foreground  of  the  enemy's  capital. 

But  Gen.  Lee  was  not  a  man  to  repose  on  laurels,  when  there 
were  others  yet  to  be  won.  On  the  3d  September  his  army  was- 
on  the  march  for  the  fords  of  the  Potomac!  He  had  quickly  re 
solved  to  turn  aside  from  Washington,  cross  the  Potomac,  and  pur 
sue  his  advantage  by  invading  the  country  of  the  enemy  in  return, 

6 


82  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

and  thus  give  such,  occupation  to  him  as  would  secure  to  Virginia, 
during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  a  respite  from  the  devastations 
of  war,  and  the  burden  of  invading  armies.  It  was  considered, 
too,  in  some  quarters,  that  such  a  movement  might  inspirit  the 
people  of  Maryland  to  attempt  something  in  the  way  of  their  own 
liberation  ;  and  that  there  might  be  many  speculative  results  of  an 
invasion  of  the  enemy's  territory,  which  the  temper  of  the  South 
had  so  long  demanded. 

On  the  8th  September  we  find  Gen.  Lee  assembling  his  army 
at  Frederick,  in  Maryland,  and  issuing  the  following  address  to 
the  people  of  that  State : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OP  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 

"NEAR FREDERICK,  Monday,  Sept.  8,  1862. 

"To  THE  PEOPLE  OF  MARYLAND: — It  is  right  that  you 
should  know  the  purpose  that  has  brought  the  army  under  my 
command  within  the  limits  of  your  State,  so  far  as  that  purpose 
concerns  yourselves.  The  people  of  the  Confederate  States  have 
long  watched  with  the  deepest  sympathy  the  wrongs  and  outrages 
that  have  been  inflicted  upon  the  citizens  of  a  commonwealth  allied 
to  the  States  of  the  South  by  the  strongest  social,  political,  and  com 
mercial  ties,  and  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  conquered  province. 
Under  the  pretence  of  supporting  the  Constitution,  but  in  viola 
tion  of  its  most  valuable  provisions,  your  citizens  have  been  ar 
rested  and  imprisoned,  upon  no  charge,  and  contrary  to  all  the 
forms  of  law.  A  faithful  and  manly  protest  against  this  outrage, 
made  by  an  illustrious  Marylander,  to  whom,  in  better  days,  no 
citizen  appealed  for  right  in  vain,  was  treated  with  contempt  and 
scorn.  The  government  of  your  chief  city  has  been  usurped  by 
armed  strangers ;  your  Legislature  has  been  dissolved  by  the  un 
lawful  arrest  of  its  members  ;  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press 
has  been  suppressed;  words  have  been  declared  offences  by  an 
arbitrary  decree  of  the  Federal  Executive,  and  citizens  ordered  to 
be  tried  by  military  commissions  for  what  they  may  dare  to  speak. 

"  Believing  that  the  people  of  Maryland  possess  a  spirit  too 
lofty  to  submit  to  such  a  -Government,  the  people  of  the  South 
have  long  wished  to  aid  you  in  throwing  off  this  foreign  yoke,  to 
enable  you  again  to  enjoy  the  inalienable  rights  of  freemen,  and 
restore  the  independence  and  sovereignty  of  your  State.  In 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  83 

obedience  to  this  wish,  our  army  has  come  among  you,  and  is  pre 
pared  to  assist  you  with  the  power  of  its  arms  in  regaining  the 
rights  of  which  you  have  been  so  unjustly  despoiled.  This,  citi 
zens  of  Maryland,  is  our  mission,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned.  No 
restraint  on  your  free  will  is  intended  ;  no  intimidation  will  be  al 
lowed  within  the  limits  of  this  army,  at  least.  Marylanders  shall 
once  more  enjoy  their  ancient  freedom  of  thought  and  speech. 
We  know  no  enemies  among  you,  and  will  protect  all  of  you  in 
every  opinion.  It  is  for  you  to  decide  your  destiny,  freely  and 
without  constraint.  This  army  will  respect  your  choice,  whatever 
it  may  be ;  and  while  the  Southern  people  will  rejoice  to  welcome 
you  to  your  natural  position  among  them,  they  will  only  welcome 
you  when  you  come  in  of  your  own  free  will. 

UE.  E.  LEE,   General  Commanding." 

Gen.  Lee  had  supposed  that  his  advance  to  Frederick  would 
cause  the  evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry.  This  not  having  occur 
red,  and  it  being  necessary  to  open  the  line  of  communication 
through  the  Valley,  Jackson's  command  was  detached  to  accom 
plish  this  purpose ;  it  being  calculated  by  Gen.  Lee  that  the  re 
duction  of  Harper's  Ferry  would  be  accomplished,  and  his  columns 
again  concentrated,  before  he  would  be  called  upon  to  meet  the 
Federal  army,  which,  placed  again  under  the  command  of  McClel- 
lan,  showed  great  hesitation  in  the  resumption  of  the  campaign, 
and  was  evidently  bewildered  as  to  the  designs  of  the  Confederates. 
But  these  designs  were  betrayed  by  a  singular  circumstance. 
While  Gen.  Lee  moved  to  Boonsboro  and  Hagerstown,  to  await 
Jackson's  operations,  there  curiously  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy  a  copy  of  the  order  which  Gen.  Lee  had  prepared  at  Fred 
erick,  detailing  with  exactitude  the  proposed  movements  of  the 
several  portions  of  his  army.  The  paper  had  been  conveyed  to 
Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  who  from  some  cause  of  dissatisfaction,  and  in  a 
characteristic  fit  of  impatience,  tossed  it  to  the  ground ;  and,  lying 
there  forgotten,  it  was  picked  up  by  a  soldier  of  the  Federal  army, 
and  forwarded  at  once  to  McClellan,  who  thus  became  possessed 
of  the  exact  detail  of  his  adversary's  plan  of  operations. 

McClellan  immediately  ordered  a  rapid  movement  towards  Har 
per's  Ferry ;  and  Gen.  Lee,  unaware  of  what  had  happened,  was 
surprised  to  find  the  Federal  army  marching  from  its  lines,  with 


84  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

the  intention  of  offering  battle,  and  relieving  Harper's  Ferry.  The 
division  of  D.  H.  Hill  was  instantly  ordered  to  guard  the  South 
Mountain  pass,  and  Longstreet  was  instructed  to  move  from  Ha- 
gerstown  to  his  support.  A  severe  action  took  place  here  ;  but  the 
object  was  only  to  delay  the  enemy ;  and  when  at  last  McClellan 
broke  through  South  Mountain  and  was  in  position  to  relieve  the 
beleaguered  force  at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  found  it  had  already  been 
surrendered  to  the  rapid  and  indomitable  Jackson.  Meanwhile, 
the  forces  of  Longstreet  and  D.  H.  Hill  were  withdrawn  into  the 
valley  of  the  Antietam ;  and  Gen.  Lee  prepared  to  take  position 
to  confront  a  united  army,  far  larger  than  his  own,  advancing  to 
meet  him,  and  to  fight  a  battle  against  superiour  forces,  not  for  con 
quest,  but  for  safety. 

On  the  14th  and  15th  September,  Gen.  Lee  took  up  a  posi 
tion  on  a  range  of  low  heights  near  the  creek  of  Antietam;  the 
little  town  of  Sharpsburg,  which  gave  the  Confederate  name  to  the 
battle  that  was  to  ensue,  being  almost  in  the  centre  of  his  line. 
The  undulations  of  the  ground  and  the  thick  masses  of  wood  that 
clothed  the  hill-sides  enabled  him  to  conceal  the  strength  of  his 
army.  On  the  16th,  Jackson  arrived  from  Harper's  Ferry  with  a 
greater  portion  of  his  corps ;  but  the  divisions  of  McLaws,  Ander- 
son,  Walker,  and  A.  P.  Hill,  had  not  yet  effected  a  junction  with 
Gen.  Lee,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  17th,  about  33,000  Confed 
erates  were  in  line  of  battle  to  engage  a  united  army  which  certainly 
exceeded  100,000  men  within  the  limits  of  the  field.  It  was  an 
anxious  situation  for  the  Confederates.  Gen.  Jackson  held  the  left 
of  the  line,  extending  from  near  the  Potomac  to  the  Sharpsburg 
and  Boonsboro  road ;  in  the  centre  was  D.  H.  Hill's  division,  and 
the  right  was  but  thinly  occupied  by  what  remained  of  Longstreet's 
corps. 

As  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  September  broke,  the  batteries 
of  both  armies  opened  fire,  and  the  battle  was  commenced  by 
Hooker  attacking  with  a  corps  of  18,000  men  on  the  Confederate 
left.  Here  for  several  hours  the  action  raged  with  varying  success. 
The  Confederates  for  some  time  held  their  ground,  though  suffering 
terribly.  More  than  half  the  brigades  forming  the  first  line  were 
either  killed  or  wounded,  together  with  nearly  every  regimental 
commander.  Of  this  appalling  loss,  Gen.  Early,  who  took  com 
mand  of  Swell's  old  division,  after  Gen.  Lawton  had  been  shot 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  85 

down,  says  :  "  The  terrible  nature  of  the  conflict  in  which  these 
brigades  had  been  engaged,  and  the  steadiness  with  which  they 
maintained  their  position,  is  shown  by  the  losses  they  sustained. 
They  did  not  retire  from  the  field  until  Gen.  Lawton  (commanding 
division)  had  been  wounded  and  borne  from  the  field.  Col,  Doug 
las,  commanding  Lawton's  Brigade,  had  been  killed,  and  the 
brigade  had  sustained  a  loss  of  554  killed  and  wounded,  out  of 
1,150,  losing  five  regimental  commanders  out  of  six.  Hayes, 
Brigade  had  sustained  a  loss  of  323  out  of  550,  including  every 
regimental  commander  and  all  of  his  staff;  and  Col.  Walker  and 
one  of  his  staff  had  been  disabled,  and  the  brigade  he  was  com 
manding  had  sustained  a  loss  of  228  out  of  less  than  700  present, 
including  three  out  of  four  regimental  commanders." 

But  as  the  Confederate-  line  at  last  gave  way  under  an  attack  so 
terrible,  some  portions  of  Walker's  and  McLaw's  divisions  reached 
the  field,  and  Early,  converting  the  defence  into  an  attack,  led  for 
ward  his  brigades,  drove  back  Hooker's  corps,  and  shook  the 
Federal  line  so  severely  that  McClellan  feared  at  one  time  that  his 
centre  would  be  broken.  The  retreat,  however,  of  the  enemy's 
infantry,  unmasked  the  powerful  artillery  in  the  first  line  of  woods, 
and  the  fire  from  these  batteries  checked  the  Confederate  pursuit. 

While  the  battle  slackened  here,  there  occurred  on  another  part 
of  the  field  a  yet  more  critical  and  desperate  struggle,  occasioned 
by  the  effort  of  Burnside  to  obtain  possession  of  the  lower  bridge 
over  the  Antietam.  Five  attacks  here  at  different  times,  were 
heroically  repulsed  by  two  Georgia  regiments  under  Gen.  Toombs, 
and  the  enemy  was  at  last  compelled,  by  crossing  the  fords  lower 
down,  to  flank  the  position,  Toombs  withdrawing  his  command, 
and  Burnside  being  content  to  hold  the  bridge  without  demonstrat 
ing  further.  About  3  P.M.,  however,  there  came  an  imperative 
order  from  McClellan  that  Burnside  should  press  forward  to  the 
attack  of  the  batteries  on  the  heights  in  his  front.  Here  again  the 
first  incident  was  a  successful  advance  of  the  enemy ;  Burnside 
gained  the  crest,  driving  back  Jones's  division  of  2,000  men.  But 
at  this  critical  moment  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  arrived  on  the  ground  from 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  took  up  a  position  on  the  right  of  the  Confed 
erate  line,  and  opposed  to  Burnside.  This  reinforcement  was  most 
opportune ;  it  enabled  the  Confederates  to  assume  the  offensive, 
and  Burnside  was  driven  from  the  heights  he  had  carried,  and  with 


86  GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

some  difficulty  maintained  his  hold  of  the  bridge.  It  was  now  a 
desperate  time  with  the  enemy.  A  correspondent  of  a  Northern 
newspaper  thus  describes  what  was  taking  place  on  the  Federal 
side  in  the  half  hour  of  daylight  that  was  yet  left :  "  More  infantry 
comes  up ;  Burnside  is  outnumbered,  flanked,  compelled  to  yield 
the  hill  he  took  so  bravely.  His  position  is  no  longer  one  of 
attack  ;  he  defends  himself  with  unfaltering  firmness,  but  he 
sends  to  McClellan  for  help.  McClellan's  glass  for  the  last  half- 
hour  has  seldom  been  turned  away  from  the  left.  He  sees  clearly 
enough  that  Burnside  is  pressed — needs  no  messenger  to  tell  him 
that.  His  face  grows  darker  with  anxious  thought.  Looking 
down  into  the  valley  where  15,000  troops  are  lying,  he  turns  a 
half-questioning  look  on  Fitz-John  Porter,  who  stands  by  his  side, 
gravely  scanning  the  field.  They  are  Porter's  troops  below, 
are  fresh,  and  only  impatient  to  share  in  this  fight.  But  Porter 
slowly  shakes  his  head,  and  one  may  believe  that  the  same  thought 
is  passing  through  the  minds  of  both  Generals.  '  They  are  the  only 
reserves  of  the  army  ;  they  cannot  be  spared.'  McClellan  remounts 
his  horse,  and  with  Porter  and  a  dozen  officers  of  his  staff,  rides 
away  to  the  left  in  Burnside's  direction.  Sykes  meets  them  on  the 
road — a  good  soldier,  whose  opinion  is  worth  taking.  The  three 
Generals  talk  briefly  together.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  moment 
has  come  when  everything  may  turn  on  one  order  given  or  with 
held,  when  the  history  of  the  battle  is  only  to  be  written  in 
thoughts  and  purposes  and  words  of  the  General.  Burnside's  mes 
senger  rides  up.  His  message  is :  '  I  want  troops  and  guns.  If 
you  do  not  send  them,  I  cannot  hold  my  position  half  an  hour.' 
McClellan's  only  answer  for  the  moment  is  a  glance  at  the  western 
sky.  Then  he  turns  and  speaks  very  slowly  :  '  Tell  Gen.  Burnside 
this  is  the  battle  of  the  war.  He  must  hold  his  ground  till  dark  at 
any  cost.  I  will  send  him  Miller's  battery.  I  can  do  nothing 
more.  I  have  no  infantry.'  Then  as  the  messenger  was  riding 
away  he  called  him  back.  '  Tell  him  if  he  cannot  hold  his  ground, 
then  the  bridge  to  the  last  man ! — always  the  bridge  !  If  the  bridge 
is  lost,  all  is  lost,'" 

But  the  Confederates  did  not  press  their  advantage ;  they  found 
the  approaches  to  the  Antietam  swept  by  a  heavy  artillery  fire ; 
they  were  too  much  exhausted  to  encounter  fresh  troops  of  the 
enemy,  and  as  night  fell  they  were  recalled  to  their  former  posi- 


GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  87 

tion,  satisfied  to  have  driven  Burnside  under  the  shelter  of  his 
batteries. 

The  next  day  McClellan  was  indisposed  to  renew  the  battle. 
He  consulted  anxiously  with  his  officers,  and  finally  resolved  to 
defer  attack  during  the  18th,  with  the  determination,  however  (as 
he  reports),  to  renew  it  on  the  19th,  if  reinforcements  expected 
from  "Washington  should  arrive.  The  morning  of  the  19th  came, 
and  with  it  the  discovery  that  Lee  had  withdrawn  across  the 
Potomac,  and  already  stood  again  with  his  army  on  the  soil  of 
Virginia.  Although  victory  had  inclined  to  him  on  the  field  of 
Sharpsburg,  the  Confederate  commander  readily  perceived  that 
with  his  worn  and  diminished  army  he  could  not  hope  to  make 
head  against  an  army  so  superiour  in  numbers,  and  situated  so  as 
to  receive  constant  reinforcements ;  that,  in  fact,  there  was  an  end 
to  the  invasion,  although  all  the  other  objects  of  the  campaign  had 
been  fully  accomplished ;  and  so,  with  a  sufficient  sum  of  glory, 
without  loss  or  molestation  on  their  retreat,  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  crossed  the  Potomac,  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Bunker 
Hill  and  Winchester  to  recruit  before  being  moved  to  Lee's  fa 
vourite  ground  of  combat  between  the  Kapidan  and  the  Kappa- 
hannock,  and  concluded  the  ever-memorable  campaign  of  the 
summer  and  autumn  of  1862. 

Gen.  Lee  always  claimed  Sharpsburg  as  a  Confederate  victory. 
His  force  on  that  field,  all  told,  including  the  divisions  which  came 
up  in  the  evening,  was  less  than  40,000  men ;  with  these  numbers 
he  had  inflicted  a  loss  upon  the  enemy  of  12,500  men — nearly 
double  his  own — had  gained  some  ground,  and  although  too 
weak  to  assume  the  offensive,  had  awaited  steadily  for  a  whole 
day  a  renewal  of  the  attack.  But  if  Sharpsburg  had  been 
more  than  a  statistical  victory — one  constituted  by  a  com 
parison  of  casualty  lists — if  Gen.  Lee  had  routed  McClellan 
and  broken  the  only  array  of  force  between  him  and  Wash 
ington,  he  would  then  have  had  at  his  mercy  the  capital,  and 
all  the  principal  cities  of  the  North,  and  would  probably  have 
been  able  to  continue  his  invasion  to  the  successful  issue  of  peace 
and  independence  ;  and  it  was  only  with  respect  to  such  a  result, 
pictured  by  the  lively  popular  imagination  of  the  South,  that  his 
campaign  fell  short,  and  produced  a  feeling  of  disappointment. 
How  fearful  was  the  situation  was  well  described  in  McClellan's 


88  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

own  words,  when,  speaking  of  what  depended  on  the  field  of 
Sharpsburg,  he  declared :  "  At  that  moment,  Virginia  lost,  Wash 
ington  menaced,  Maryland  invaded,  the  national  cause  could  afford 
no  risks  of  defeat.  One  battle  lost,  and  almost  all  would  have 
been  lost.  Lee's  army  might  then  have  marched  as  it  pleased  on 
Washington,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  or  New  York.  It  could 
have  levied  its  supplies  from  a  fertile  and  undevastated  country, 
extorted  tribute  from  wealthy  and  populous  cities ;  and  nowhere 
east  of  the  Alleghanies  was  there  another  organized  force  able  to 
arrest  its  march."  These  almost  mortal  apprehensions  of  the 
enemy  were  not  realized.  The  idea  of  an  invasion  reaching  to  the 
vitals  of  the  North  had  to  be  abandoned ;  the  prospects  of  a  popu 
lar  rising  in  Maryland  proved  illusory  ;  but  although  these  expecta 
tions  of  the  campaign,  which  were  popular  and  speculative,  and 
really  subordinate  in  Gen.  Lee's  plan  of  action,  were  not  fulfilled, 
the  result  actually  accomplished  was  a  real  and  considerable  suc 
cess,  and  answered  the  reasonable  expectations  of  the  commander. 
This  success  consisted  in  the  facts  that  Virginia  was  relieved  of 
invading  armies ;  that  a  respite  was  obtained  for  the  revival  of  her 
industry  and  the  collection  of  her  resources ;  that  important  time 
was  secured  for  recruiting  and  reorganizing  the  army ;  and  that 
"  the  line  of  the  Eappahannock  "  was  cleared,  and  made  the  proper 
defence  of  Richmond. 

So  many  various  reasons  have  been  ascribed  to  Gen.  Lee  for  his 
movement  into  Maryland,  and  that  campaign  has  been  estimated 
on  so  many  different  hypotheses,  that  it  will  be  well  here  to  give 
the  authentic  version  of  it,  and  with  it  the  key  to  all  of  Gen.  Lee's 
campaigns  in  the  war.  When  he  first  took  command  before  Rich 
mond  he  had  conceived  the  idea  that  the  proper  line  of  defence  for 
the  capital  was  at  the  greatest  possible  distance  from  it,  and  that 
any  investment  of  the  city  by  the  enemy's  forces,  unless  it  could 
be  speedily  broken,  would  ultimately  and  surely  prove  fatal  to  the 
defenders.  The  situation  of  Richmond  he  regarded  as  peculiar, 
and  as  plainly  justifying  this  view  of  defence.  It  was  an  inland 
city,  fed  by  seven  different  railroads  and  one  canal,  and  was 
entirely  dependent  on  its  communications ;  and  as  Gen.  Lee  prop 
erly  assumed,  what  the  war  subsequently  proved,  that  railroads 
could  not  be  protected  against  cavalry,  he  concluded  that  Richmond 
could  not  be  held  as  a  defensive  point,  and  was  to  be  protected  by 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  89 

an  army  operating  at  some  distance  from  it,  with  its  lines  of  supply 
drawn  through  the  city.  His  great  anxiety  was  to  keep  the  war 
as  far  as  possible  from  Kichmond,  and  especially  to  get  it  on  the 
enemy's  frontier,  so  as  to  relieve  the  country  he  protected,  and 
make  himself  sure  of  supplies.  This  idea  ran  through  all  his  cam 
paigns.  It  urged  him  to  cross  the  Potomac  whenever  he  could, 
and  at  any  rate  to  keep  the  war  on  the  line  of  the  Eappahannock. 
The  persistent  effort  of  all  his  campaigns  was  to  make  the  theatre 
of  operations  as  far  as  possible  from  Kichmond ;  and  in  the  last 
periods  of  the  war,  when  the  army  holding  that  city  and  its  out 
posts  was  almost  palsied,  we  shall  find  him  making  the  last,  despe 
rate,  characteristic  effort  to  relieve  the  capital  by  a  campaign  in  the 
Valley  and  on  the  Potomac. 

But  we  must  not  anticipate  the  events  of  the  war,  and  we 
return  to  consider  the  results  of  the  Maryland  campaign.  The 
account  of  the  operations  of  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1862  is 
appropriately  concluded  with  Gen.  Lee's  address  to  his  troops  on. 
their  return  to  Virginia : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OP  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 

October  2,  1862. 

In  reviewing  the  achievements  of  the  army  during  the  present 
campaign,  the  Commanding  General  cannot  withhold  the  expres 
sion  of  his  admiration  of  the  indomitable  courage  it  has  displayed 
in  battle,  and  its  cheerful  endurance  of  privation  and  hardship  on 
the  march. 

Since  your  great  victories  around  Eichmond,  you  have  defeated 
the  enemy  at  Cedar  Mountain,  expelled  him  from  the  Eappahan 
nock,  and,  after  a  conflict. of  three  days,  utterly  repulsed  him 
on  the  plains  of  Manassas,  and  forced  him  to  take  shelter  within 
the  fortifications  around  his  capital. 

"Without  halting  for  repose  you  crossed  the  Potomac,  stormed 
the  heights  of  Harper's  Ferry,  made  prisoners  of  more  than  eleven 
thousand  men,  and  captured  upwards  of  seventy  pieces  of  artillery, 
all  their  small -arms,  and  other  munitions  of  war. 

While  one  corps  of  the  army  was  thus  engaged,  the  other 
insured  its  success  by  arresting,  at  Boonsboro,  the  combined  armies 
of  the  enemy,  advancing  under  their  favourite  General  to  the  relief 
of  their  beleaguered  comrades. 


90  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

On  the  field  of  Sharpsburg,  with  less  than  one-third  his  num 
bers,  you  resisted,  from  daylight  until  dark,  the  whole  army  of  the 
enemy,  and  repulsed  every  attack  along  his  entire  front,  of  more 
than  four  miles  in  extent. 

The  whole  of  the  following  day  you  stood  prepared  to  resume 
the  conflict  on  the  same  ground,  and  retired  next  morning,  with 
out  molestation,  across  the  Potomac. 

Two  attempts,  subsequently  made  by  the  enemy,  to  follow  you 
across  the  river,  have  resulted  in  his  complete  discomfiture  and 
being  driven  back  with  loss. 

Achievements  such  as  these  demanded  much  valour  and  patriot 
ism.  History  records  few  examples  of  greater  fortitude  and  endur 
ance  than  this  army  has  exhibited ;  and  I  am  commissioned  by  the 
President  to  thank  you  in  the  name  of  the  Confederate  States  for 
the  undying  fame  you  have  won  for  their  arms. 

Much  as  you  have  done,  much  more  remains  to  be  accom 
plished.  The  enemy  again  threatens  us  with  invasion,  and  to 
your  tried  valour  and  patriotism  the  country  looks  with  confidence 
for  deliverance  and  safety.  Your  past  exploits  give  assurance  that 
this  confidence  is  not  misplaced. 

E.  E.  LEE,  General  Commanding. 

The  moral  effect  of  the  campaign  which  Gen.  Lee  had  now  con 
cluded  is  too  large  and  brilliant  to  be  omitted  from  any  estimate 
of  results.  To  the  world  it  was  a  chapter  of  wonders.  It  had 
accomplished  a  sum  of  victories  unequalled  in  the  same  space  of 
time  by  anything  in  the  previous  or  subsequent  experience  of  the 
war ;  it  had  made  a  record  of  toils,  hardships,  and  glories  famous  in 
history ;  it  had  accumulated  a  brilliant  spoil ;  and  the  wonderful 
statement  is  derived  from  the  books  of  the  provost-marshal  in  Eich- 
mond,  that  in  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks  the  Confederates  had  taken 
and  paroled  no  less  than  forty-odd  thousand  prisoners !  If  "  the 
opinion  of  foreign  nations  may  be  taken  as  an  anticipation  of  the 
judgment  of  posterity,"  the  Confederates  had  already  for  these 
achievements  an  assurance  of  historical  memory  that  nothing  could 
defeat.  Of  the  events  we  have  narrated,  the  leading  journal  of 
Europe — the  London  Times — declared :  "  The  people  of  the  Con 
federate  States  have  made  themselves  famous.  If  the  renown  of 
brilliant  courage,  stern  devotion  to  a  cause,  and  military  achieve- 


GENEEAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  91 

ments  almost  without  a  parallel,  can  compensate  men  for  the  toil 
and  privations  of  the  hour,  then  the  countrymen  of  Lee  and  Jack 
son  may  be  consoled  amid  their  sufferings.  From  all  parts  of 
Europe,  from  their  enemies  as  well  as  their  friends,  from  those 
who  condemn  their  acts  as  well  as  those  who  sympathize  with 
them,  comes  the  tribute  of  admiration.  When  the  history  of  this 
war  is  written,  the  admiration  will  doubtless  become  deeper  and 
stronger,  for  the  veil  which  has  covered  the  South  will  be  drawn 
away,  and  disclose  a  picture  of  patriotism,  of  unanimous  self-sacri 
fice,  of  wise  and  firm  administration,  which  we  can  now  only  see 
indistinctly.  The  details  of  extraordinary  national  effort  which 
has  led  to  the  repulse  and  almost  to  the  destruction  of  an  invading 
force  of  more  than  half  a  million  of  men,  will  then  become  known 
to  the  world ;  and,  whatever  may  be  the  fate  of  the  new  nation 
ality,  or  its  subsequent  claims  to  the  respect  of  mankind,  it  will 
assuredly  begin  its  career  with  a  reputation  for  genius  and  valour 
which  the  most  famous  nations  may  envy." 

Even  the  enemy  was  forced  to  tributes  of  admiration.  "  It  was 
not,"  writes  a  historian*  of  the  events,  <{  without  mixed  feelings 
that  the  better  classes  in  the  North  heard  of  the  exploits  of  their 
former  fellow-countrymen.  They  could  not  but  admire  the  mili 
tary  qualities  and  personal  character  of  the  leaders  of  the  Confed 
erate  armies ;  and  although  feeling  the  reproach  that  their  own 
well-equipped  troops  had  been  beaten  by  men  who  possessed  few 
of  their  advantages,  yet  they  received  some  comfort  from  the  fact 
that  their  opponents  were  Americans.  Even  if  a  portion  of  the 
Democratic  party  could  scarce  refrain  from  the  opinion  that  a 
Union  under  President  Davis  and  Gen.  Lee  would  be  preferable  to 
discord  under  President  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Stan  ton,  few  can  blame 
them." 

Indeed,  this  admiration  of  the  Confederates  went  so  far  that  pop 
ular  orators  in  New  York  freely  and  abundantly  declared  that  the 
war  had  increased  the  respect  felt  by  the  North  for  the  South. 
For  once,  without  the  fear  of  Federal  authorities  before  their 
eyes,  they  pointed  to  what  appeared  to  them  the  miraculous 
resources  of  the  " rebel"  government,  the  bravery  of  its  troops, 
their  patience  under  hardships,  their  unshrinking  firmness  in  the 

*  Fletcher:  History  of  the  American  "War.    BENTLEY,  London. 


92  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

desperate  position  they  had  assumed,  the  wonderful  success  with 
which  they  had  extemporized  manufactures  and  munitions  of  war, 
and  kept  themselves  in  communication  with  the  world  in  spite  of  a 
magnificent  blockade ;  the  elasticity  with  which  they  had  risen  from 
defeat,  and  the  courage  they  had  shown  in  threatening  again  and 
again  the  capital  of  the  North,  and  even  its  interiour.  It  will  be 
recollected  that  such  a  eulogy  of  the  Confederates  was  publicly  pro 
nounced  by  Dr.  Bellows,  one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  of  New 
York.  He  concluded :  "  Well  is  Gen.  McClellan  reported  to  have 
said  (privately),  as  he  watched  their  obstinate  fighting  at  Antietam, 
and  saw  them  retiring  in  perfect  order  in  the  midst  of  the  most  fright 
ful  carnage,  *  What  terrible  neighbours  these  would  be !  We 
must  conquer  them,  or  they  will  conquer  us ! ' ' 

These  testimonies  to  Confederate  heroism  are  not  idly  repeated 
here.  Each  year  of  the  war  had  some  characteristic  by  which  it 
is  easily  remembered ;  and  that  of  1862  may  be  taken  as  the 
period  of  the  greatest  lustre  of  the  Confederate  arms.  Whatever 
its  sequel,  what  is  testified  of  it  here  remains,  cannot  be  recalled 
from  the  memory  of  the  world,  and  constitutes  a  secure  monument 
of  history,  which  no  after-thought  of  envy,  no  modification  of  opin 
ions  on  the  part  of  an  enemy  ultimately  successful,  can  possibly 
destroy  or  diminish. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  93 


CHAPTER  VII. 

G-eneral  Lee's  perilous  situation  in  North  Virginia. — His  alarming  letter  to  the  War 
Office. — The  happy  fortune  of  McClellan's  removal. — The  Battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg. — G-en.  Lee's  great  mistake  in  not  renewing  the  attack. — His  ovm  confes 
sion  of  errour. — He  detaches  nearly  a  third  of  his  army  to  cover  the  south  side  of 
Richmond. — He  writes  a  severe  letter  to  the  Government. — The  enemy's  fifth 
grand  attempt  on  Richmond. — Gen.  Lee  in  a  desperate  extremity. — The  Battles 
of  Chancellor sville. — Three  victories  for  the  Confederates. — The  masterpiece  of 
Gen.  Lee's  military  life. 

AFTER  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  Lee  did  not  indicate  an 
immediate  purpose  to  retire  from  the  Potomac,  but  remained  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Winchester,  anxiously  waiting  for  the  devel 
opment  of  McClellan's  designs.  There  was  serious  reason  to 
apprehend  that  the  enemy  would  again  press  him  to  battle.  But 
the  extreme  moral  timidity  of  McClellan  again  gave  opportunities 
to  the  Confederates ;  and  while  with  an  army  already  triple  that  of 
Lee,  he  was  yet  entreating  and  importuning  the  government  at 
"Washington  for  reinforcements,  the  latter  was  recruiting  his 
strength  so  terribly  diminished  by  the  hardships  of  the  Gordons- 
ville  and  Maryland  campaign,  and  making  necessary  preparations 
for  the  renewal  of  operations.  In  not  pressing  Lee  after  his  retire 
ment  into  Virginia,  McClellan  made  the  great  mistake  of  his  mili 
tary  career.  Of  the  reality  and  extent  of  his  opportunity  at  this 
time,  we  have  in  evidence  a  letter  of  Gen.  Lee  himself.  In  the 
first  days  of  November,  1862,  he  wrote  to  the  War  Department  that 
he  had  not  half  men  enough  to  resist  McClellan's  advance  with  his 
mighty  army,  and  that  he  would  have  to  resort  to  manoeuvring  in 
preference  to  risking  his  army  in  battle.  He  added  that  three- 
fourths  of  the  cavalry  horses  were  sick  with  sore-tongue,  and  their 
hoofs  were  falling  off;  he  complained  that  his  soldiers  were  not 
fed  and  clad  as  they  should  be ;  and  he  expressed  the  greatest 
anxiety  as  to  any  movement  of  McClellan  threatening  battle. 

But  most  happily  for  the  Confederates,  the  uncertainty  of 
McClellan's  designs  terminated  in  his  removal  from  command,  and 


94  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

the  appointment  of  Gen.  Burnside  to  succeed  him ;  event  which 
gave  occasion  to  a  new  meditation  and  plan  of  campaign,  and 
secured  for  Gen.  Lee  the  delay  which  he  so  much  needed.  It  was 
a  deliverance  from  an  alarming  crisis.  Gen.  Lee  had  at  first  sup 
posed  that  Burnside  intended  to  embark  his  army  for  the  south 
side  of  James  River,  to  operate  probably  in  eastern  North 
Carolina ;  but  in  the  latter  part  of  November,  the  enemy  showed 
plainly  another  design,  and  the  Confederate  scouts  reported  large 
masses  of  infantry  advancing  on  Fredericksburg.  On  the  18th 
November,  a  portion  of  Longstreet's  corps  was  marched  thither; 
and  Gen.  Lee  wrote  to  Richmond:  "Before  the  enemy's  trains 
can  leave  Fredericksburg "  (i.e.  for  Richmond)  "  this  whole  army 
will  be  in  position."  The  assurance  was  faithfully  and  fully  kept, 
and  Burnside  found  his  alert  antagonist  in  full  force  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rappahannock. 

The  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  on  the  13th  December,  1862,  was 
one  of  the  most  easily  and  cheaply  won  Confederate  victories  of  the 
war.  It  was  a  striking  illustration  of  the  advantage  of  fighting  in 
a  strong  position — an  advantage  too  little  regarded  by  the  Confed 
erates  during  the  war ;  for  although  victories  in  open  fields  obtained 
for  the  South  a  certain  prestige,  it  was  at  the  woful  price  of  the 
flower  of  her  people,  for  which  there  was  but  little  compensation  in 
the  loss  of  life  in  the  enemy's  ranks,  recruited  as  they  were  from 
the  dregs  of  his  own  society,  and  the  mercenary  markets  of  the 
whole  world.*  At  Fredericksburg,  the  Confederate  position  was 
all  that  could  be  desired  by  Gen.  Lee.  His  army  was  drawn  up 
along  the  heights,  which,  retiring  in  a  semicircle  from  the  river, 
embraced  within  their  arms  a  plain  six  miles  in  length,  and  from 
two  to  three  in  depth.  This  semicircle  of  hills  terminated  at  Massa- 
ponax  River,  about  five  miles  below  Fredericksburg.  The  right 

*  Dr.  Dabney,  the  biographer  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  writing  in  1863,  says  :  "  One- 
half  of  the  prisoners  of  war,  registered  by  the  victorious  armies  of  the  South,  have 
been  foreign  mercenaries.  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien,  warning  his  race  against  the  unhallowed 
enterprise,  declares  that  the  Moloch  of  Yankee  ambition  has  already  sacrificed  200,000 
Irishmen  to  it.  And  still,  as  the  flaming  sword  of  the  South  mows  down  these  hire 
ling  invaders,  fresh  hordes  throng  the  shores.  Last,  our  country  has  to  wage  this 
strife  only  on  these  cruel  terms,  that  the  blood  of  her  chivalrous  sons  shall  be 
matched  against  the  sordid  streams  of  this  cloaca  populorum.  In  the  words  of  Lord 
Lindsay,  at  Plodden  Field,  we  must  play  our  '  Rose  Nobles  of  gold,  against  crooked 
sixpences.' " 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  95 

of  the  Confederate  army,  extending  nearly  as  far  as  the  Massaponax, 
comprised  the  cavalry  and  horse  artillery  under  Gen.  J.  E.  B. 
Stuart,  posted  on  the  only  ground  at  all  suitable  for  that  arm  of  the 
service.  .  On  his  left  was  Gen.  Jackson's  corps,  of  which  Early's 
division  formed  the  right,  and  A.  P.  Hill's  the  left ;  the  divisions  of 
Taliaferro  and  D.  H.  Hill  being  in  reserve.  The  left  wing  of  the 
army,  under  Gen.  Longstreet,  comprised  the  division  of  Hood  on 
the  right,  next  to  it  that  of  Pickett,  then  those  of  McLaws,  Ransom 
and  Anderson.  The  artillery  was  massed  together,  and  not  dis 
persed  among  the  divisions,  and  was  so  posted  as  to  sweep  the 
front  of  the  position.  It  may  be  remarked  that  this  was  Gen.  Lee's 
favourite  disposition  of  his  artillery  in  battle,  and  in  this  instance 
it  was  much  favoured  by  the  semicircular  formation  of  the  hills. 

The  battle  was  at  first  declared  against  the  Confederate  right  by 
a  heavy  attack  upon  Jackson,  which  was  repulsed,  and  finally 
ceased  about  noon.  By  this  time  fresh  divisions  had  crossed  the 
river  at  Fredericksburg,  and  the  mass  of  Burnside's  army  was 
brought  to  the  desperate  attack  of  Marye's  Height,  held  by  McLaws' 
division  and  the  Washington  artillery.  Here,  during  the  whole 
afternoon,  attack  after  attack  was  repeated  with  a  desperation  never 
before  exhibited  by  the  enemy,  and  with  appalling  recklessness  of 
human  life.  "  It  is  hardly  to  be  supposed,"  says  a  Northern  writer, 
"  that  Gen.  Burnside  had  contemplated  the  bloody  sequence  to 
which  he  was  committing  himself  when  first  he  ordered  a  division 
to  assail  the  heights  of  Fredericksburg ;  but  having  failed  in  the 
first  assault,  and  then  in  the  second  and  third,  there  grew  up  in 
his  mind  something  which  those  around  him  saw  to  be  akin  to 
desperation.  Riding  down  from  his  headquarters  to  the  bank  of 
the  Rappahannock,  he  walked  restlessly  up  and  down,  and  gazing 
over  at  the  heights  across  the  river,  exclaimed  vehemently,  '  That 
crest  must  be  carried  to-night.'  Already,  however,  everything 
had  been  thrown  in,  saving  Hooker,  and  he  was  now  ordered  over 
the  river."  But  all  was  in  vain.  Hooker's  attack  shared  the 
fate  of  its  predecessors ;  the  men  rushed  forward,  then  wavered,  a 
third  of  their  number  fell,  and  the  remainder  fled.  During  the  entire 
afternoon  the  struggle  continued.  The  simile,  so  commonly  used  in 
descriptions  of  battles,  of  waves  breaking  upon  a  rock-bound  coast, 
was  never  more  just  in  its  conception  than  in  the  frantic  battle  in 
which  the  Federal  divisions  were  shattered  upon  the  heights  assailed, 


96  GENERAL   EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

and  were  hurled  back,  one  after  the  other,  on  the  crimson  tide  of 
death. 

Night  closed  on  a  field  on  which  lay  more  than  ten  thousand 
Federals  killed  or  wounded.  Gen.  Lee  dispatched  to  Richmond : 
"  Our  loss  during  the  operations  since  the  movements  of  the  enemy 
began,  amounts  to  about  1800  killed  and  wounded."  It  was  a 
great  victory  ;  but  the  Confederate  public  expected  from  it  some 
thing  more  than  eclat,  and  had  reason  to  hope  that  there  would  be 
inflicted  upon  the  enemy  not  only  defeat,  but  destruction.  It  was 
thus  that  the  inconsequence  of  Burnside's  safe  retreat  across  the  river 
was  a  great  disappointment,  attended  for  the  first  time  with  some 
popular  censure  of  Gen.  Lee.  The  only  reply  to  such  censure  was 
a  very  candid  explanation,  in  which  Gen.  Lee  confessed  he  had 
been  surprised  as  to  the  extent  of  the  enemy's  disaster  and  his  de 
sign  of  retreat.  In  an  official  report  he  says  :  "The  attack  on 
the  13th  had  been  so  easily  repulsed,  and  by  so  small  a  part  of  our 
army,  that  it  was  not  supposed  the  enemy  would  limit  his  effort  to 
one  attempt,  which,  in  view  of  the  magnitude  of  his  preparations, 
and  the  extent  of  his  force,  seemed  to  be  comparatively  insignifi 
cant.  Believing,  therefore,  that  he  would  attack  us,  it  was  not 
deemed  expedient  to  lose  the  advantages  of  our  position,  and  ex 
pose  the  troops  to  the  fire  of  his  inaccessible  batteries  beyond  the 
river,  by  advancing  against  him.  But  we  were  necessarily  igno 
rant  of  the  extent  to  which  he  had  suffered,  and  only  became 
aware  of  it  when,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th,  it  was  discovered 
that  he  had  availed  himself  of  the  darkness  of  night,  and  the  prev 
alence  of  a  violent  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  to  recross  the  river." 

With  the  Confederate  victory  of  Fredericksburg  quiet  fell  upon 
the  lines  of  the  Rappahannock ;  but  on  other  theatres  of  the  war 
there  was  not  that  cessation  of  interest  that  might  have  been  ex 
pected  in  the  harshest  months  of  winter.  The  authorities  at  Rich 
mond  were  soon  disturbed  by  reported  movements  of  the  enemy  in 
other  directions,  apparently  against  the  city  and  its  southern  com 
munications  ;  and  the  consequence  of  these  alarms  and  anxieties, 
in  which  Gen.  Lee  fully  shared,  was,  that  about  one-third  of  his 
army  had  to  be  detached  to  cover  the  south  side  of  the  capital.  In 
the  month  of  February,  1863,  the  greater  portion  of  Longstreet's 
command  was  sent  to  confront  the  army  corps  of  Hooker,  supposed 
to  have  been  sent  to  the  Peninsula,  and  to  watch  the  movements 


GENERAL  ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  97 

of  the  enemy  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Suffolk  and  on  the  coast  of 
North  Carolina.  It  was  a  period  of  indecision  and  anxiety  ;  Charles 
ton  was  threatened,  and  (ren.  Lee  advised  every  available  man 
to  be  sent  thither ;  the  enemy  was  reported  at  various  points  of 
the  sea-coast  south  of  James  Eiver,  and  it  was  not  known  where 
his  heaviest  blow  would  be  delivered ;  and  distracted  by  so  many 
prospects  of  attack,  the  policy  of  dispersion  became,  for  a  time,  a 
necessary  one,  and  Gren.  Lee  found  himself,  with  not  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  army  he  had  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
left  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy  still  remaining  north  of 
the  Rappahannock. 

This  serious  diminution  of  his  forces  affected  Gen.  Lee  with  great 
anxiety,  in  view  of  the  exigencies  of  the  approaching  spring  cam 
paign,  in  which  the  fate  of  Virginia,  and  of  the  sea-coast,  and  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  appeared  to  be  equally  involved,  and  naturally 
led  to  a  revision  of  all  the  Confederate  forces  in  the  field.  He 
made  it  the  occasion  of  one  of  the  plainest  letters  he  ever  wrote  to 
the  War  Department — a  letter  in  which  the  tone  of  censure  and 
rebuke  was  more  apparent  than  in  any  appeal  he  ever  made  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  people  and  the  wisdom  of  the  authorities.  He 
suggested  to  the  government  an  appeal  to  the  Governors  of  the 
States  to  aid  more  directly  in  recruiting  the  armies.  He  said  the 
people  habitually  expected  too  much  from  the  troops  now  in  the 
field ;  that  because  they  had  gained  many  victories,  it  did  not  follow 
that  they  should  always  gain  them ;  that  the  legitimate  fruits  of 
victory  had  hitherto  been  lost  for  the  want  of  numbers  on  our 
side ;  and,  finally,  that  all  those  who  failed  to  go  to  the  field  at 
such  a  momentous  period,  were  guilty  of  the  blood  of  the  brave^ 
soldiers  who  perished  in  the  effort  to  achieve  independence. 

While  Lee's  force  on  the  Kappahannock  was  reduced  to  the 
extent  we  have  noticed,  the  enemy  had  always  been  able  to  keep 
up  its  army  in  Northern  Virginia  to  a  strength  exceeding  100,000 
men  ;  and  now,  for  its  fifth  attempt  on  Kichmond,  had  a  force  not 
less  than  150,000,  under  the  command  of  "Fighting  Joe  Hooker," 
the  hero  of  Northern  prints.  To  meet  this  tremendous  force.  Gen. 
Lee  had  the  corps  of  Jackson,  and  only  two  divisions  of  Longstreet's 
corps — Anderson's  and  McLaws' — a  total  of  about  45,000  men.. 
Jackson's  corps  consisted  of  four  divisions,  commanded  by  A.  P. 
Hill,  Eodes,  Colston,  and  Early. 

7 


98  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

Gen.  Hooker's  plan  of  attack  was  to  divide  his  army  into  two 
portions,  of  which  the  stronger,  having  crossed  the  Kappahannock 
and  Eapidan  rivers,  should  advance  against  the  Confederate  left 
wing ;  while  the  Federal  left  wing,  under  Sedgwick,  equal  in  num 
bers  to  Gen.  Lee's  whole  army,  should  attack  and  occupy  the  heights 
above  Fredericksburg,  and  seize  the  railroad  to  Richmond.  On  the 
night  of  the  28th  April,  the  greater  portion  of  the  Federal  army 
crossed  the  rivers,  and  headed  towards  Chancellorsville,  the  assigned 
point  of  concentration. 

The  situation  in  which  Hooker  boasted  that  the  Confederate 
army  must  "  either  ingloriously  fly  or  come  out  from  behind  its 
defences,"  where  "  certain  destruction  awaited  it,"  was  no  sooner 
perceived  by  Gen.  Lee,  than  he  determined,  leaving  Early's  division 
to  deal  with  Sedgwick  at  Fredericksburg,  to  "  come  out"  with  the 
remainder  of  his  little  army  against  Hooker's  four  corps  at  Chan 
cellorsville.  On  the  29th  April,  Jackson's  three  divisions,  and 
those  of  McLaws  and  Anderson  (Early's  division  remaining  in  the 
lines  of  Fredericksburg),  were  on  the  road  to  Chancellorsville. 
The  aspect  of  affairs  was  anything  but  reassuring.  The  force 
moved  out  towards  Chancellorsville  was  outnumbered  nearly  three 
to  one ;  from  90,000  to  100,000  men  were  on  what  had  formerly 
been  its  left  rear,  but  which  was  now  its  front ;  while  a  force  equal 
ling  in  strength  the  whole  army,  threatened,  by  an  advance  from 
Fredericksburg,  either  to  crush  it  or  force  it  to  retreat  with  both 
flanks  exposed,  and  with  a  cavalry  column  of  10,000  sabres  already 
on  its  communications  with  Eichmond. 

But  it  was  the  absence  of  his  cavalry  which  he  had  sent  away 
in  assurance  of  Lee's  retreat,  that  proved  the  fatal  circumstance 
for  Hooker-;  for  it  at  once  suggested  the  surprise  of  a  movement 
on  his  flank.  While,  therefore,  the  divisions  of  Anderson  and 
McLaws  were  sufficient  to  amuse  him  by  feints  of  attack  in  front 
— indeed  to  such  effect  that  on  the  1st  May  he  ordered  another  of 
his  divisions  from  across  the  river,  under  the  impression  that  the 
Confederates  were  in  force  in  his  front — Jackson  was  marching 
swiftly  and  silently  to  find  his  flank  in  the  Wilderness.  In  the 
evening  of  the  2d  May,  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  was  fought ; 
Jackson  striking  the  extreme  right  of  the  Federal  army,  routing 
Howard's  corps,  and  driving  the  entire  right  wing  of  the  enemy 
down  upon  the  divisions  of  Anderson  and  McLaws.  The  torrent 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  99 

of  Jackson's  success  was  stemmed  only  by  his  fall  in  the  midst  of 
a  victory,  the  completion  of  which  had  to  be  reserved  for  another 
day. 

On  the  3d  May,  Gen.  Stuart,  having  succeeded  to  Jackson's 
command,  bore  down  again  on  the  enemy's  right  wing,  while  Gen. 
Lee's  remaining  divisions  attacked  the  centre  and  left.  By  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  Hooker  was  driven  to  his  second  line  of 
intrenchments,  Chancellorsville  was  taken,  and  the  destruction  of 
the  enemy  now  appeared  to  be  the  work  of  but  a  few  hours.  But 
just  here  that  adverse  combination  of  circumstances  in  which  Gen. 
Lee  fought  was  again  apparent ;  and  as  he  gathered  up  his  forces 
to  attack  Hooker's  fresh  position,  news  came  that  Sedgwick, 
having  turned  Marye's  Heights,  was  advancing  from  Fredericks- 
burg,  while  Early  had  fallen  back  to  a  position  at  Salem  Church, 
five  miles  from  the  town.  It  became  necessary  at  once  to  turn 
attention  to  this  movement;  and  McLaws'  division  was  rapidly 
marched  to  Early's  support  in  time  to  check  Sedgwick's  advanced 
troops,  and  drive  them  back  on  the  main  body.  On  the  4th  May 
the  battle  was  renewed,  and  Sedgwick  was  overwhelmed  and 
driven  back  in  disgraceful  confusion,  while  Hooker  remained  idle 
in  his  intrenchments,  detained  in  a  defensive  attitude  by  a  few 
Confederate  divisions,  thoroughly  cowed,  and  without  spirit  even 
to  make  the  attempt  to  relieve  one  of  his  own  corps.  On  the 
night  of  the  5th,  his  grand  army,  despite  its  losses  yet  larger  than 
that  of  Lee,  but  directed  by  a  commander  who  had  evidently  lost 
all  stomach  for  fight,  retreated  across  the  river  in  a  drenching 
storm  of  wind  and  rain,  leaving  behind  it  17,000  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners,  14  pieces  of  artillery,  and  30,000  stand  of  arms. 

Thus  three  victories — that  of  the  Wilderness,  that  on  Hooker's 
front,  and  that  at  Salem  Church,  all  compassed  in  the  general 
name  of  "the  battle  of  Chancellorsville" — had  been  achieved  by 
Gen.  Lee  in  so  many  days.  In  looking  back  upon  all  the  circum 
stances  of  this  struggle,  it  must  be  pronounced  to  have  been  for 
Gen.  Lee  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war,  and  to  have  crowned  his 
reputation  for  transcendent  courage  and  ability.  All  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  preceding  the  battle  had  been  successful  and 
well-timed  ;  he  had  turned  the  Confederate  line  of  defence  on  the 
right  and  on  the  left ;  and  he  had  apparently  placed  the  little 
army  of  Lee  in  the  jaws  of  destruction.  With  what  consummate 


100  GENERAL  ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

skill  the  great  Confederate  commander  extricated,  his  army ;  with 
what  impregnable  equanimity  he  awaited  the  full  development  of 
his  adversary's  designs ;  with  what  admirable  readiness  he  divided 
his  forces,  and  concentrated  his  chief  strength  upon  the  important 
point ;  with  what  towering  courage  he  at  last  struck  the  enemy  on 
his  vulnerable  side,  then  engaged  him  in  front,  and  finally  turned 
to  engage  a  victorious  column  in  his  rear,  the  reader  will  perceive 
even  from  the  bare  outlines  of  the  battle  we  have  given  in  the  pre 
ceding  narrative.  Those  who  were  near  Gen.  Lee's  person  in 
these  eventful  three  days,  say  that  his  self-possession  was  perfect, 
and  his  calm,  courteous  demeanour  the  same  as  on  ordinary  occa 
sions ;  he  spoke  of  his  success  without  exultation;  and  from  first 
to  last,  his  unshaken  confidence  in  his  men  fortified  his  resolution 
and  manners,  and  assured  him  of  victory. 

A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  Gen.  Lee  issued 
an  address  to  his  army,  congratulating  them  for  "  the  heroic  con 
duct  they  had  displayed  under  trying  vicissitudes  of  heat  and  storm, 
in  a  tangled  wilderness,  and  again  on  the  hills  of  Fredericksburg," 
and  inviting  them  to  unite  on  the  following  Sunday  "in  ascribing 
to  the  Lord  of  Hosts  the  glory  due  His  name."  At  the  same  time 
a  letter  from  President  Davis  was  read,  wherein  he  said  to  Gen.  Lee : 
"  In  the  name  of  the  people,  I  offer  my  cordial  thanks  to  you  and 
the  troops  under  your  command,  for  this  addition  to  the  unpre 
cedented  series  of  great  victories  which  your  army  has  achieved. 
The  universal  rejoicing  produced  by  this  happy  result,  will  be 
mingled  with  a  general  regret  for  the  good  and  the  brave  who  are 
numbered  among  the  killed  and  wounded." 

Two  great  victories,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville,  had 
now  been  won  on  the  banks  of  the  Eappahannock ;  but  they  had 
no  other  effect  than  driving  the  enemy  back  to  the  hills  of  Stafford. 
The  position  was  one  in  which  he  could  not  be  attacked  to  advan 
tage.  It  was  on  this  reflection  that  Gen.  Lee  resolved  on  a  new  and 
adventurous  campaign.  It  was  to  manoeuvre  Hooker  out  of  Vir 
ginia,  to  clear  the  Shenandoah  Yalley  of  the  troops  of  the  enemy, 
and  to  renew  tfre  experiment  of  the  transfer  of  hostilities  north  of 
the  Potomac.  But  the  events  of  this  campaign  we  reserve  for 
another  chapter. 


GENERAL   EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  101 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

Controversy  between  Gen.  Lee  and  the  War  Department. — The  Secretary  winces. — 
Gen.  Lee's  new  campaign  of  invasion. — How  it  differed  from  that  of  1862. — Reor 
ganization  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. — Some  remarks  on  its  artillery 
service. — Gen.  Lee  across  the  Potomac. — His  orders  at  Chambersburg,  Pa. — His 
errours  with  respect  to  the  policy  of  "  retaliation." — His  conversation  with  a  mill- 
owner. — A  letter  from  President  Davis. — Gen.  Lee  misunderstood  and  disappointed 
by  the  Richmond  authorities. — Orders  to  Stuart's  cavalry. — The  Confederate  army 
blinded  in  Pennsylvania  for  want  of  cavalry. — The  battle  of  Gettysburg  has  the 
moral  effect  of  a.  surprise  to  Gen.  Lee. — The  lost  opportunity  of  the  1st  July. — Why 
Gen.  Lee  fought  the  next  day. — Temper  of  his  army. — Ho  assaults  the  enemy's 
centre  on  the  3d  July. — Recoil  of  the  Confederates. — Gen.  Lee  cheering  and  com 
forting  his  men. — His  fearful  retreat,  and  his  wonderful  success  in  extricating 
his  army. 

IN  the  shifting  of  forces  consequent  upon  the  battle  of  Chan- 
cellorsville,  the  divisions  of  Longstreet  that  had  been  operating 
in  Southeastern  Virginia  were  recalled  to  Gen.  Lee ;  and  the  usual 
consequence  of  a  great  victory  in  the  return  of  large  numbers  of 
"  absentees"  to  the  ranks,  was  fully  realized.  From  these  sources 
Gen.  Lee  rapidly  increased  his  army  to  the  mark  of  the  necessities 
of  the  campaign  he  now  designed. 

Since  Gen.  Lee  had  been  in  command,  he  had  been  able  to 
effect  a  much-desired  reform  in  curtailing  the  authority  of  the 
"War  department,  which  at  one  time  had  presumed  to  dictate  cam 
paigns,  and  had  once  driven  Gen.  Jackson  to  the  extremity  of 
resignation  by  moving  forces  under  his  command  by  its  peremp 
tory  orders.  That  despotic  department  was  now  much  reduced  in 
its  authority,  and  its  favourite  idea  of  a  dispersion  of  forces  was 
brought  within  limits.  After  what  we  have  already  said  of  de 
tachments  from  Gen.  Lee's  army,  and  the  peril  this  policy  occa 
sioned  at  Chancellorsville,  it  will  surprise  the  reader  to  learn  that 
on  the  15th  May,  1863,  the  Secretary  of  War  dispatched  him  that 
a  portion  of  his  army  (Pickett's  division)  might  be  sent  to  Missis 
sippi.  To  this  untimely  and  vexatious  call,  Gen.  Lee  replied  that 
it  was  a  dangerous  and  doubtful  expedient ;  that  it  was  a  question 


102  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

between  Virginia  and  Mississippi;  but  that  he  would  send  off  the 
division  without  delay,  if  still  deemed  necessary.  The  issue  was 
thus  boldly  and  sharply  thrust  upon  the  Eichmond  authorities. 
The  Secretary  winced,  and  the  troops  were  not  sent  away. 

The  campaign  which  Gen.  Lee  had  now  determined  upon  was 
more  properly  one  of  invasion  than  when  in  the  previous  year  he 
had  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland.  His  design  was  larger 
and  more  ambitious;  and  so  far  as  it  contemplated  not  merely 
putting  back  the  war  to  the  trans-Potomac  region  for  the  purpose 
of  respite,  but  a  steady  and  formidable  invasion  of  the  enemy's 
territory,  it  overleaped  the  former  defensive  and  prudent  policy 
that  had  hitherto  prevailed  in  the  military  councils  of  the  Con 
federacy.  The  reoccupation  of  the  Shenandoah  Yalley,  the  in 
vasion  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  change  in  the  theatre  of  the  war 
from  Virginia  to  the  enemy's  country,  were  the  immediate  objects 
of  Lee's  intended  movements.  Whatever  might  result  from  these 
operations  could  not  be  foreseen,  and  the  ultimate  designs  could 
only  develop  themselves  as  success,  or  the  reverse,  should  occur 
in  the  campaign,  and  influence  its  prosecution.  But  never  was  the 
prospect  of  invasion  more  hopeful.  It  was  undoubtedly  thrust 
upon  Gen.  Lee  by  the  excited  and  extraordinary  spirit  of  his  army 
and  the  country.  The  morale  of  his  troops  had  been  wonderfully 
improved  by  the  victories  of  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville  ; 
the  confidence  of  the  men  and  of  their  commander  had  been  greatly 
raised  by  these  events ;  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia  had  been 
mobilized,  improved,  was  in  better  condition  in  transportation, 
equipment,  and  clothing  (and  in  every  respect  but  supplies)  than 
it  had  been  before,  and  in  increased  confidence  in  itself  and  con 
tempt  for  the  enemy,  was  said  to  be  "  equal  to  anything ;  "  and, 
above  all,  the  public  temper  of  the  South,  swollen  and  bursting 
with  grief  at  the  ruin  the  enemy  had  wrought  on  its  own  dwellings 
and  fields,  fiercely  and  with  one  voice  demanded  that  in  this  season 
of  opportunity,  some  of  the  suffering  and  rigour  of  the  war  should 
be  carried  home  to  the  people  of  the  North.  Gen.  Lee  could  not 
be  insensible  to  these  considerations,  or  wholly  deaf  to  the  appeals 
of  the  populace.  Pennsylvania  offered  supplies  for  his  troops,  and 
Commissary  Northrop  had  told  him  to  go  there  to  find  them  ;  the 
spirit  of  his  army  pointed  to  invasion  ;  and  so,  when  the  alterna 
tive  of  campaigns  was  presented  at  Eichmond,  of  reinforcing  the 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  1Q3 

armies  of  the  West  or  carrying  the  war  across  the  Potomac,  Gen. 
Lee  chose  the  latter,  believing  that  a  victory  in  Pennsylvania, 
besides  all  its  other  advantages,  would  be  a  counterpoise  to  what 
ever  successes  the  enemy  might  obtain  in  the  West,  and  relieve  the 
pressure  on  our  armies  in  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and  in  all  parts 
of  the  Confederacy.  It  was  thus  for  various  reasons  and  in  peculiar 
circumstances  that  he  cut  loose  from  the  defensive  policy,  and  on 
his  own  responsibility  undertook  the  experiment  of  invasion. 

In  preparation  for  the  campaign,  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia  was  now  thoroughly  reorganized,  and  divided  into  three  equal 
and  distinct  corps.  The  reorganization  was  made  with  a  view  to 
recent  promotions  in  the  army — five  Major-Generals  and  two  Lieu 
tenant-Generals  having  obtained  their  promotions,  without  a  proper 
distribution  of  commands.  The  two  Lieutenant-Generals  were 
Ewell  and  A.  P.  Hill.  To  each  of  these  a  corps  was  assigned, 
consisting  of  three  divisions ;  Gen.  Longstreet,  for  this  purpose, 
parting  with  one  of  his  divisions  (Anderson's).  A.  P.  Hill's  old 
division,  reduced  by  two  brigades,  was  assigned  to  Maj.-Gen.  W. 
D.  Pender.  The  two  brigades  taken  from  A.  P.  Hill's  division 
were  united  with  Pettigrew's  and  another  North  Carolina  brigade, 
and  assigned  to  Maj.-Gen.  Heth,  who,  with  Maj.-Gen.  Pender,  had 
been  recently  promoted  from  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  Gen. 
A.  P.  Hill  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  this  corps,  whilst  Gen. 
Ewell  retained  Jackson's  old  corps,  consisting  of  Early's  division 
(Early  having  been  made  a  Major-General  in  February,  and  receiv 
ing  command  of  Swell's  old  division),  Eode's  division,  and  Trim 
ble's  division,  the  latter  assigned  to  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  then 
just  promoted  to  a  Major-Generalship.  There  were  thus  three 
corps  of  three  divisions  :  Longstreet  (McLaws,  Hood,  and  Pickett) ; 
A.  P.  Hill  (Anderson,  Pender,  and  Heth) ;  Ewell  (Early,  Eodes, 
and  Johnson) — each  corps  numbering  about  25,000  men,  with  about 
15,000  cavalry,  under  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  making  a  total  of 
90,000  men. 

But  the  most  important  part  of  the  reorganization,  directed  by 
Gen.  Lee,  was  the  reform  of  the  artillery  arm,  which  had  been 
wonderfully  growing  in  strength  and  brilliancy  since  the  time 
when  the  famous  "  Washington  Artillery  "  first  wreathed  the  Con 
federate  banner  with  the  smoke  of  its  guns  on  the  field  of  Manas- 
sas.  It  had  now  become  the  matchless  pride  of  the  Army  of  North- 


104  GENERAL  ROBERT   EDWARD  LEE. 

ern  Virginia,  and  presented  a  splendid  array  of  high  intelligence, 
practised  skill,  and  disciplined  valour.  The  original  organization 
of  the  Confederate  artillery  was  into  companies,  attached  each  to 
its  infantry  brigade,  and  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  brigadier;  but 
it  was  soon  discovered  that  commanders  of  brigade,  the  great  major 
ity  of  whom  were  from  the  walks  of  civil  life,  were  not  the  class 
of  pfficers  to  give  the  artillery  arm  that  power  and  effectiveness,  of 
which,  under  skilful  scientific  direction,  it  was  so  eminently  sus 
ceptible.  Therefore,  before  the  opening  of  the  spring  campaign 
of  1863,  a  regular  artillery  and  ordnance  staff  was  organized  in 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  with  Gen.  Pendleton  at  its  head. 
Battalions  were  formed,  numbering  from  sixteen  to  twenty  guns 
each,  and  operating  in  the  field,  with  its  respective  infantry  divi 
sion,  and  each  under  the  immediate  command  of  its  own  artillery 
chief,  who  had  been  assigned,  or  promoted  to  it,  by  reason  of  his 
distinguished  fitness  and  qualification,  as  indicated  by  former  tests 
of  high  excellence  in  the  practice  of  the  field.  And  under  the 
direction  of  this  able  corps  of  artillery  officers,  the  grand  Southern 
field-park,  both  mounted  and  horse,  proudly  asserted  its  claim  to  a 
place  in  the  very  front  rank  of  the  artillery  armament  of  the  world. 
Pelham's  and  McGregor's  famous  cavalry  batteries,  that  operated 
with  the  dashing  troopers  of  Stuart,  won  a  distinction,  second  not 
even  to  the  celebrity  of  the  famous  flying  artillery  of  Austria. 

For  the  first  two  years  of  the  war,  the  field-metal  of  the  Con 
federate  park  was  greatly  inferiour  to  that  of  the  enemy.  The  bat 
tles  of  Bull  Run,  and  Manassas,  and  the  Seven  Pines,  were  fought 
with  six-pounder  guns,  twelve-pounder  howitzers,  and  a  few  three- 
inch  rifles ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  that 
the  Confederate  artillery  armament  was  of  sufficiently  heavy  metal 
to  cope  successfully  with  the  formidable  Federal  field-ordnance. 
By  capture  and  foreign  purchase,  the  artillery  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  was  strengthened  by  a  full  field-complement  of 
ten  and  twenty-pounder  Parrotts,  the  twelve-pounder  Parrotts,  the 
twelve-pounder  Napoleon  gun-howitzer,  and  a  few  Whitworth  and 
Armstrong  rifles ;  but  the  twenty-pounder  Parrotts,  and  the  twelve- 
pounder  Napoleons,  were  the  weapons  with  which  the  Confederate 
artillerists  chiefly  won  their  bloody  trophies,  and  wrote  such  a  bril 
liant  chapter  in  the  records  of  artillery  performance.  In  nothing 
was  the  Southern  artillery  inferiour  to  that  of  the  Federals,  save  in 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  105 

the  matter  of  ammunition ;  in  every  other  particular  it  was  decid 
edly  superiour,  as  attested  on  every  field  where  the  two  armies  were 
brought  into  direct  collision. 

To  gain  the  Shenandoah  Yalley  and  relieve  the  town  of  Win 
chester  was  the  first  aim  of  the  intended  movement.  In  the  first 
week  in  June,  Longstreet's  and  E well's  corps  were  directed  to 
march  on  Culpeper,  whilst  the  corps  of  A.  P.  Hill  was  left  to 
occupy  the  lines  of  Fredericksburg.  A  reconnoissance  of  cavalry 
imperfectly  disclosed  the  movement  to  Hooker;  but  while  his 
attention  was  turned  to  Culpeper,  and  guarding  the  line  of  the 
Eappahannock,  E  well's  corps  was  thrust  into  the  Yalley  through 
Chester  Gap,  and,  moving  rapidly  on  Winchester,  captured  the 
place,  with  more  than  three  thousand  prisoners  and  thirty  pieces 
of  artillery.  Upon  learning  the  movement,  and  now  quite  bewil 
dered  as  to  the  designs  of  the  Confederates,  Hooker  broke  up  his 
camps  along  the  Rappahannock,  and  moved  on  the  direct  route 
towards  Washington,  following  the  line  of  the  Orange  and  Alex 
andria  Eailroad,  his  first  anxiety  being  to  respond  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
usual  fears  for  the  safety  of  the  capital.  The  disappearance  of  the 
enemy  behind  the  hills  of  Stafford  was  the  signal  for  A.  P.  Hill  to 
take  up  his  line  of  march  towards  Culpeper,  where  Longstreet's 
corps  still  held  position.  On  the  22d  June,  Ewell,  with  the  van 
of  the  invading  columns,  passed  into  Maryland;  and  two  days 
later  the  corps  of  Longstreet  and  Hill,  making  the  passage  of  the 
Potomac  at  Williamsport  and  Shepherdstown,  followed  the  path 
of  Ewell  into  Pennsylvania.  The  troopers  of  Jenkins  had  already 
preceded  Ewell's  advance  by  a  week,  and  had  penetrated  Pennsyl 
vania  as  far  as  Chambersburg,  throwing  the  whole  country  into  a 
condition  of  unparalleled  alarm  and  excitement.  President  Lin 
coln  issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  one  hundred  thousand  mili 
tia  from  the  States  most  directly  menaced ;  New  York  was  sum 
moned  to  send  twenty  thousand  men ;  the  archives  were  removed 
from  Harrisburg,  and  the  farmers  in  the  rich  valleys  drove  their 
cattle  to  the  mountains.  Some  asserted  positively  that  Pittsburg 
and  Ohio  were  the  objects  of  Lee's  march ;  others  that  Harrisburg, 
and  even  Philadelphia,  would  fall  into  his  hands;  and  others, 
again,  pointed  to  Baltimore  and  Washington  as  the  true  points 
which  were  menaced  by  the  invading  army. 

After  crossing  the  Potomac,  Gen.  Lee  had  marched  up  the 


106  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

Cumberland  Yalley,  while  Swell's  corps  occupied  York  and  Car 
lisle,  and  threatened  the  passage  of  the  Susquehanna  at  Columbia 
and  Harrisburg.  Within  twenty  days  he  had  brought  his  army 
from  Fredericksburg  into  Pennsylvania,  made  the  march  in  the 
face  of  hostile  garrisons  at  Winchester,  Martinsburg,  Harper's 
Ferry,  and  Berry ville,  blinded  the  enemy  as  to  his  designs,  and 
moved  without  his  progress  having  been  once  seriously  arrested. 
He  had  now  fairly  entered  upon  the  campaign,  and  at  Chambers- 
burg  issued  the  following  order  to  his  troops  for  their  government 
in  the  enemy's  country : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 
CHAHBERSBURG,  PA.,  June  27,  1863. 

GENERAL  ORDERS  No.  73.— The  Commanding  General  has 
observed  with  marked  satisfaction  the  conduct  of  the  troops  on  the 
march,  and  confidently  anticipates  results  commensurate  with  the 
high  spirit  they  have  manifested.  ]No  troops  could  have  displayed 
greater  fortitude,  or  better  performed  the  arduous  marches  of  the 
past  ten  days.  Their  conduct  in  other  respects  has,  with  few 
exceptions,  been  in  keeping  with  their  character  as  soldiers,  and 
entitles  them  to  approbation  and  praise. 

There  have,  however,  been  instances  of  forgetful  ness  on  the 
part  of  some,  that  they  have  in  keeping  the  yet  unsullied  reputa 
tion  of  the  army,  and  that  the  duties  exacted  of  us  by  civilization 
and  Christianity  are  not  less  obligatory  in  the  country  of  the  enemy 
than  in  our  own. 

The  Commanding  General  considers  that  no  greater  disgrace 
could  befall  the  army,  and  through  it,  our  whole  people,  than  the 
perpetration  of  the  barbarous  outrages  upon  the  innocent  and  de 
fenceless,  and  the  wanton  destruction  of  private  property,  that  have 
marked  the  course  of  the  enemy  in  our  own  country.  Such  pro 
ceedings  not  only  disgrace  the  perpetrators  and  all  connected  with 
them,  but  are  subversive  of  the  discipline  and  efficiency  of  the 
army  and  destructive  of  the  ends  of  our  present  movements.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  we  make  war  only  upon  armed  men,  and 
that  we*  cannot  take  vengeance  for  the  wrongs  our  people  have 
suffered  without  lowering  ourselves  in  the  eyes  of  all  whose  abhor 
rence  has  been  excited  by  the  atrocities  of  our  enemy,  and  offend 
ing  against  Him  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  without  whose 
favour  and  support  our  efforts  must  all  prove  in  vain. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  107 

The  Commanding  General,  therefore,  earnestly  exhorts  the 
troops  to  abstain,  with  most  scrupulous  care,  from  unnecessary  or 
wanton  injury  to  private  property ;  and  he  enjoins  upon  all  officers 
to  arrest  and  bring  to  summary  punishment  all  who  shall  in  any 
way  offend  against  the  orders  on  this  subject. 

E.  E.  LEE,   General. 

The  reader  will  perceive  in  this  address  some  pleasing  and 
honourable  sentiments;  although  the  distinction  appears  to  have 
been  clouded  in  Gen.  Lee's  mind,  between  retaliation  in  kind,  and 
such  severe  and  regular  retribution  as  might  have  been  visited 
upon  the  enemy  by  acts  of  war ;  such  as  devastating  the  country 
in  line  of  battle,  without  endangering  the  morale  of  his  troops,  and 
running  counter  to  the  charges  of  irregular  pillage  and  brigandish 
atrocities.  Such  devastations  of  the  enemy's  country,  the  Confed 
erate  public  had  expected ;  and,  while  Gen.  Lee  professed  to  yield 
much  to  the  temper  of  the  South  in  the  project  of  invasion,  he 
might  have  reflected  that  the  main  object  of  the  popular  desire  for 
such  a  measure  was  to  visit  upon  the  enemy,  not  necessarily  the 
exact  repetition  of  his  atrocities,  but  the  severest  penalties  of  war 
that  could  be  executed  under  the  authority  of  superiours,  without 
risk  to  the  discipline  of  the  army,  and  without  contravention  of  the 
just  practices  of  a  provoked  invasion.  But  these  were  not  his 
views ;  and  even  the  commonest  penalties  of  war  were  unexpectedly 
spared  the  people  of  Pennsylvania.* 

*  Of  the  extreme  forbearance  of  Confederate  soldiers  in  Pennsylvania,  abundant 
evidence  may  be  gathered  even  from  the  most  violent  newspapers  printed  in  the 
North.  The  following  is  quoted  from  a  Northern  account  of  the  proceedings  of  Jen- 
kins'  cavalry: — "By  way  of  giving  the  devil  his  due,  it  must  be  said,  that  although 
there  were  over  sixty  acres  of  wheat,  and  eighty  acres  of  corn  and  oats  in  the  same 
field,  he  (Gen.  Jenkins)  protected  it  most  carefully,  and  picketed  his  horses  so  that 
it  could  not  be  injured.  No  fences  were  wantonly  destroyed,  poultry  was  not  dis 
turbed,  nor  did  he  compliment  our  blooded  cattle  so  much  as  to  test  the  quality  of 
their  steak  and  roasts.  Some  of  his  men  cast  a  wistful  eye  upon  the  glistening  trout 
in  the  spring ;  but  they  were  protected  by  voluntary  order ;  and,  save  a  few  quarts  of 
delicious  strawberries,  gathered  with  every  care,  after  first  asking  permission,  noth 
ing  in  the  gardens  or  about  the  grounds  was  taken." 

An  intercepted  letter  from  a  Confederate  officer  to  his  wife  in  Virginia,  which 
found  its  way  into  Northern  newspapers,  contained  the  following :  "  I  felt,  when  I 
first  came  here,  that  I  would  like  to  revenge  myself  upon  these  people  for  the  devas 
tation  they  have  brought  upon  our  own  beautiful  home ;  that  home  where  we  could 


108  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

In  the  Northern  newspapers  an  account  was  given  by  a  mill- 
owner  of  Pennsylvania,  of  a  conversation  with  Gen.  Lee,  in  which 
occurred  the  following:  "It  is  not  that  we  love  the  Pennsylva- 
nians,"  observed  Lee,  "that  we  refuse  to  let  our  men  engage  in 
plundering  private  citizens.  "We  could  not  otherwise  keep  up  the 
morale,  of  the  army.  A  rigid  discipline  must  be  maintained,  or  the 
men  would  be  worthless."  "In  fact,"  adds  this  mill-owner,  "I 
must  say  that  they  acted  like  gentlemen,  and,  their  cause  aside,  I 
would  rather  have  forty  thousand  rebels  quartered  on  my  premises 
than  one  thousand  Union  troops.  The  Colonel  of  one  of  the  New 
York  regiments  (militia)  drove  his  horse  into  the  engine-room  of  my 
mill,  a  place  which  must  be  kept  as  clean  as  a  parlour ;  the  men 
broke  all  the  locks,  and  denied  every  apartment  from  basement  to 
garret.  Yet  all  this  time  I  have  been  quartering  sick  Federal 
officers  at  my  house,  and  my  new  hotel  is  thrown  open  to  the  men 
to  sleep  in,  free  of  charge." 

"I  told  Gen.  Lee,"  continues  this  correspondent,  "that  the 
South  must  give  it  up ;  that  the  North  would  fight  it  out  rather 
than  see  the  country  broken  in  two,  and  that  their  invasion  of 
Pennsylvania  was  a  great  mistake."  "  What  would  you  do,"  re 
plied  the  General,  "if  you  were  in  our  place?  "  Here  he  produced 
copies  of  the  Richmond  papers,  which  complained  so  bitterly  about 
the  war  being  waged  in  the  South,  while  it  ought  to  be  carried  into 
the  Free  States. 

But  we  must  return  to  the  movements  of  the  two  armies,  which 
were  now  approaching  th.e  greatest  crisis  of  the  war.  The  day 
Gen.  Lee  issued  at  Chambersburg  the  order  just  referred  to, 
Hooker  relinquished  the  command  of  the  Federal  army,  which  he 
had  now  marched  to  Frederick  in  Maryland ;  and  Gen.  Meade, 
who  succeeded  him,  having  ascertained  the  general  direction  of 
Lee's  march,  at  once  put  his  columns  in  motion  by  the  inner  line 
from  Frederick  towards  Harrisburg.  But  he  had  ascertained  some 
thing  more.  Whilst  reconnoitring  the  passes  of  South  Mountain, 

have  lived  so  happily,  and  that  we  loved  so  much,  from  which  their  Vandalism  has 
driven  you  and  my  helpless  little  ones.  But  though  I  had  such  severe  wrongs  had 
grievances  to  redress,  and  such  great  cause  for  revenge,  yet  when  I  got  among  these 
people,  I  could  not  find  in  my  heart  to  molest  them.  They  looked  so  dreadfully 
scared,  and  talked  so  humbly,  that  I  have  invariably  endeavoured  to  protect  their 
property,  and  have  prevented  soldiers  from  taking  chickens,  even  in  the  main  road." 


GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE.  109 

Capt.  Dahlgren — the  same  who  afterwards  made  a  murderous  raid 
on  Kichmond — had  captured  an  'orderly  carrying  an  important 
dispatch  from  President  Davis  to  Gen.  Lee,  in  which  the  former 
stated  his  disapproval  of  the  advance  into  Pennsylvania,  throw 
ing  the  responsibility  of  it  entirely  on  Lee,  and  informing  him 
that  he  could  expect  no  reinforcements,  as  Richmond  was  almost 
stripped  of  troops ;  also  that  no  assistance  could  be  furnished  by 
Beauregard  from  South  Carolina,  as  his  hands  were  full,  and  he 
could  not  spare  a  man.  This  dispatch  afforded  a  new  encourage 
ment  to  the  enemy,  and  gave  him  the  important  assurance  that 
Washington  could  not  be  threatened  by  any  forces  remaining  in 
Virginia. 

It  had  been  Gen,  Lee's  idea,  not  that  Gen.  Beauregard  should 
get  a  force  for  active  operations,  but  that  he  should  merely  collect 
the  semblance  of  an  army  at  Gordonsville,  announce  his  head 
quarters  there,  etc.,  so  as  to  distract  the  enemy's  attention,  and 
continue  his  anxiety  for  Washington.  In  this  respect  he  was  mis 
understood  and  disappointed  by  Richmond  authorities.  But  a 
greater  mishap  had  already  befallen  him,  and  compelled  him 
practically  to  relinquish  the  campaign. 

When  Gen.  Lee  crossed  the  Potomac  from  the  Shenandoah 
Valley,  the  plainest  orders  had  been  given  to  Stuart's  cavalry 
column,  left  on  the  east  side  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  to  watch  the 
enemy,  keep  on  his  left  flank,  and  maintain  constant  communica 
tions  with  Lee,  so  as  to  develop  the  enemy's  designs.  Now  it  hap 
pened  that  Stuart  had  not  followed  these  orders,  but  crossing  the 
Potomac  at  Seneca,  below  where  Hooker  crossed,  found  the  entire 
Federal  army  interposed  between  him  and  Lee,  and  finally  resolved 
to  make  a  circuit  of  it  by  way  of  Westminster  and  Carlisle.  Un 
aware  of  this  disappointment  of  the  most  essential  part  of  his  plans, 
Gen.  Lee  had  marched  on  day  after  day,  inquiring  ceaselessly  after 
his  lieutenant.  His  anxiety  was  extreme ;  all  his  staff-officers  ob 
served  the  troubled  look  in  his  face,  as  day  after  day,  and  at  last 
hour  after  hour,  he  inquired  for  "  news  from  Stuart."  The  phrase 
at  headquarters  was :  "  We  are  hungry  for  cavalry."  Gen.  Lee 
had  depended  upon  Stuart  for  information  of  the  enemy's  move 
ments  ;  he  had  designed  an  advance  upon  Harrisburg ;  but  when 
he  headed  his  columns  to  cross  the  Susquehanna,  there  was  still 
no  news  of  Stuart,  and  no  information  of  the  movements  of  the 


110  GENERAL   ROBERT   EDWARD   LEE. 

enemy.  The  situation  was  one  in  which  Gen.  Lee  found  himself 
in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  with  the  eyes  of  his  army  put  out, 
not  knowing  where  the  enemy  was,  or  where  would  be  the  field 
of  battle,  compelled  to  grope  his  way  to  whatever  issue  accidents 
might  determine.  It  was  in  these  circumstances  that  he  deter 
mined  to  relinquish  his  hold  on  the  Susquehanna,  to  look  after  his 
routes  of  retreat  on  the  east  side  of  the  South  Mountain  range, 
and  to  find  the  enemy  in  order  to  bring  him  to  a  battle.  With 
this  view,  Ewell  was  recalled  from  the  demonstration  on  Harris- 
burg,  and  the  several  corps  ordered  to  march  towards  Gettysburg. 
It  will  surprise  the  reader  to  learn  that  when  this  movement  was 
made,  Gen.  Lee  was  actually  ignorant  that  Hooker  had  crossed  the 
Potomac,  and  was  compelled  to  turn  from  his  designs  on  the  Susque- 
hanna  river,  to  hunt  the  enemy  up  for  battle!  Such  were  the  disas 
trous  results  of  the  absence  of  Stuart's  cavalry.  And  in  such 
circumstances  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  had  all  the  moral  effect  of 
a  surprise  for  the  Confederates.* 

On  the  1st  July  Heth's  division  of  Hill's  corps,  moving  towards 
Gettysburg,  became  engaged  near  the  town  with  the  enemy's  ad 
vance,  Eeynolds'  corps.  Gen.  Eeynolds  was  shot  down  as  he  rode 
forward  to  superintend  the  dispositions  of  his  troops ;  and  Ewell, 
coming  up  by  the  Harrisburg  road,  completed  the  disorder  of  the 
enemy,  driving  his  fugitive  and  disorganized  troops  through  the 
streets  of  Gettysburg  with  heavy  loss,  including  about  five  thou 
sand  prisoners  and  several  pieces  of  artillery.  The  success  was  not 
followed  beyond  the  town ;  the  broken  Federal  divisions  were 
re-formed  on  a  high  range  of  hills  south  and  east  of  Gettysburg ; 
and  the  attack  of  the  Confederates,  which  might  have  easily  pushed 
this  routed  detachment  of  the  enemy  beyond  this  critical  position, 
was  recalled  as  the  sun  inclined  to  the  horizon.  Gen.  Lee  had  had 
the  opportunity  of  getting  possession  of  these  heights,  instead  of 

*  In  Gen.  Lee's  official  report  he  makes  no  complaint  of  the  disappointment  of  the 
campaign  by  the  absence  of  Stuart's  cavalry  column ;  and,  indeed,  this  circumstance 
was,  until  recently,  lost  to  history.  Gen.  Lee  was  always  very  abstinent  of  censure 
of  his  officers ;  and  he  once  remarked  that  he  could  never  consider  himself  at  liberty 
to  make  a  reference  in  his  official  reports  to  a  fault  of  an  officer,  unless  it  had  been 
found  and  established  by  a  court-martial.  Despite  Gen.  Stuart's  abundant  record  of 
glorious  services,  he  is  said  to  have  deeply  regretted  his  failure  to  get  his  cavalry  in 
position  to  serve  as  designed  in  the  campaign,  and  to  have  been  affected  by  the 
disappointment  to  the  day  of  his  death. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  HI 

being  forced  to  fight  the  succeeding  days  on  a  sunken  parallel, 
under  every  disadvantage  of  position.  But  the  opportunity  slipped 
away  in  the  darkness  of  one  night ;  and  Gen.  Meade,  who  had  in 
fact  laid  out  a  different  line  of  battle,  being  advised  of  the  singular 
advantages  of  the  new  position  overlooking  Gettysburg,  pressed 
forward  the  bulk  of  his  army,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  2d  July 
had  all  his  forces  concentrated  in  the  strongest  position  that  had 
ever  been  taken  by  either  army  in  the  war. 

But  it  was  no  fault  of  Lee's  generalship  that  he  had  been  thus 
anticipated,  and  the  table  of  position  turned  upon  him ;  it  was  but 
another  consequence  of  the  circumstances  which  fettered  him  in 
the  absence  of  his  cavalry.  It  must  be  remembered  that  when  he 
recalled  the  attack  of  the  preceding  evening,  he  was  completely  in 
the  dark  as  to  the  movements  and  dispositions  of  the  enemy's 
forces ;  his  army  was  not  concentrated ;  it  was  at  a  great  distance 
from  its  base ;  he  was  uncertain  of  the  numbers  of  his  opponents ; 
he  was  unable,  by  reason  of  the  nature  of  the  ground,  to  ascertain 
their  exact  position;  and  in  these  circumstances  it  would  have 
been  the  height  of  imprudence  to  have  risked,  in  the  late  hours  of 
the  day,  an  attack  upon  what  might  have  been  the  whole  Federal 
army. 

But  while  Gen.  Lee  is  thus  cleared  of  the  censure,  which  popu 
lar  opinion  sometimes  attached  to  him,  of  having  allowed  the 
enemy  to  take  at  leisure  an  almost  impregnable  position  in  the 
face  of  his  victorious  divisions,  the  more  serious  question  remains, 
why  he  should  have  risked  a  battle  after  the .  enemy  had  secured 
an  advantage  so  decisive,  and  in  view  of  what  were  now  the  un 
equal  circumstances  of  the  field.  In  his  official  report  he  has  given 
a  partial  statement  of  the  reasons  which  determined  him  to  deliver 
battle.  He  says :  "It  had  not  been  intended  to  fight  a  general 
'battle  at  such  distance  from  our  base,  unless  attacked  by  the 
enemy;  but  finding  ourselves  unexpectedly  confronted  by  the 
Federal  army,  it  became  a  matter  of  difficulty  to  withdraw  through 
the  mountains  with  our  large  trains.  At  the  same  time  the  country 
was  unfavourable  for  collecting  supplies  while  in  the  presence  of 
the  enemy's  main  body,  as  he  was  enabled  to  restrain  our  foraging 
parties  by  occuping  the  passes  of  the  mountains  with  regular  and 
local  troops.  A  battle  thus  became,  in  a  measure,  unavoidable. 
Encouraged  by  the  successful  issue  of  the  first  day,  and  in  view  of 


112  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

the  valuable  results  which  would  ensue  from  the  defeat  of  the 
army  of  General  Meade,  it  was  thought  advisable  to  renew  the 
attack." 

The  fact  is,  the  difficulties  of  retreat  was  an  inferiour  considera 
tion,  in  Gen.  Lee's  mind,  to  others  which  he  hints  in  his  official 
word.  Those  difficulties  were  not  insuperable.  Gen.  Longstreet 
was  opposed  to  the  risk  of  attack  at  Gettysburg,  and  proposed  to 
manoeuvre  Meade  out  of  his  position  by  a  march  on  Frederick, 
threatening  "Washington.  But  the  confidence  of  Gen.  Lee  in  his 
troops,  inspired  by  the  results  of  the  first  day,  overruled  all  other 
considerations;  he  felt  that  the  temper  of  his  men  justified  almost 
any  enterprise ;  he  had  promised  a  repetition  in  Pennsylvania  of 
the  victories  that  had  so  often  crowned  their  arms  in  Virginia ;  and 
witnessing  the  enthusiasm  of  his  men,  he  could  not  bear  to  shock 
their  expectations  and  to  abandon  his  own  towering  hopes  by 
declining  battle,  and  changing  the  bold  policy  of  invasion  to  a 
campaign  of  manoeuvres. 

It  was  the  animus  and  inspiration  of  the  invasion  that  deter 
mined  him  to  attack.  In  the  morning  of  the  2d  July,  his  line  of 
battle  was  formed  :  Ewell  occupying  the  left,  A.  P.  Hill  the  centre, 
and  Longstreet  the  right.  The  battle  raged  with  unexampled 
fury.  Longstreet  broke  the  first  part  of  the  enemy's  line  in  his 
front,  and  made  one  of  those  mortal  struggles,  rare  in  war,  for  the 
possession  of  "Bound  Top" — a  steep  hill,  the  key  of  the  enemy's 
position.  The  opposing  forces  were  clinched  here  in  close  contest. 
It  was,  as  Longstreet  describes  it,  fighting  "  belly  to  belly."  He 
gained  some  ground,  and  once  some  of  his  brigades  were  in  tempo 
rary  possession  of  the  prize,  but  unable  to  hold  it  for  want  of  a 
timely  reinforcement.  On  the  left,  Ewell  had  thrust  himself  within 
the  breastworks  of  the  enemy,  and  gained  some  important  posi 
tions,  but  the  chief  action  of  the  day  had  been  borne  by  Longstreet's 
corps  and  a  part  of  Anderson's  division  of  Hill's  corps ;  and 
although  the  force  had  failed  to  obtain  the  coveted  prize  of  "  Bound 
Top,"  it  had  carried  the  whole  front  of  the  enemy  on  which  Sickles' 
ill-fated  corps  had  been  drawn,  and  night  found  the  advantage  on 
the  side  of  the  Confederates. 

The  next  day  the  fiery  drama  was  resumed  at -noon.      Gen 
Lee's  plan  of   attack  had  been  previously  directed  against  both 
flanks  of  the  enemy's  position,  but  he  now  altered  his  determina- 


GENERAL  KQBEET  EDWARD  LEE.  113 

tion,  and  resolved  to  assault  Meade's  centre,  under  cover  of  a  heavy 
fire  of  artillery.  More  than  100  guns  of  the  batteries  of  Long- 
street's  and  Hill's  corps  opened  a  simultaneous  fire,  whilst  E well's 
artillery,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Gettysburg,  played  on  the 
slopes  of  Cemetery  Hill.  The  Federal  batteries  replied,  and  for 
the  space  of  two  hours,  a  cannonade,  whose  volume  had  not  yet 
been  equalled  in  the  war,  thundered  in  the  narrow  valley  separat 
ing  the  two  armies.  The  Confederate  columns  of  attack  were 
formed  on  the  edge  of  the  woods,  Pickett's  division  to  lead  the 
van,  with  one  brigade  of  Hill's  corps,  commanded  by  "Wilcox,  on 
his  right,  and  Heth's  division  under  Gen.  Pettigrew,  on  his 
left.  There  was  an  intervening  space  of  near  a  mile,  over  not  more 
than  one-half  of  which,  the  Confederate  artillery  could  protect 
the  devoted  troops.  As  they  descended  the  hill  and  emerged  into 
the  plain,  they  received  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery ;  but 
through  shot  and  shell,  Pickett  carried  his  hostile  front  in  compact 
and  magnificent  order.  With  a  steady  advance  that  awed  the 
enemy,  the  Virginia  troops  came  within  musketry  range.  The 
artillery  had  ploughed  their  ranks  in  vain,  and  the  lines  of  Federal 
infantry,  with  breathless  expectation,  braced  themselves  to  receive 
the  impact.  Buffeting  the  severe  volleys  that  met  it,  rushing  up 
the  crest  of  Cemetery  Eidge,  thrusting  itself  within  the  lines  of  the 
enemy,  the  solitary  division  of  Pickett  carried  the  long-contested 
heights  and  crowned  the  stone  wall,  from  which  had  leaped  so 
many  messengers  of  death,  with  the  battle-flags  of  the  Confederacy. 
But,  under  the  quick,  desperate  volleys  of  the  enemy's  musketry, 
and  as  the  last  fringe  of  fire  blazed  along  the  stone  wall,  Petti- 
grew's  division  had  faltered,  and  was  now  in  retreat ;  Wilcox's 
command  had  not  attacked  in  time ;  and  Pickett's  division 
remained  alone  "  a  solid  lance-head  of  Virginia  troops  tempered  in 
the  fire  of  battle."  It  only  remained  to  consult  safety  where  a 
moment  before  it  had  won  success,  and  to  withdraw  from  what 
were  now  desperate  straits,  which  might  have  been  the  breach 
of  a  decisive  victory.  As  the  shattered  column  of  Pickett 
returned  to  its  lines  on  Seminary  Eidge,  Gen.  Lee  saw  that  the 
day  was  lost. 

He  had  watched  the  battle  from  a  hill  in  rear  of  Gen.  Hill's 
position  ;  and  when  he  witnessed  the  fatal  recoil,  he  saw  at  once  the 
necessity  of  providing  against  a  counter-attack  of  the  enemy,  and 

8 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

displaying,  in  these  terrible  moments,  the  confidence  and  self-pos 
session  by  which  alone  he  could  now  hope  to  save  his  army.  Never 
was  he  more  sublime,  more  forgetful  of  self,  more  perfect  in  tem 
per,  as  in  this  one  hour  of  great  misfortune  and  terrible  danger. 
Among  the  throng  of  disrupted  troops  he  rode  quite  alone,  calm  in 
manner,  kind  in  voice,  comforting  the  wounded,  and  encouraging 
the  officers  dispirited  by  the  reverse.  He  exclaimed,  repeatedly, 
"It's  all  my  fault!  "  His  presence,  his  generous  words,  kindled  a 
new  inspiration ;  the  disorder  was  quickly  remedied ;  and  as  suc 
cessive  detachments  were  formed  in  the  woods,  they  were  quietly 
brought  forward,  and  placed  in  positions  to  resist  the  attack  which 
all  considered  imminent.  The  men  were  ordered  to  lie  down  in 
the  woods,  to  await  the  attack.  Presently  a  prolonged  cheer  arose 
from  the  Federal  lines.  It  was  thought  to  be  the  painful  signal  of 
another  battle ;  but  it  proved  to  be  only  the  greeting  awarded  Gen. 
Meade,  as  he  rode  along  the  lines,  in  full  sense  and  satisfaction  of 
the  victory  he  had  won. 

The  4th  of  July,  heretofore  the  most  joyful  and  proudest  of 
American  anniversaries,  was  spent  in  burying  the  thousands  of 
dead  that  strewed  an  arena  of  civil  war,  and  cursed  with  fraternal 
slaughter  what  had  once  been  a  valley  of  beautiful  and  supreme 
peace.  More  than  16,000  killed  and  wounded  Federals  had  fallen 
on  that  field.  On  the  Confederate  side,  the  casualties  were  scarcely 
less,  while  their  loss  in  prisoners  was  considerably  greater  than  that 
of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Lee,  so  far  from  being  in  a  condition  to  renew 
the  conflict,  was  at  the  extremity  of  fear  for  the  safety  of  his  army ; 
his  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  the  Potomac  was  report 
ed  to  be  rising,  from  recent  freshets,  so  as  to  cut  off  his  chances  of 
retreat.  In  the  night  of  the  5th  July,  he  commenced  his  fearful 
retreat,  compelled  to  leave  many  of  his  wounded  behind ;  and  by 
daylight  his  rear  column  had  left  Gettysburg,  without  interruption 
from  the  enemy.  On  reaching  the  Potomac  he  found,  as  he  had 
feared,  his  retreat  barred  by  the  rise  of  the  river ;  and  until  the  12th 
July,  his  desperate  army  remained  in  line  of  battle  at  Williams- 
port.  But  the  timidity  of  the  enemy,  which  appeared  to  be  con 
sequent  on  all  his  victories,  or  rather  that  weak  characteristic  fear 
of  a  mediocre  commander,  which  fears  to  spoil  eclat  already  won, 
by  the  possibility  of  a  reverse,  and  stops  half-way  in  success,  saved 
Gen.  Lee  from  the  fearful  trial  of  another  battle ;  and,  eventually, 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  115 

in  face  of  the  hesitating  Federals,  his  pontoon  bridges  being  com 
pleted,  he  crossed  the  river,  was  again  in  Virginia,  and  by  leisurely 
movements  succeeded  in  planting  his  suffering  and  diminished  army 
on  the  banks  of  the  Eapidan.  His  scheme  of  invasion  had  been 
baulked  and  brought  to  naught ;  he  had  sustained  a  severe  defeat  ; 
but  he  had  reason  to  congratulate  himself  that  he  had  extricated 
his  army,  which  the  whole  Northern  public  had  waited  to  hear 
would  be  cut  off  by  Meade,  as  the  crowning  prize  of  his  campaign. 
"  The  fruit  seemed  so  ripe,  so  ready  for  plucking,"  said  President 
Lincoln,  "  that  it  was  very  hard  to  lose  it." 


116  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Decline  of  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy.— Operations  in  the  autumn  of  1863.— 
Gen.  Lee's  patriotic  exhortation  to  his  troops. — His  great  care  for  them. — Meeting 
of  the  chaplains  in  his  army. — Relations  between  General  Lee  and  his  troops. — 
His  habits  on  the  battle-field. — Intercourse  with  his  men.— Simplicity  of  his  man 
ners. — His  feelings  towards  the  public  enemy.- — How  he  rebuked  a  Yankee-pho- 
t  T)ist. — Sufferings  of  the  Confederate  troops. — Commissary  Northrop. — General  Lee 
demands  food  for  his  troops. — Touching  address  to  his  half-starved  men. — Anec 
dote  of  Gen.  Lee  and  his  cook. — Personal  recollections  of  the  great  commander. 
— An  English  officer's  description  of  his  person  and  habits. 

THE  recoil  at  Gettysburg  marked  a  period  when  the  Southern 
fortunes  commenced  to  decline,  and  on  its  disastrous  field  was  buried 
much  of  the  former  prestige  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Yirginia. 
But  the  army  had  saved  itself  and  its  honour,  if  it  had  not  done  all 
that  popular  admiration  had  predicted  for  it ;  and  it  obtained  at 
least  the  advantage  of  several  months'  repose.  It  was  not  in  mo 
tion  again  until  October,  and  the  remainder  of  the  year  was  con 
sumed  by  a  campaign  of  manoeuvres,  which,  as  it  was  generally 
without  result,  we  need  not  give  in  detail  here.  An  attempted 
flank  march  on  Centre ville,  by  which  Gen.  Lee  aimed  to  get  be 
tween  Meade  and  Washington,  was  anticipated  by  the  enemy,  and 
proved  a  failure ;  and  in  the  month  of  November  the  enemy  ap 
peared  to  make  a  retaliatory  signal  of  attack,  advancing,  and 
crossing  the  Eapidan  at  several  points.  Gen.  Lee,  noticing  the 
movement,  issued  the  following  general  order,  in  which  his  patriotic 
exhortation  and  appeal  to  the  army  were  expressed  in  words  of 
more  than  usual  urgency  and  power : 

"The  enemy  is  again  advancing  upon  our  capital,  and  the 
country  once  more  looks  to  this  army  for  its  protection.  Under 
the  blessings  of  God,  your  valour  has  repelled  every  previous  at 
tempt,  and,  invoking  the  continuance  of  His  favour,  we  cheerfully 
commit  to  Him  the  issue  of  the  coming  contest. 

"  A  cruel  enemy  seeks  to  reduce  our  fathers  and  our  mothers, 
our  wives  and  our  children,  to  abject  slavery ;  to  strip  them  of 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  117 

their  property,  and  drive  them  from  their  homes.  Upon  you  these 
helpless  ones  rely  to  avert  these  terrible  calamities,  and  to  secure 
to  them  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  safety.  Your  past  history 
gives  them  the  assurance  that  their  trust  will  not  be  in  vain.  Let 
every  man  remember  that  all  he  holds  dear  depends  upon  the  faith 
ful  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  resolve  to  fight,  and  if  need  be  to 
die,  in  defence  of  a  cause  so  sacred  and  worthy  the  name  won  by 
this  army  on  so  many  bloody  fields." 

But  the  expected  battle  did  not  occur ;  Meade's  plan  of  action 
came  to  an  abortive  issue,  and,  in  a  few  days,  he  withdrew  across 
the  Eapidan,  and  resumed  his  old  camps.  Both  armies  went  into 
winter-quarters ;  and  Gen.  Lee,  who  was  always  busy  in  the  inter 
vals  of  action  in  recruiting  and  improving  his  army,  again 
addressed  himself  to  the  usual  tasks  of  winter,  providing  for  the 
comfort  of  his  men,  and  corresponding  with  the  War  Department 
at  Richmond  on  the  many  needs  of  the  military  service. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  the  religious  interests  of  his 
men  were  attended  to  by  a  commander  who  appears  to  have  taken 
into  his  heart  every  comfort  and  care  of  the  soldiers  he  com 
manded,  and  to  have  omitted  nothing  from  his  scheme  of  welfare. 
In  November,  all  the  chaplains  of  Gen.  Lee's  army  held  a  meet 
ing  or  convention  in  the  camps  on  the  Kapidan,  to  invoke  the  God 
of  Battles,  and  to  consult  about  their  spiritual  cares.  Most  inter 
esting  reports  were  made,  showing  a  high  state  of  religious  feeling 
throughout  the  army.  At  a  later  day,  in  his  winter-quarters,  Gen. 
Lee  appointed  a  day  of  "  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer ; " 
requiring  military  duties  to  be  suspended,  and  desiring  the  chap 
lains  to  hold  divine  service  in  their  regiments  and  brigades.  A 
correspondent  of  the  Richmond  Dispatch  said :  "  The  great  suc 
cess  of  Gen.  Lee's  army  is  due  to  the  religious  element  which 
reaches  every  corner  of  it ;  whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  very 
much  disposed  to  fear,  from  what  I  have  been  told  by  officers  who 
have  served  in  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  that  the  lack  of  success  of 
that  army  is  due,  in  a  large  measure,  to  the  want  of  religious  influ 
ence  upon  the  troops." 

The  task  of  reorganizing  and  inspiriting  his  army,  after  the 
most  arduous  campaigns,  was  one  in  which  Gen.  Lee  was  more 
successful  than  any  other  Confederate  commander.  And  while 
engaged  in  this  work,  preparatory  to  the  great  spring  campaign  of 


118  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

1864,  it  will  be  convenient  for  us  to  pause  here  to  make  some  esti 
mate  of  the  commander  for  which  the  accounts  of  so  many  battles 
already  fought  will  prepare  the  reader,  and  to  explain  those  rela 
tions  to  his  army  in  which  he  was  so  fortunate  and  powerful. 

A  great  element  of  Gen.  Lee's  popularity  in  his  army  was  his 
exceeding,  almost  paternal,  care  for  his  men.  It  is  a  remarkable 
circumstance  that  he  never  harangued  his  troops  on  a  battle-field ; 
he  employed  but  little  of  rhetoric,  and  was  innocent  of  theatrical 
machinery  in  maintaining  the  resolution  and  spirit  of  his  army. 
He  was  never  a  conspicuous  figure  in  the  field  of  battle.  His 
habit  was  to  consult  the  plan  of  battle  thoroughly ;  assign  to  each 
corps  commander  his  precise  work,  and  leave  the  active  conduct 
of  the  field  to  his  lieutenant-generals,  unless  in  some  case  of  criti 
cal  emergency.  He  but  seldom  gave  an  order  on  the  field  of  bat 
tle.  It  is  indeed  remarkable  that  with  such  little  display  of  his 
person,  and  with  a  habit  bordering  on  taciturnity,  Gen.  Lee  should 
have  obtained  such  control  over  the  affections  of  men  whom  he 
tried  not  only  by  constant  battle  but  by  tests  of  hardship,  priva 
tion  and  suffering,  and  by  a  measure  of  general  endurance  such  as 
has  not  been  applied  to  any  army  of  modern  times. 

But  his  intercourse  with  his  army  was  peculiar.  He  mingled 
with  the  troops  on  every  proper  occasion  ;  he  spoke  a  few  simple 
words  here  and  there  to  the  wounded  and  distressed  soldier ;  and 
his  kindliness  of  manner  was  so  unaffected  that  it  at  once  gained 
the  confidence  and  touched  the  heart.  He  had  a  rare  gift,  which 
many  persons  copy  or  affect,  but  which  can  never  be  perfectly  pos 
sessed  unless  by  a  great  man  and  a  true  gentleman — a  voice  whose 
tones  of  politeness  never  varied,  whether  uttered  to  the  highest 
or  lowest  in  rank.  His  men  not  only  felt  a  supreme  confidence  in 
his  judgment  as  a  commander,  but  they  were  conscious  every 
where  of  his  sympathy  with  their  sufferings,  and  his  attention  to 
their  wants ;  and  they  therefore  accepted  every  sacrifice  and  trial  as 
inevitable  necessity  imposed  upon  them  by  a  paternal  hand.  In 
those  long  and  weary  marches  which  try  the  patience  of  the  sol 
dier,  he  would  not  allow  the  men  to  be  hurried  without  necessity, 
gave  them  sufficient  opportunities  for  rest  and  refreshment,  and 
would  inquire  among  them  at  the  end  of  the  day  how  they  had  stood 
the  march,  and  receive  any  suggestions  for  making  that  of  the  next 
day  less  irksome.  When  the  march  was  necessarily  a  hard  one,  it 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  119 

was  his  custom  to  send  back  couriers,  when  the  point  aimed  at  was 
near  at  hand,  to  encourage  his  weary  men  with  the  intelligence. 

The  habits  of  Gen.  Lee  was  those  of  a  thorough  soldier,  and  all 
that  men  can  require  in  the  assurance  that  their  commander  shares 
with  them  the  hardships  of  war.  On  a  march,  when  camping  out, 
he  did  not,  as  some  of  his  brigade  commanders  did,  select  the  finest 
dwelling-house  in  the  neighbourhood  of  his  camp,  and  insist  upon 
the  occupant  entertaining  himself  and  staff.  It  was  only  when  he 
had  established  headquarters  at  a  place  where  he  was  likely  to 
remain  some  time,  that  he  sought  the  protection  of  a  house.  He 
dressed  without  unnecessary  display  of  his  rank  ;  he  endured  the 
commonest  hardships  without  the  affectation  that  calls  attention  to 
them ;  and  in  the  sincere  simplicity  of  his  manners  he  afforded 
an  example  how  readily  even  the  much-abused  populace  will  distin 
guish  between  the  arts  of  the  demagogue  and  the  virtues  of  the 
man. 

In  all  his  official  intercourse  and  private  conversation  Gen. 
Lee  never  breathed  a  vindictive  sentiment  towards  the  enemy 
who  so  severely  taxed  his  resources  and  ingenuity,  and  put  against 
him  so  many  advantages  in  superiour  means  and  numbers.  He  had 
none  of  that  Yankee-phobia  common  in  the  Southern  army ;  he 
spoke  of  the  Northern  people  without  malevolence,  and  in  a  style 
that  deprecated  their  political  delusions  rather  than  denounced  their 
crimes ;  and  he  generally  referred  to  the  enemy  in  quiet  and  indif 
ferent  words,  quite  in  contrast  to  the  epithets  and  anathemas  which 
were  popularly  showered  on  "the  Yankees."  On  one  occasion,  a 
spectator  describes  him  riding  up  to  the  Eockbridge  Artillery, 
which  was  fiercely  engaging  the  enemy,  and  greeting  his  son 
Eobert,  who  as  a  private  soldier  was  bravely  working  one  of  the 
guns.  "How  d'ye  do,  father?"  was  all  that  Eobert  had  to  say  as 
he  continued  his  duty  at  his  gun ;  and  Gen.  Lee  replied  quietly : 
"  That's  right,  my  son ;  drive  those  people  back."*  At  another  time, 


*  Gen.  Lee  had  three  sons,  all  of  whom  did  hard  and  noble  service  in  the  Confed 
erate  army.  Brig.-Gen.  G.  "W.  Custis  Lee,  was  for  some  time  aide-de-camp  to  the 
President,  and  held  part  of  the  Richmond  defences ;  Maj.-Gen.  "W.  H.  F.  Lee  com 
manded  a  division  of  cavalry  in  the  Army  of  Northerh  Virginia :  and  Robert 
Edward  Lee,  to  whom  we  have  referred  as  a  private  in  the  Rockbridge  Artillery, 
was  afterwards  on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee,  a  son  of  Commodore  Lee,  and 
nephew  of  the  great  commander. 


120  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

in  sight  of  the  enemy  on  the  Eapidan,  Gen.  Lee  was  standing  near 
his  lines,  conversing  with  two  of  his  officers,  one  of  whom  was 
known  to  be  not  only  a  hard  fighter  and  a  hard  swearer,  but  a 
cordial  hater  of  the  Yankees.  After  a  silence  of  some  moments, 
the  latter  officer,  looking  at  the  Yankees  with  a  dark  scowl  on  his 
face,  exclaimed  most  emphatically,  "I  wish  they  were  all  dead." 
Gen.  Lee,  with  the  grace  and  manner  peculiar  to  himself,  replied, 
"  How  can  you  say  so,  General !  Now  I  wish  they  were  all  at 
home,  attending  to  their  own  business,  and  leaving  us  to  do 
the  same."  He  then  moved  off,  when  the  first  speaker  waiting 
until  he  was  out  of  earshot,  turned  to  his  companion,  and  in  the 
most  earnest  tone  said,  "  I  would  not  say  so  before  Gen.  Lee,  but  I 
wish  they  were  all  dead  and  in  hell!'1''  When  this  "  amendment " 
to  the  wish  was  afterwards  repeated  to  Gen.  Lee,  in  spite  of  his 
goodness  and  customary  reproof  of  profanity,  he  could  not  refrain 
from  laughing  heartily  at  the  speech,  which  was  so  characteristic 
of  one  of  his  favourite  officers. 

The  greatest  suffering  of  Confederate  troops  was  in  the  article 
of  food ;  and  on  this  subject  Gen.  Lee  exhibited  especial  care,  and 
exhausted  every  possible  appeal  to  the  proper  authorities.  He  was 
constantly  writing  to  Eichmond  of  the  deficiency  of  food  in  his 
army ;  he  experienced  here  the  greatest  difficulty  of  his  campaigns ; 
and  he  appears  never  to  have  convinced  the  dull  brain  of  the  gov 
ernment,  of  the  vital  importance  of  a  concern  which  lacerated  his 
sensibilities,  weighed  down  his  energies,  depleted  the  army  by 
"  absenteeism,"  and  contributed  largely  to  the  final  catastrophe  of 
his  arms.  In  the  first  winter  of  his  campaign  in  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  he  recommended  that  an  appeal  should  be  made  to  the  peo 
ple  to  bring  food  to  the  army,  to  feed  their  sons  and  brothers.  But 
the  plan  was  overruled  by  Commissary  Northrop,  who  put  on  it  a 
curt  and  impertinent  indorsement,  that  as  he  had  no  acquaintance 
with  that  means  of  maintaining  an  army  (the  patriotic  contribu 
tions  of  the  people),  he  could  not  recommend  the  adoption  of  Gen. 
Lee's  suggestion.  In  the  spring  of  1863,  Gen.  Lee  appears  to  have 
been  more  deeply  concerned  in  this  matter,  and  wrote  a  remark 
able  letter  to  the  government  at  Eichmond.  He  stated  that  his 
men  had  each,  daily,  but  a  quarter-pound  of  meat,  and  sixteen 
ounces  of  flour;  they  had,  besides,  one  pound  of  rice  to  every  ten 
men,  two  or  three  times  a  week ;  and  he  plainly  declared  that  such 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  121 

rations  might  sustain  life  in  his  men,  but  if  they  were  expected  to 
keep  the  field,  they  must  have  more  generous  food.  But  this  was 
only  the  beginning  of  trials  and  sufferings  which  culminated  in 
later  periods  of  the  war,  when,  for  days,  Lee's  army  was  entirely 
without  meat,  and  the  supply  of  bread,  even,  was  in  danger.  That 
these  deficiences  were  the  result  of  culpable  neglect  in  Kichmond, 
appears  to  have  been  the  persistent  opinion  of  Gen.  Lee,  as  there  is 
a  letter  from  him  as  late  as  December,  1864,  declaring  his  judgment 
that,  even  then,  there  were  supplies  enough  in  the  country,  if  the 
proper  means  were  used  to  procure  them. 

There  is  no  more  noble  and  touching  appeal  to  his  army  than 
that  made  by  Gen.  Lee  in  the  bitter  winter  that  preceded  the 
mighty  campaign  of  1864  in  Virginia,  when  the  destitute  and  half- 
starved  troops  found  themselves  in  almost  the  last  extremity  of 
suffering.  In  this  dark  period,  he  issued  the  following  proclama 
tion,  expressive  of  proud  congratulation  and  noble  encouragement : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 
January  22,  1864. 

The  Commanding  General  considers  it  due  to  the  army  to  state 
that  the  temporary  reduction  of  rations  has  been  caused  by  circum 
stances  beyond  the  control  of  those  charged  with  its  support.  Its 
welfare  and  comfort  are  the  objects  of  his  constant  and  earnest 
solicitude,  and  no  effort  has  been  spared  to  provide  for  its  wants. 
It  is  hoped  that  the  exertions  now  being  made  will  render  the 
necessity  but  of  short  duration ;  but  the  history  of  the  army  has 
shown  that  the  country  can  require  no  sacrifice  too  great  for  its 
patriotic  devotion. 

Soldiers !  you  tread,  with  no  unequal  steps,  the  road  by  which 
your  fathers  marched  through  suffering,  privation,  and  blood,  to 
independence. 

Continue  to  emulate  in  the  future,  as  you  have  in  the  past,  their 
valour  in  arms,  their  patient  endurance  of  hardships,  their  high 
resolve  to  be  free ;  which  no  trial  could  shake,  no  bribe  seduce,  no 
danger  appall ;  and  be  assured  that  the  just  God  who  crowned  their 
efforts  with  success,  will,  in  His  own  good  time,  send  down  His 
blessings  upon  yours. 

E.  E.  LEE,  General. 

In  the  article  of  food,  as  in  other  things,  Gen.  Lee  appears  to 


122  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

have  uniformly  shared  the  distress  of  his  men,  and  to  have  claimed 
for  headquarters  no  exemption  from  the  common  lot  of  the  army. 
His  scanty  meals  were  the  occasions  of  some  thoughtless  jokes,  and 
many  comic  anecdotes.  In  his  tent,  meat  was  eaten  but  twice  a 
week.  His  ordinary  dinner  consisted  of  a  head  of  cabbage,  boiled 
in  salt  water,  and  a  pone  of  corn  bread.  The  story  is  jocosely  told 
that  on  one  occasion,  a  number  of  gentlemen  having  appointed  to 
dine  with  him,  he  had  ordered  his  servant  to  provide  a  repast  of 
cabbage  and  middling.  A  very  small  bit  of  middling  garnished 
the  dish;  so  small  that  the  polite  guests  all  declined  middling,  and 
it  remained  on  the  dish  when  they  rose  from  the  table.  Next  day, 
the  General,  remembering  the  untouched  meat,  ordered  his  servant 
to  bring  "  that  middling."  The  man  hesitated,  scratched  his  head, 
and  finally  said :  "  De  fac  is,  mass'r  Eobert,  dat  ar  middlin'  was 
borrid  middlin,'  and  I  done  giv  it  back  to  de  man  whar  I  got  it 
from." 

Gen.  Lee  never  allowed  familiarity  ;  but  he  was  of  that  dignity 
that  rather  disarmed  than  repulsed  it.  Yet  to  those  immediately 
around  him  he  often  spoke  in  a  simple,  playful  speech,  that  was 
quite  charming.  An  aide  relates  of  him,  that  just  before  the  battle 
of  Chancellors ville,  when  the  army  was  alert  for  action,  he  entered 
Gen.  Lee's  tent  with  a  hurried  message  that  the  enemy  was  sup 
posed  to  be  crossing  the  river  about  Fredericksburg.  Gen.  Lee 
replied :  "  Well,  I  heard  firing,  and  I  was  beginning  to  think  it 
was  time  some  of  you  lazy  young  fellows  were  coming  to  tell  me 
what  it  was  all  about.  Say  to  Gen.  Jackson  that  he  knows  just  as 
well  what  to  do  with  the  enemy  as  I  do."  When  Jackson  was 
prostrated  with  his  wound  that  unexpectedly  proved  mortal,  Gen. 
Lee  sent  him  a  number  of  kindly  messages  in  his  peculiarly  simple 
and  affectionate  words.  "  Give  him,"  he  said  in  his  half-playful 
and  tender  manner,  "my  affectionate  regards,  and  tell  him  to  make 
haste  and  get  well,  and  come  back  to  me  as  soon  as  he  can.  He 
has  lost  his  left  arm,  but  I  have  lost  my  right  arm."  At  another 
time,  hearing  of  the  threatening  change  in  the  condition  of  the 
sufferer,  he  said  with  great  feeling :  "  Surely  Gen.  Jackson  must 
recover.  God  will  not  take  him  from  us,  now  that  we  need  him  so 
much.  Surely  he  will  be  spared  to  us,  in  answer  to  the  many 
prayers  which  are  offered  for  him."  He  afterwards  added: 
"  When  you  return,  I  trust  you  will  find  him  better.  When  a 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  123 

suitable  occasion  offers,  give  him  my  love,  and  tell  him  that  I 
wrestled  in  prayer  for  him  last  night,  as  I  never  prayed,  I  believe, 
for  myself." 

We  have  already  referred  to  Gen.  Lee's  noble  and  collected 
behaviour  on  the  field  of  Gettysburg.  An  English  colonel,  who 
observed  him  closely  on  that  momentous  occasion,  has  made  such 
a  characteristic  relation,  that  every  one  will  recognize  in  it  the 
manner  and  words  of  Gen.  Lee,  especially  his  simple  and  unaffected 
way  of  talking  to  his  men.  This  writer  says :  "  I  joined  Gen. 
Lee,  who  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  come  to  the  front  on  becoming 
aware  of  the  disaster.  Gen.  Lee  was  perfectly  sublime.  He  was 
engaged  in  rallying  and  encouraging  the  broken  troops,  and  was  rid 
ing  about,  a  little  in  front  of  the  wood,  quite  alone — the  whole  of  his 
staff  being  engaged  in  a  similar  manner  further  to  the  rear.  His 
face,  which  is  always  placid  and  cheerful,  did  not  show  signs  of  the 
slightest  disappointment,  care,  or  annoyance,  and  he  was  address 
ing  to  every  soldier  he  met  a  few  words  of  encouragement,  such 
as,  '  All  this  will  come  right  in  the  end  ;  we'll  talk  it  over  after 
wards  ;  but,  in  the  meantime,  all  good  men  must  rally.  We 
want  all  good  and  true  men  just  now,'  etc.  He  spoke  to  all 
the  wounded  men  that  passed  him,  and  the  slightly  wounded  he 
exhorted  to  '  bind  up  their  hurts  and  take  up  a  musket '  in  this 
emergency.  Yery  few  failed  to  answer  his  appeal,  and  I  saw 
many  badly  wounded  men  take  off  their  hats  and  cheer  him. 

"  There  was  a  man  lying  flat  on  his  face,  in  a  small  ditch, 
groaning  dismally ;  Gen.  Lee's  attention  was  drawn  to  him,  and 
he  at  once  appealed  to  the  man's  patriotism  to  arouse  himself,  but 
finding  such  to  be  of  no  avail,  he  had  him  ignominiously  set  on 
his  legs,  by  some  neighbouring  gunners. 

"  Gen.  Wilcox  now  came  up  to  him,  and,  in  very  depressed 
tones  of  annoyance  and  vexation,  explained  the  state  of  his  brigade. 
But  Gen.  Lee  immediately  shook  hands  with  him,  and  said,  in 
a  cheerful  manner,  'Never  mind,  General.  All  this  has  been 
my  fault.  It  is  I  that  have  lost  this  fight,  and  you  must  help  me 
out  of  it  the  best  way  you  can.'  In  this  mannner  did  Gen.  Lee, 
wholly  ignoring  self  and  position,  encourage  and  reanimate  his 
somewhat  dispirited  troops,  and  magnanimously  take  upon  his  own 
shoulders  the  whole  weight  of  the  repulse.  It  was  impossible  to 
look  at  him,  or  to  listen  to  him,  without  feeling  the  strongest 


124  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

admiration,  and  I  never  saw  any  man  fail  him,  except  the  man  in 
the  ditch." 

The  same  writer  (Col.  Fremantle)  has  made  the  following 
description  of  the  person  and  habits  of  the  great  and  beloved 
Confederate  commander :  "  Gen.  Lee  is,  almost  without  exception, 
the  handsomest  man  of  his  age  I  ever  saw.  He  is  tall,  broad- 
shouldered,  very  well  made,  well  set  up — a  thorough  soldier  in 
appearance — and  his  manners  are  most  courteous,  and  full  of 
dignity.  He  is  a  perfect  gentleman  in  every  respect.  I  imagine 
no  man  has  so  few  enemies,  or  is  so  universally  esteemed. 
Throughout  the  South  all  agree  in  pronouncing  him  as  near  per 
fection  as  a  man  can  be.  He  has  none  of  the  small  vices,  such  as 
smoking,  drinking,  chewing,  or  swearing ;  and  his  bitterest  enemy 
never  accused  him  of  any  of  the  greater  ones.  He  generally  wears 
a  well-worn,  long,  gray  jacket,  a  high,  black  felt  hat,  and  blue 
trowsers,  tucked  into  his  Wellington  boots.  I  never  saw  him 
carry  arms ;  and  the  only  marks  of  his  military  rank  are  the  three 
stars  on  his  collar.  He  rides  a  handsome  horse,  which  is  extremely 
well  groomed.  He  himself  is  very  neat  in  his  dress  and  person  ; 
and  in  the  most  arduous  marches  he  always  looks  smart  and 
clean." 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  125 


CHAPTER  X. 

Opening  of  the  great  campaign  of  1864. — Precise  account  of  Glen.  Lee's  plans. — He 
'acts  with,  his  accustomed  boldness,  and  takes  the  offensive. — Actions  of  the  5th 
and  6th  May. — General  Lee  determines  to  lead  a  critical  assault. — Protest  of  the 
soldiers. — Grant  resorts  to  manoeuvre. — Spottsylvania  Court-House. — General  Lee 
again  in  the  extreme  front  of  his  men. — A  thrilling  spectacle. — Heroic  action  of 
Gordon. — "  Gen.  Lee  to  the  rear  !  " — Account  of  the  strategy  from  Spottsylvania 
Court-House  to  the  vicinity  of  Richmond. — Grant  on  the  old  battle-field  of  Me- 
Clellan. — His  army  defeated  in  ten  minutes  at  Cold  Harbour. — His  losses  in  one 
month  exceed  Lee's  whole  army. — Precise  statement  of  the  odds  against  Gen. 
Lee. — Reflections  on  the  nature  and  degrees  of  generalship. — Comparison  of  the 
two  rival  commanders  of  the  North  and  South. 

THE  most  terrible  campaign  that  had  yet  happened  in  Virginia 
took  place  when  the  Federal  army,  numbering  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  thousand  men,  under  U.  S.  Grant,  now 
acclaimed  the  hero  of  the  North,  and  the  little  army  of  Lee,  con 
sisting  of  not  one-third  of  that  number,  of  all  arms,  with  diminished 
strength,  but  unabashed  front,  came  into  the  grand  collision  of  the 
war,  and  upstarting  in  the  days  of  spring,  faced  each  other  on  the 
lines  of  the  Eapidan. 

At  midnight  of  the  3d  May,  1864,  Grant  commenced  his  ad 
vance  in  two  columns,  crossing  the  river  at  Germanna  and  Ely's 
Fords,  and  designing  a  turning  movement  on  the  right  flank  of  the 
Confederate  line.  The  passage  of  the  Eapidan  was  not  disputed  by 
Lee.  His  army  was  positioned  in  echelon  from  the  river  to  Gor- 
donsville — the  corps  of  Longstreet  being  near  the  latter  place,  that 
of  Hill  in  the  vicinity  of  Orange  Court-House,  and  that  of  Ewell 
stretching  thence  towards  the  Kapidan,  in  the  direction  of  Eaccoon 
Ford — and  he  immediately  determined  on  a  rapid  concentration 
of  his  forces  so  as  to  give  battle  before  the  enemy  emerged  from 
the  Wilderness,  thus  taking  the  offensive  where  Grant  had  expected 
him  to  fall  back.  The  movement  was  characteristic  of  Gen.  Lee, 
and  displayed  his  accustomed  boldness  in  seizing  the  opportunity 
of  attack  ;  there  was  no  hesitation  when  he  found  his  flank  turned, 


126'  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

no  thought  of  retreat ;  but  an  instant  determination  to  make  a 
rapid  change  of  front,  and  fall  upon  the  enemy  before  he  should 
have  time,  by  a  march  beyond  the  Wilderness,  to  lay  hold  of  the 
Confederate  communications  with  Richmond. 

Such  was  the  theory  of  the  battle.  In  the  morning  of  the  5th 
May,  Ewell's  corps,  moving  by  the  old  turnpike,  and  Hill's  by  the 
plank-road,  were  in  close  proximity  to  the  enemy's  line  of  march. 
The  action  commenced  by  Ewell's  advance,  consisting  of  Johnson's 
division,  making  an  impetuous  attack  on  the  enemy  on  the  turn 
pike  ;  it  was  momentarily  repulsed ;  but  joined  by  Ewell's  other 
divisions,  it  resumed  the  offensive,  broke  Warren's  corps,  and  gave 
a  severe  shock  to  the  enemy's  column,  entailing  upon  it  a  loss  of 
above  3,000  men.  Later  in  the  day  the  enemy  concentrated  against 
Hill,  who,  with  his  own  and  Wilcox's  divisions,  successfully  resisted 
the  repeated  and  desperate  assaults,  which  continued  until  eight 
o'clock  in  the  night. 

Satisfied  with  the  work  of  the  day,  Gen.  Lee  did  not  press  his 
advantage,  and  awaited  during  the  night  the  arrival  of  Long- 
street's  corps,  which  had  to  march  from  Gordonsville — forty  miles — 
to  the  scene  of  battle.  It  was  appointed  that  Longstreet,  on  his 
arrival,  should  come  upon  the  right  flank  of  Hill's  corps ;  but 
before  he  got  into  position,  the  enemy  renewed  his  heaviest  attack 
on  that  part  of  the  line,  and  for  a  time  carried  away  the  whole 
hostile  front,  throwing  Hill's  division  into  confusion,  and  driving 
them  back  more  than  a  mile.  It  appeared  that  the  enemy  was 
about  to  snatch  a  great  victory ;  but,  at  the  height  of  Hill's  con 
fused  retreat,  the  head  of  Longstreet's  division  came  upon  the 
ground.  There  was  now  a  pause  on  the  enemy's  side ;  a  rehabili 
tation  of  the  Confederate  line,  and  then  again,  with  a  new  breadth 
and  weight,  the  battle  was  restored.  But  in  the  fury  of  the  onset, 
which  drove  Hancock's  corps  back,  and  while  Longstreet  prepared 
for  a  decisive  blow  on  his  flank,  he  fell  severely  wounded,  as  he 
rode  forward  in  front  of  his  column,  from  a  musketry  fire  of  his 
own  flanking  force.  The  attack  was  stayed ;  Gen.  Lee  arrived  to 
take  charge  of  this  critical  part  of  the  field,  but  precious  time 
was  obtained  by  Hancock  to  thoroughly  reestablish  his  position, 
now  strengthened  by  fresh  troops  sent  to  him. 

It  was  not  until  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  that  any  new 
demonstration  was  made  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates.    About 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  127 

that  time,  Gen.  Lee,  having  got  well  in  hand  the  troops  of  Long- 
street  and  Hill,  prepared  to  make  a  desperate  assault  upon  the 
enemy's  intrenched  position,  where  Hancock  had  taken  refuge 
under  the  pressure  of  the  former  attack.  At  this  anxious  moment 
he  expressed  a  determination  to  lead  the  assault  himself ;  but  as  he 
moved  forward  to  take  his  place  at  the  head  of  the  troops,  an 
anxious  murmur  ran  along  the  lines,  and  grim  and  ragged  soldiers 
refused  to  advance  unless  their  beloved  commander  retired  to  a 
place  of  safety.  The  protest  was  one  of  touching  solicitude ;  the 
troops  would  not  move  while  their  commander  was  in  the  advance, 
but  with  shouts  declared  that  they  were  ready  to  drive  the  enemy, 
and  only  waited  for  the  -word  of  command.  It  was  given,  and 
nobly  did  the  men  redeem  the  promise  by  which  they  had  urged 
Gen.  Lee's  withdrawal  from  the  post  of  danger.  Within  less  than 
a  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy's  breastwork  of  logs,  they  delivered 
their  fire,  got  temporary  possession  of  the  intrenchments,  and  only 
retired  a  little  space  under  the  heat  and  smoke  of  a  conflagration 
which  had  sprung  up  in  the  woods,  and  was  now  communicated  to 
the  logs  behind  which  the  enemy  had  fought. 

This  closed  the  main  action  of  the  day.  But  on  the  Confederate 
left,  about  dark,  Ewell  gained  the  last  success,  moving  a  fo^ce 
around  the  right  flank  of  the  wing  held  by  a  portion  of  the  Sixth 
corps,  driving  the  enemy  in  confusion  through  the  forest,  and 
capturing  Brig. -Gens.  Seymour  and  Shaler,  and  the  greater  part  of 
their  commands. 

The  next  day  (7th  May)  the  Confederates  were  found  standing 
at  bay  behind  their  intrenchments;  and  Grant,  now  despairing, 
after  two  days  of  bloody  battle,  of  finishing  his  adversary  by  the 
application  of  brute  masses  in  rapid  and  remorseless  blows,  i.e., 
"hammering  continuously,"  determined  to  resort  to  manoeuvre,  and 
to  plant  himself  between  Lee's  army  and  Kichmond,  by  a  move 
ment  upon  Spottsylvania  Court-House.  "When  darkness  came  he 
began  his  march  to  this  new  trial  of  fortune.  Although  in  the 
battles  of  the  Wilderness  Lee  had  not  obtained  a  positive  victory, 
yet  the  result  was  a  grievous  disappointment  to  Grant,  who  had 
hoped  to  destroy  his  antagonist,  and  who,  coming  to  the  command 
of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  with  the  declared  opinion  that  it  had 
never  fought  its  successes  out,  had  expected  at  one  blow  of  his 
immensely  superiour  numbers,  and  without  the  aid  of  strategy,  to 


128  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

accomplish  his  work,  and  clear  the  road  to  Kichmond.  Disillu 
sionized  by  the  bloody  experience  of  two  days,  he  was  now  con 
tent  to  essay  a  new  route,  to  attempt  a  strategic  operation,  and  yet, 
in  the  end,  to  repeat  the  dreadful  experiment  of  the  application  of 
brute  masses  and  the  competitive  destruction  of  human  life  in  the 
decision  of  the  contest. 

At  Spottsylvania  Court-House  he  found  Lee  ready  to  receive 
him  and  his  entire  army,  right  across  the  path  by  which  he  must 
march  to  get  to  Eichmond.  It  was  the  repetition  of  the  slaughter 
of  the  Wilderness.  Of  the  battle  which  took  place  here,  and  its 
monument  of  carnage,  the  Kichmond  Examiner  had  the  following 
account : 

"  Grant  attempted  no  manoeuvre ;  he  relied  on  main  strength  ; 
bringing  up  his  ten  lines  at  a  run,  each  one  close  behind  another, 
and  dashing  them  like  the  waves  of  the  sea  against  the  rocks,  on 
the  breastworks  of  the  South.  By  these  tactics,  either  a  perfect 
victory  is  won,  or  an  attacking  army  is  lost.  The  first  rush  was 
successful  on  one  point.  The  enemy  broke  through  the  blaze  of 
the  living  volcano  upon  Johnson's  men,  leaped  the  works,  took 
2,000  men  and  10  guns.  But  reserves  were  ready,  and  a  charge 
of  ^greater  fury  than  their  own  drove  them  out  in  brief  time. 
On  all  other  parts  of  the  line  they  were  entirely  unsuccessful ;  they 
were  utterly  repulsed  with  scarcely  any  loss  to  the  Confederates, 
who  fired  with  the  advantages  of  rest,  aim,  and  cover,  but  with  a 
slaughter  of  the  foe  which  is  represented  by  universal  testimony 
to  have  been  the  most  terrible  of  modern  warfare. 

"  The  Confederate  loss,  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  in  all 
these  battles,  beginning  with  the  Wilderness,  and  including  that 
at  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  was  under  15,000.  The  Washington 
Chronicle,  the  organ  of  Lincoln,  that  sees  all  these  things  in  the 
rose's  colour,  announces  the  depletion  of  Grant's  army,  by  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness  and  ( other  causes,'  to  have  been  on  Tuesday 
evening  ascertained  at  35,000.  To  this  awful  figure  must  now  be 
added  the  two  days  of  unsuccessful  assault  on  the  breastworks  of 
Spottsylvania — assault  without  manoeuvre,  full  in  front,  with  deep 
columns,  each  forcing  the  other  on  the  muzzle  of  the  guns. 

"  There  are  butchers  of  humanity,  to  whom  the  sight  of  their 
fellow-creatures'  blood  affords  an  intoxicating  pleasure.  They  are 
indifferent  whose  blood  it  is,  so  it  does  not  come  from  their  veins. 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  129 

And  Grant  is  one  of  those  charming  individuals.  His  government 
and  his  Generals  will  not  baulk  him  in  the  present  instance.  A 
large  part  of  the  army  now  in  his  hands  is  composed  of  the  regi 
ments  enlisted  for  three  years,  and  their  time  expires  in  this  com 
ing  summer.  They  have  resisted  every  inducement  to  re-enlist, 
and  have  formally  notified  the  Secretary  of  War  that  they  will 
obey  orders  so  long  as  they  are  legally  given,  but  no  longer.  The 
government  is  entirely  willing  that  Grant  should  save  it  the 
trouble  and  mortification  of  giving  the  discharge  to  these  veterans. 
He  will  use  them,  and  he  is  using  them." 

At  one  time  in  the  terrible  contest  of  Spottsylvania,  it  seemed 
that  the  fate  of  Lee's  army  hung  in  the  balance — the  time  when 
the  enemy  had  taken  a  salient  of  the  works  and  overrun  Johnson's 
division,  when  Hancock  sent  to  Grant  his  laconic  dispatch :  "  I 
have  finished  Johnson,  and  am  going  into  Early  "  (meaning  A.  P. 
Hill's  corps,  then  commanded  by  Gen.  Early).  It  was  at  this  time 
that  the  quick  and  impetuous  Gordon,  commanding  two  brigades, 
Evans'  Georgians  and  Pegram's  Virginians,  saw  his  opportunity 
and  determined  to  check  the  enemy.  His  brigades  were  too  short 
to  extend 'across  the  front  of  attack;  but  he  had  determined  to 
make  a  counter-charge,  and  by  sheer  audacity  stem  the  current  of 
the  battle.  At  this  fearful  moment,  when  the  men  waiting  the  word 
of  command  could  hear  the  pulses  in  their  hearts,  Gen.  Lee  him 
self  was  suddenly  seen  to  ride  out  in  front  of  the  line,  as  if  to  lead 
the  desperate  charge.  He  took  a  position  near  the  colours  of  the 
Fifty-ninth  Virginia  regiment.  Not  a  word  did  he  say.  He  simply 
took  off  his  hat,  as  he  reined  up  his  gray  charger.  It  was  a  spectacle 
that  thrilled  the  senses  of  the  men.  But  at  this  moment  Gordon 
spurred  his  foaming  horse  to  the  front,  seized  the  bridle-rein  in  the 
hand  of  his  Commanding  General,  and  exclaimed  with  passionate 
anxiety:  "Gen.  Lee,  this  is  no  place  for  you:  go  to  the  rear. 
These  are  Virginians  and  Georgians,  sir — men  who  have  never 
failed.  Men,  you  will  not  fail  now!"  Loud  cries  of  "No,  no! 
Gen.  Lee  to  the  rear !  Gen.  Lee  to  the  rear ! "  burst  along  the  line. 
As  his  horse  was  guided  a  little  way  to  the  rear,  his  speaking  eyes 
yet  turned  upon  the  men  who  carried  upon  their  arms  the  trem 
bling  issues  of  the  day,  the  command,  "  Forward !  Charge !  "  rang 
out,  and  well  did  Gordon's  brave  troops  redeem  their  promise ; 
rushing  through  bush  and  swamp,  coming  so  suddenly  on  the  first 

9 


130  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

line  of  Federals  that  they  shouted  "  Surrender ! "  to  men  motion 
less  with  surprise,  the  next  moment  scattering  them  like  straw, 
pressing  forward,  driving  everything  before  them,  and  following 
the  enemy  half  a  mile  within  his  lines.  If  the  charge  did  not  ter 
minate  the  day,  if  again  the  enemy  rallied  to  the  attack,  yet  it  was 
the  most  powerful  and  dramatic  incident  of  the  field,  and  restored 
the  spirit  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  recovered  its  position  just 
as  it  had  been  pushed  to  the  verge  of  a  great  disaster. 

The  Confederate  lines  at  Spottsylvania  were  but  slightly  broken, 
and  stood  firm  at  the  close  of  the  day.  Although  Grant  had  taken 
the  field  with  triple  Lee's  numbers,  he  found  it  necessary  to  call  for 
reinforcements.  Out-generalled,  beat,  he  was  now  detained  a  whole 
week  by  Lee's  little  army,  waiting  for  fresh  troops  from  Washing 
ton.  Resolved  at  first  to  carry  the  Confederate  positions  by  direct 
attack,  he  was  willing  at  last  to  resort  to  manoeuvre.  That  man 
oeuvre  would  have  been  easy  enough  in  the  first  instance,  if  Grant 
had  not  been  in  love  with  the  "  hammering  process,"  and  deliber 
ately  and  criminally  reckless  of  the  lives  of  his  men.  On  the  21st 
May,  he  commenced  a  movement  to  the  North  Anna  River,  resolved 
by  a  turning  operation  to  disengage  Lee  from  a  position  he  now 
declared  to  be  unassailable.  But  Lee  had  already  taken  up  a  posi 
tion  here  before  Grant  reached  his  new  destination,  and  again  con 
fronted  him  on  the  path  to  Richmond.  Here  the  Federal  com 
mander,  defeated  in  the  game  of  war,  took  up  a  new  line  of  advance, 
and  headed  his  army  eastward  and  southward,  to  cross  the  Pamun- 
key  River.  But  it  was  only  again  to  encounter  the  Confederate 
force  ready  to  accept  the  gage  of  battle.  The  whole  strategy  from 
Spottsylvania  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Richmond,  was  simply  a 
series  of  movements  in  which  each  of  Grant's  turning  movements 
was  met  by  a  corresponding  retrograde  on  the  part  of  Lee,  and  at 
each  stage  of  operations  the  two  armies  stood  constantly  face  to  face. 

It  was  thus  at  last  that  Grant  found  himself  on  the  old  battle 
fields  of  McClellan  (which  he  might  have  reached  by  the  Peninsular 
route  without  loss  or  opposition);  found  Lee  confronting  him, 
covering  the  approaches  to  the  Chickahominy ;  found  the  cost  of 
another  great  battle  demanded  to  decide  the  experiment  of  securing 
the  prize  of  the  Confederate  capital  by  an  action  in  the  field. 

The  ground  occupied  by  Gen.  Lee,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cold  Har 
bour,  was  the  same  as  that  on  which  McClellan  had  sustained  his 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  131 

most  decisive  defeat  in  the  battles  of  1862  around  Kichmond ;  while 
the  Federal  army  held  about  the  same  position  to  which  the  Con 
federates  had  been  pushed  out  in  the  attempt  to  dislodge  HcClellan. 
In  view  of  the  relative  situations  of  the  two  combatants  thus  revers 
ed,  it  will  be  interesting  to  compare  the  results  of  the  first  and  of 
the  second  battle  of  Cold  Harbour.  In  the  position  which  McClel 
lan  had  failed  to  hold,  Lee's  army  gained  in  ten  minutes  one  of  the 
most  decisive  victories  of  the  war !  In  the  first  gray  light  of  the 
morning  of  the  3d  June  Grant  advanced  in  full  line  of  battle ;  but 
one  corps  (Hancock)  came  in  contact  with  the  Confederate  works ; 
it  was  immediately  repulsed  most  disastrously ;  while  other  parts 
of  the  enemy's  line  staggered  before  they  had  got  beyond  their 
rifle-pits.  It  was  the  most  shameful  spectacle  the  enemy  had  ever 
exhibited ;  more  shameful  than  the  drama  of  Bull  Kun — an  entire 
army  beat  in  ten  minutes,  standing  stock-still  in  fear,  its  palsied 
commanders  in  vain  issuing  orders  to  advance,  absolutely  without 
power  to  move  the  demoralized  and  terrour-stricken  mass.  Mr. 
Swinton,  the  Northern  historiographer  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
says : — "  The  action  was  decided  in  an  incredibly  brief  time  in  the 
morning's  assault.  But,  rapidly  as  the  result  was  reached,  it  was 
decisive ;  for  the  consciousness  of  every  man  pronounced  further 
assault  hopeless.  The  troops  went  forward  as  far  as  the  example 
of  their  officers  could  carry  them ;  nor  was  it  possible  to  urge  them 
beyond ;  for  there  they  knew  lay  only  death,  without  even  the 
chance  of  victory.  The  completeness  with  which  this  judgment 
had  been  reached  by  the  whole  army  was  strikingly  illustrated  by 
an  incident  that  occurred  during  the  forenoon.  Some  hours  after 
the  failure  of  the  first  assault,  Gen.  Meade  sent  instructions  to  each 
corps-commander  to  renew  the  attack  without  reference  to  the 
troops  on  his  right  or  left.  The  order  was  issued  through  these 
officers  to  their  subordinate  commanders,  and  from  them  descended 
through  the  wonted  channels  ;  but  no  man  stirred,  and  the  immo 
bile  lines  pronounced  a  verdict,  silent,  yet  emphatic,  against  further 
slaughter.  The  loss  on  the  Union  side  in  this  sanguinary  action 
was  over  thirteen  thousand,  while  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates 
it  is  doubtful  whether  it  reached  that  many  hundreds." 

It  is  said  that  Grant  rode  from  the  field  slow  and  serious,  and 
with  a  cast  of  deep  thought  on  his  face.  He  had  probably  in  the 
brief  space  of  time  decided  that  the  experiment  of  taking  Kich- 


132  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

mond  by  assault  was  at  an  end,  and  that  nothing  was  left  for  him 
but  the  slow  results  of  siege-operations,  wherein  he  would  have  to 
demand  a  new  lease  of  Northern  patience,  which  he  had  abused  by 
promises  to  destroy  Lee  and  to  eat  a  patriotic  dinner  in  Richmond 
on  the  Fourth  of  July.  He  had  sacrificed  in  the  experiment  thus 
concluded  more  men  than  there  were  in  Lee's  whole  army ;  in  one 
pregnant  month  of  operations  he  had  lost  more  than  sixty  thousand 
men ;  while  Lee  had  lost  in  the  same  time,  as  reported  by  his  Ad 
jutant-General,  about  eighteen  thousand  men,  covered  probably  by 
the  reinforcements  of  Beauregard,  etc,  and  had  conducted  his  army 
with  such  skill,  constantly  thrusting  it  between  Grant  and  Eich- 
mond,  that  its  morale  was  never  better  than  after  the  battle  of  Cold 
Harbour. 

A  review  of  this  remarkable  one  month's  campaign  in  Virginia, 
so  glorious  to  Lee,  illustrates  the  difference  between  the  mediocre 
commander  and  the  master  of  the  art  of  war,  and  is  a  striking 
commentary  on  the  fruitful  topic  of  skill  against  numbers.  Gen. 
Lee  was  not  reinforced  by  a  single  musket  upon  the  battles  of  the 
Wilderness  and  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  and  had  no  resource 
at  hand  from  which  to  repair  the  terrible  losses  sustained  on  those 
bloody  fields.  It  was  not  until  he  arrived  at  Hanover  Junction 
that  he  received  any  addition  to  his  thinned  ranks ;  and  here  he  was 
joined  by  Pickett's  division  of  Longstreet's  corps,  and  Breckin- 
ridge,  with  two  small  brigades  of  infantry,  and  a  battalion  of 
artillery.  These,  with  Hoke's  brigade,  were  the  first  and  only  re 
inforcements  received  by  Gen.  Lee  since  the  opening  of  the  cam 
paign.  He  had  commenced  the  campaign  with  not  more  than 
50,000  effective  men  of  all  arms.  The  report  of  the  Eederal 
Secretary  of  "War  shows  that  the  "  available  force  present  lor 
duty,  May  1,  1864,"  in  Grant's  army,  was  141,166,  to  wit:  In 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  120,386,  and  in  the  Ninth  corps  20,780. 
The  draft  in  the  United  States  was  being  energetically  enforced, 
and  volunteering  had  been  greatly  stimulated  by  high  bounties. 
The  Northwestern  States  had  tendered  large  bodies  of  troops  to 
serve  one  hundred  days,  in  order  to  relieve  other  troops  on  garri 
son  and  local  duty,  and  this  enabled  Grant  to  put  in  the  field  a 
large  number  of  troops  which  had  been  employed  on  that  kind  of 
duty.  It  was  known  that  he  was  receiving  heavy  reinforcements 
up  to  the  very  time  of  his  movement  on  the  4th  May,  and  after- 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  133 


wards  ;  so  that  the  statement  of  his  force  on  the  1st  Ma}^  by  Stan- 
ton,  does  not  cover  the  whole  force  with  which  he  commenced  the 
campaign.  Moreover,  Secretary  Stanton's  report  shows  that  there 
were,  in  the  Department  of  "Washington  and  the  Middle  Depart 
ment,  47,751  available  men  for  duty,  the  chief  part  of  which,  he 
says,  was  called  to  the  front  after  the  campaign  began,  "  in  order  to 
repair  the  losses  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  ;  "  and  Grant  says 
that,  at  Spottsylvania  Court-  House,  "the  13th,  14th,  15th,  16th, 
17th,  and  18th  May,  were  consumed  in  manoeuvring  and  await 
ing  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  Washington."  His  army, 
therefore,  must  have  numbered  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  200,000 
men,  before  a  junction  was  effected  with  Butler. 

To  a  review  of  the  odds  and  difficulties  against  which  Gen.  Lee 
had  to  contend,  and  to  the  comparisons  suggested  by  the  opera 
tions  from  the  Eapidan  to  the  Chickahominy,  there  is  a  view  so 
apposite  in  the  work  of  a  recent  military  writer,*  that  we  tran 
scribe  it  here  as  a  just  conclusion  of  what  may  be  said  of  this 
campaign,  and  the  two  rival  commanders  of  the  North  and  South  : 

"  Skill  in  arms  is  the  equivalent  of  thousands  of  good  troops,  and 
may  again  succeed,  as  it  has  so  often  succeeded  before,  in  gaining, 
against  odds,  victories  which  fix  the  fate  of  nations.  Let  us  im 
agine  that  an  army  in  the  field  is  commanded  by  a  General  who 
has  fought  his  way  upward  from  grade  to  grade,  who  is  valiant, 
devoted,  and  practised  in  war.  He  is  versed  in  all  routine  duties, 
knows  the  uses  and  capabilities  of  the  different  arms,  can  choose 
and  occupy  a  position,  make  the  dispositions  for  the  march  of  his 
columns,  stubbornly  cover  a  retreat,  and  save  his  army  even  after 
a  heavy  disaster.  But  not  having  a  mind  capable  of  comprehen 
sive  views  or  of  deep  study,  he  knows  nothing  of  great  combi 
nations.  Strategy,  in  the  sense  of  a  flexible  science  to  be  adapted 
to  circumstances,  is  a  sealed  book  to  him  ;  the  theatre  of  war  is 
written  in  a  cipher  to  which  he  has  not  the  key  ;  he  can  deal  with 
accidents  of  the  country,  when  they  present  themselves,  as  some 
thing  to  be  immediately  attacked  or  defended,  but  they  suggest  no 
large  problems  by  the  solution  of  which  a  few  marches  decide  a 
campaign.  Cautious,  from  not  knowing  when  he  may  venture  to 
be  bold,  and  rash  from  ignorance  of  what  may  be  attempted 

*  Col.  Hamley  :  Operations  of  War. 


134  GENEEAL  EGBERT  EDWAED  LEE. 

against  him,  he  spoils  his  offensive  movements  by  hesitation,  de 
fends  himself  by  makeshifts,  and  only  half  understands  his  own 
blunders  when  they  have  ruined  his  army.  This  is  no  unfair  pic 
ture  of  what  has  often  passed  muster  in  the  world  as  a  respectable 
leader  to  be  intrusted  with  the  fate  of  hosts.  It  would  do  injus 
tice  to  some  of  Napoleon's  most  celebrated  marshals.  Such  a 
one  will  probably  acquit  himself  with  credit  so  long  as  he  is  op 
posed  by  no  qualities  superiour  to  his  own. 

"  But  let  us  imagine  that  a  General  of  a  different  stamp  enters 
the  field — one  who  has  been  taught  by  study  and  thought,  not 
merely  what  has  been  done  in  war,  and  how  to  conform  to  respect 
able  precedent  (although  that  may  be  much),  but  how  to  meet 
new  circumstances  with  new  combinations.  He  has  mastered  the 
problems  of  strategy,  and  can  read  the  theatre  of  war.  He  knows 
not  only  how  to  draw  from  a  situation  all  its  inherent  advantages, 
but  how  to  produce  the  situation.  Thus  when  a  great  opportunity 
arrives  he  is  the  less  likely  to  lose  it,  because  it  is  of  his  own  mak 
ing  ;  he  seizes  it  unhesitatingly,  because  he  has  confidence  in  his 
own  knowledge  of  the  game ;  and  in  darkness  and  difficulty  his 
step  is  assured,  because  he  is  familiar  with  the  ground  he  moves 
on.  "When  such  opponents  are  matched  we  have  the  conditions  of 
startling,  brilliant,  decisive  success  in  war." 


GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  135 


CHAPTER  XL 

General  Lee's  private  opinion  of  the  defences  of  Richmond. — A  serious  communication 
to  the  Government,  and  how  it  was  treated. — Vagaries  of  President  Davis. — Gen. 
Lee  decides  that  the  safety  of  Richmond  lies  in  raising  the  siege — Expedition  of 
Early  across  the  Potomac. — Anxiety  of  Gen.  Lee. — He  meditates  taking  command 
of  the  force  in  Maryland. — Retreat  of  Early. — Gen.  Lee  next  proposes  a  diversion 
in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. — Failure  of  this  operation. — Constant  extension  of 
Grant's  left  around  Richmond. — Period  of  despondency  in  the  South. — A  letter 
of  Gen.  Lee  on  the  question  of  supplies. — He  proposes  bringing  in  two  or  three  years' 
supplies  from  Europe. — Desertion  the  great  evil  in  the  Confederate  armies.— Diffi 
culties  of  dealing  with  it. — Various  letters  and  protests  from  Gen.  Lee  on  the  sub 
ject  of  discipline. — An  angry  comment  of  President  Davis. — Gen.  Lee  a  severe 
disciplinarian,  and  yet  loved  by  his  men. — Anecdote  of  the  General  and  a  one- 
armed  soldier. — Skeleton  returns  of  the  army. — The  popular  clamour  against  Pres 
ident  Davis. — Gen.  Lee's  quasi  acceptance  of  the  position  of  Commander-in-chief. 
Nature  and  peculiar  history  of  this  rank  in  the  Confederate  armies. — Hopeful 
views  of  Gen.  Lee. — Project  of  arming  the  negroes. — Growth  of  new  hopes  for  the 
Confederacy. 

ALTHOUGH  Gen.  Lee  had  fought,  in  most  respects,  a  successful 
campaign,  and  in  all  respects  a  glorious  one,  he  feared  now  that 
the  safety  of  Eichmond  was  to  be  put  to  a  test  which  he  had  been 
long  persuaded  it  could  not  withstand.  As  long  as  the  enemy 
chose  to  "  hammer"  on  his  lines,  he  had  nothing  to  fear;  but  the 
anxiety  was  that  Grant  might  proceed  to  envelop  the  city  as  far  as 
possible,  without  attacking  fortifications;  might  turn  his  attention 
to  the  railroads  on  the  south  side,  and  trusting  to  the  slow  opera 
tions  of  taking  one  by  one  Lee's  communications,  and  wearing  out 
his  little  army,  assure  himself  of  a  result  which  he  had  not  been 
able  to  obtain  by  an  action  in  the  field. 

It  was  not  long  before  Grant's  operations  against  Richmond 
developed  the  very  designs  which  Gen.  Lee  had  suspected  and 
feared ;  the  bulk  of  the  Federal  army  being  transferred  to  the 
south  side  of  the  James,  and  after  an  abortive  attempt  to  take 
Petersburg,  turning  its  attention  to  the  railroad  lines  which  fed 
Richmond,  and  were,  indeed,  of  vital  concern  to  the  army  which 
defended  it. 


136  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  detail  these  operations  further  than  to 
explain  the  ideas  which  governed  Gen.  Lee  in  his  radical  change 
of  the  defence  of  the  capital  from  a  distant  line  to  one  immediately 
covering  Eichmond  and  its  outpost  in  Petersburg.  When  Grant 
crossed  the  James  Kiver,  and  developed  his  design  upon  the  com 
munications  of  Eichmond,  Gen.  Lee  seriously  advised  the  Kichmond 
authorities  that  he  could  not  hope  to  hold  the  Weldon  road ;  and 
he  frequently  thereafter  expressed  his  surprise  that  the  government 
received  this  information  with  so  little  concern,  scarcely  exhibiting 
a  sense  of  danger.  Indeed,  such  was  the  almost  incredible  obtuse- 
ness  of  the  Confederate  President  and  his  advisers,  that  the  reader 
will  scarcely  be  prepared  for  the  statement  that  wl}ile  Lee's  little 
army  stood  in  the  desperate  straits  of  Eichmond  and  Petersburg, 
Mr.  Davis  was  actually  proposing  a  detachment  from  his  thin  lines 
to  reinforce  Charleston,  in  answer  to  letters  from  the  Governor  of 
South  Carolina,  exclaiming,  what  was  the  constant  cry  from  that 
State,  that  if  Charleston  was  lost,  the  Southern  Confederacy  would 
be  instantly  non-extant  by  that  event ! 

But  such  insane  counsels  were  ultimately  abandoned.  As  Gen. 
Lee  had  predicted,  the  Weldon  Eailroad,  after  repeated  attemps  of  the 
enemy,  was  at  last  seized,  and  firmly  held  by  him ;  while  Grant 
extended  the  left  flank  of  his  army  to  insure  its  tenure.  His  oper 
ations  now  appeared,  by  repeated  extensions  of  the  left,  to  be 
directed  against  the  Southside  and  Danville  roads,  which  remained 
covered  by  Lee's  army.  These  remaining  lines  of  supply  were 
threatened  not  only  by  the  extension  of  Grant's  line,  but  might 
be  operated  against  by  a  column  able  to  cut  itself  loose  from  its 


In  these  circumstances  of  the  danger  and  difficulty  of  his  com 
munications,  and  the  constant  accession  of  unstinted  numbers  to 
the  enemy  in  the  design  of  enveloping  his  army,  which  could  not 
possibly  keep  pace  with  that  of  Grant  in  reinforcements,  Gen. 
Lee  decided  that  the  safety  of  Eichmond  lay  in  raising  the  siege. 
About  the  first  of  July,  Washington  was  uncovered  as  it  had  never 
been  before.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  south  of  the  James ; 
and  that  of  Hunter,  which  had  been  defeated  at  Lynchburg,  had 
retreated  wildly  into  the  mountains  of  Western  Virginia,  leaving 
open  the  line  of  march  to  Washington  by  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
It  was  an  extraordinary  opportunity  to  strike  Washington,  or  at 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  137 

least  to  make  such  a  menace  against  it  as  to  compel  Grant  to  turn 
his  attention  in  that  direction,  and  relieve  the  pressure  on  the 
beleaguered  lines  of  Kichmond ;  and  Gen.  Lee  was  prompt  to  avail 
himself  of  a  great  advantage  which  the  chances  of  war  had  now 
cast  in  his  way. 

It  was  a  matter  of  great  concern  to  select,  for  the  important 
enterprise  of  a  movement  against  Washington  to  relieve  Kichmond, 
a  commander  of  certain  qualifications.  Jackson,  who  would  have 
been  the  man  for  the  occasion,  was  dead ;  Ewell  was  disabled  and 
out  of  the  field ;  Longstreet  was  thought  unfit  for  separate  com 
mands  ;  Early,  upon  whom  the  choice  at  last  fell,  had  a  mediocre 
reputation,  and  only  that  of  a  division  commander  who  had  fought 
courageously  and  tenaciously  in  the  positions  to  which  his  supe- 
riours  had  assigned  him.  With  a  force  consisting  of  the  greater 
portion  of  Eweli's  old  corps,  and  numbering  more  than  twelve 
thousand  men,  Early  commenced  his  march  from  Lynchburg 
without  hindrance,  and 'on  the  7th  July  reached  Frederick  in 
Maryland,  from  which  point  he  might  threaten  both  Baltimore  and 
Washington. 

How  large  and  anxious  were  Gen.  Lee's  expectations  from  this 
movement  may  be  judged  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  the 
War  Department,  on  hearing  of  Early's  arrival  at  Frederick.  He 
desired  of  the  Secretary  of  War  most  especially  that  the  news 
papers  be  requested  to  say  nothing  of  his  movements  for  some 
time  to  come,  and  that  the  department  would  not  publish  any 
communication  from  him  which  might  indicate  from  its  date  his 
"  distance  from  Richmond."  But  while  the  commander  anxiously 
awaited  further  news  from  Early,  expecting  the  capture  of  Wash 
ington,  and  the  possible  necessity  of  his  personal  presence  on  a  new 
and  towering  theatre  of  operations,  the  report  came  that  Early, 
after  having  won  the  battle  of  Monocacy  Bridge,  had  delayed  to 
attack  Washington  until  overawed  by  reinforcements,  and  had 
retreated  across  the  Potomac  satisfied  with  the  success  of  his  spoils. 

Gen.  Lee  was  disappointed,  more  than  he  cared  to  express,  in 
the  failure  of  his  lieutenant  to  fulfil  the  expectations  that  had  been 
indulged  in  the  direction  of  Washington  ;  but,  determined  to  give 
Early  another  chance,  and  to  persist  in  his  counter  movement 
to  relieve  the  Richmond  lines,  he  reinforced  him  by  two  divisions 
(Kershaw's  infantry  and  Fitzhugh  Lee's  cavalry),  for  an  active 


138  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

campaign  in  the  Valley.  Nearly  a  month  elapsed  without  results ; 
Kershaw's  division  was  recalled  in  consequence  of  this  inaction ; 
and  without  going  further  into  the  details  of  the  Valley  campaign, 
it  may  be  said  that  it  was  one  of  such  repeated  and  decisive 
victories  for  the  Federals,  that  it  was  wholly  ineffective  as  a  diver 
sion  of  the  enemy  from  Eichmond,  and  merely  confirmed  there  the 
unequal  circumstances  in  which  Gen.  Lee  was  left  to  fight  the  last 
battles  of  the  Confederacy. 

It  would  be  a  tedious  narrative  to  include  here  the  various  inci 
dents  on  the  Richmond  lines,  which  took  place  in  the  course  of 
many  months,  and  were  yet  without  any  remarkable  result  beyond 
the  constant  and  growing  extension  of  Grant's  left  threatening 
Lee's  lines  of  supply.  This  indeed  was  the  feature  of  interest. 
Lee's  army  proved  itself  equal  to  the  repulse  of  partial  assaults ;  it 
gained  some  successes ;  but  it  was  a  serious  question  how  long  it 
could  defend  a  line  which,  running  from  northeast  of  Eichmond  to 
southwest  of  Petersburg,  already  extended  nearly  forty  miles,  and 
was  being  constantly  stretched  to  meet  Grant's  development  of  his 
left  in  the  direction  of  its  only  remaining  communications  with  the 
South. 

The  autumn  and  winter  of  1864  are  remarkable  for  the  concern 
which  fell  upon  the  Confederacy  as  to  the  question  of  supplies  and 
men  for  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  In  this  period,  Gen.  Lee's 
correspondence  with  the  War  Department  is  very  interesting,  and 
indicates  how  much  his  foresight  extended  beyond  the  circles  of  the 
Eichmond  Administration.  At  a  time  when  Wilmington  was  the 
only  practicable  seaport  through  which  to  obtain  foreign  supplies, 
Gen.  Lee  insisted  that  it  should  be  used  to  its  utmost  capacity. 
In  September  he  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
deprecating  the  use  of  this  port  by  the  Tallahassee  and  other 
cruisers,  that  went  out  and  ravaged  the  enemy's  commerce,  such  as 
the  destruction  of  fishing-smacks,  etc.  Already  he  noticed  that  the 
presence  of  the  Tallahassee  and  the  Edith  at  Wilmington  had  caused 
the  loss  of  a  blockade-runner,  worth  more  than  all  the  vessels 
destroyed  by  the  Tallahassee,  and  the  port  was  now  guarded  by 
such  an  additional  number  of  blockaders  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
steamers  could  get  in  with  supplies.  He  suggested  that  Charleston, 
or  some  other  port,  be  used  by  the  cruisers ;  and  that  Wilmington 
be  used  exclusively  for  the  importation  of  supplies — quartermaster's, 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  139 

commissary's,  ordnance,  etc.  He  concluded  by  advising  that  sup 
plies  enough  for  two  or  three  years  be  brought  in,  so  that  there  might 
be  no  apprehension  of  being  destitute  hereafter.  The  admonition 
and  advice  of  this  letter  were  alike  unheeded. 

But  the  military  situation  was  not  only  desperate  with  respect 
to  supplies ;  there  was  a  more  painful  concern,  and  one  which,  as 
it  has  not  been  admitted  to  sufficient  consideration  in  most  accounts 
of  the  war,  we  may  state  here  at  some  length. 

Desertion  was  the  great  evil  in  the  Confederate  armies,  and  the 
most  conspicuous  of  the  immediate  causes  of  the  downfall  and 
destruction  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  world  will  be  aston 
ished  when  the  extent  of  this  evil  is  fully  and  authentically  known, 
and  will  obtain  a  new  insight  into  that  maladministration  which 
wrecked  the  Confederate  cause,  and  which  is  positively  without 
parallel  in  any  modern  history  of  war.  There  were  various  and 
peculiar  causes  of  this  evil ;  among  them  the  injudicious  and  exces 
sive  use  of  President  Davis'  prerogative  to  pardon  deserters  and 
men  condemned  to  death  under  the  military  law.  Mr.  Davis  was 
one  of  those  obstinate  men,  immovable  in  certain  respects,  and  yet 
utterly  destitute  of  real  vigour  of  character ;  he  had  a  weak  senti- 
mentalism  that  was  easily  approached,  and  that  put  him  under 
the  dominion  of  preachers  and  women,  who  in  the  character  of 
humanitarians,  friends  or  relatives,  were  constantly  beseeching  the 
pardon  of  deserters.  The  President  scarcely  ever  refused  such 
appeals  to  his  feelings,  or  strengthened  the  weak  side  of  his  char 
acter  by  public  considerations ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  the 
broadcast  interposition  of  the  pardoning  power  soon  made  it  plain 
to  the  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy  that  there  was  the  fullest  immu 
nity  for  desertion.  The  statement  is  derived  from  authorities  in 
the  War  Department,  that  in  the  last  two  years  of  the  war,  an 
average  of  two-thirds  of  the  Confederate  armies  was  constantly  in  the 
condition  of  deserters  and  "absentees!"  This  statement  is  suffi 
cient  to  damn  the  administration  of  military  affairs  in  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  and  is  an  example  of  weakness  in  the  authorities 
that  will  astonish  political  mankind.  People  in  Eichmond  did  not 
doubt  the  evil ;  it  was  constantly  before  the  eyes  of  the  authorities. 
One  could  not  travel  a  day  in  the  Confederacy  outside  the  military 
camps  without  seeing  about  the  depots  and  cross-roads  sauntering 
soldiers  enough  to  form  several  regiments.  But  no  hand  appeared 


140  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

strong  enough  to  arrest  the  scandalous  and  mortal  evil,  as  long  as 
President  Davis  continued  to  shudder  at  public  executions,  and 
interposed  to  pardon  deserters  condemned  to  die. 

Gen.  Lee,  although  no  commander  ever  took  better  care  than 
he  of  his  troops,  or  obtained  a  larger  share  of  their  affections,  was 
a  thorough  disciplinarian,  and  an  uncompromising  judge  on  .all 
questions  of  duty.  His  heart  was  kind ;  but  he  did  not  have  that 
mercy  which  murders  justice.  Ever  since  the  return  of 'his  army 
from  its  first  invasion  of  Northern  territory,  in  1862,  he  was  deeply 
exercised  about  its  discipline,  and  was  constantly  writing  letters 
to  the  War  Department  at  Eichmond,  urging  this  vital  concern, 
and  especially  protesting  against  the  loose  practice  of  executive 
pardon  to  offenders.  After  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  which  appears 
to  have  dated  an  era  of  desertion  and  disorder  in  his  command,  he 
had  written  to  Eichmond  that  unless  some  additional  power  was 
given  by  Congress  to  enforce  discipline,  he  feared  his  army  would 
melt  away.  He  suggested  that  incompetent  officers  should  be  re 
duced  to  the  ranks,  and  that  more  stringent  regulations  should  be 
adopted.  The  recommendation  was  observed  to  some  extent,  and 
the  condition  of  the  army  improved.  Other  suggestions  were 
made  ;  the  most  notable  of  which  was  to  keep  the  new  conscripts 
in  camps  of  instruction  until  they  were  "  seasoned"  for  the  field. 
In  these  respects  Gen.  Lee  inproved  the  discipline  and  material  of 
his  army ;  but  with  the  monster  evil  of  desertion  he  was  but  little 
able  to  contend,  as  long  as  he  was  fettered  by  the  prerogative  of 
the  President  to  pardon  men  condemned  by  the  military  authority. 
The  consequence  was,  that  in  the  hard  and  critical  campaign  of 
1864,  the  evil  of  desertion  broke  out  afresh,  and  to  such  an  extent 
that  Gen.  Lee  lost  nearly  half  his  army  from  this  cause  alone,  and 
in  the  last  period  of  the  war  found  his  numbers  utterly  incapable 
of  offensive  operations. 

In  December,  1864,  Gen.  Longstreet  reported :  "  Over  100  of 
Gen.  Pickett's  men  are  in  the  guard-house  for  desertion,  and  that 
the  cause  of  it  may  be  attributed  to  the  numerous  reprieves,  no  one 
being  executed  for  two  months."  Gen.  Lee  indorsed  on  the  paper : 
"  Desertion  is  increasing  in  the  army,  notwithstanding  all  my  efforts 
to  stop  it.  I  think  a  rigid  execution  of  the  law  is  mercy  in  the 
end.  The  great  want  in  our  army  is  firm  discipline"  The  Secre 
tary  of  War  sent  it  to  the  President  "  for  his  information."  The 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  141 

President  sent  it  back  with  the  following  imperious  indorsement : 
"  When  deserters  are  arrested  they  should  be  tried,  and  if  the  sen 
tences  are  reviewed  and  remitted,  that  is  not  a  proper  subject  for  the 
criticism  of  a  military  commander." 

These  texts  are  sufficient  indication  of  the  policy  on  the  part 
of  the  President  that  had  broken  down  military  discipline,  deplet 
ed  the  armies,  and  brought  the  Confederacy  to  the  brink  of  de 
struction.  The  protest  of  Gen.  Lee,  even,  was  unavailing ;  deser 
tions  increased  as  the  rigour  of  winter  came  on,  demoralizing  the 
army  as  well  as  diminishing  its  numbers,  until  at  last  we  shall  find 
Gen.  Lee  holding  both  Richmond  and  Petersburg  with  not  more 
than  34,000  men,  while  Grant  confronted  him  with  an  army  of 
160,000,  and  Sherman  with  another  grand  army  of  100,000  men 
was  within  150  miles  of  his  lines. 

While  the  record  of  Gen.  Lee  on  the  subject  of  discipline  in  the 
army  was  thus  full  and  explicit,  we  must  repeat  that  it  was  con 
sistent  with  the  most  kindly  and  affectionate  care  for  his  men. 
Although  this  alone  was  unable  to  stop  desertion,  yet  it  had  some 
effect,  and  probably  explains  the  fact  that  extensive  as  was  this 
evil  in  Gen.  Lee's  army,  it  was  considerably  less  than  in  other 
armies  of  the  Confederacy.  Of  his  constant  and  unaffected  care 
for  his  men  there  are  numberless  anecdotes ;  one  of  which  is  so 
characteristic  that  we  cannot  refrain  from  copying  it  here,  although 
it  has  been  so  widely  circulated  in  the  newspapers  that  by  this 
means  it  is  doubtless  already  known  to  the  public.  It  was  an  in 
cident  of  the  last  winter  of  the  war,  and  was  thus  told  by  the 
Richmond  Whig: 

"  A  gentleman  who  was  in  the  train  from  this  city  to  Petersburg, 
a  very  cold  morning  not  long  ago,  tells  us  his  attention  was  at 
tracted  by  the  efforts  of  a  young  soldier,  with  his  arm  in  a  sling, 
to  get  his  overcoat  on.  His  teeth  as  well  as  his  sound  arm  were 
brought  into  use  to  effect  the  object ;  but,  in  the  midst  of  his 
efforts,  an  officer  rose  from  his  seat,  advanced  to  him,  and  very 
carefully  and  tenderly  assisted  him,  drawing  the  coat  gently  over 
his  wounded  arm  and  buttoning  it  up  comfortably ;  then  with  a 
few  kind  and  pleasant  words,  returning  to  his  seat.  Now  the  offi 
cer  in  question  was  not  clad  in  gorgeous  uniform,  with  a  brilliant 
wreath  upon  the  collar,  and  a  multitude  of  gilt  lines  upon  the 
sleeves,  resembling  the  famous  labyrinth  of  Crete,  but  he  was  clad 


142  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

in  '  a  simple  suit  of  gray,'  distinguished  from  the  garb  of  a  civilian 
only  by  the  three  stars  which  every  Confederate  colonel  in  the 
service,  by  the  regulations,  is  entitled  to  wear.  And  yet  he  was 
no  other  than  our  chief  General,  Kobert  E.  Lee,  who  is  not  braver 
than  he  is  good  and  modest." 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  in  the  last  periods  of  the  war  the  skel 
eton  organization  of  the  Confederate  armies,  and  to  compare  its 
imposing  breadth  on  paper  with  the  number  of  men  actually  un 
der  arms.  Eegiments  were  counted  by  tens,  brigades  by  hundreds ; 
and  a  division,  which  according  to  European  ideas  represented,  in 
some  respects,  a  complete  army,  often  did  not  number  more  than  a 
thousand  men.  As  an  instance  of  such  reduction  in  Gen.  Lee's 
army,  we  may  take  the  actual  numbers  of  some  of  the  brigades 
just  before  the  final  battles  of  Petersburg.  Corse's  brigade  was 
put  down  at  1,100  muskets ;  Terry's  at  700 ;  Stewart's  at  800. 
In  the  division  of  Bushrod  Johnson,  Kansom's  brigade  numbered 
700  muskets ;  that  of  Wallace,  300  muskets !  It  may  be  said  here 
that  these  brigades  selected  for  example,  composed  the  force  of  in 
fantry  that  the  enemy  estimated  as  a  large  army  in  his  account  of 
the  battle  of  Five  Forks — an  event  which  we  have  yet  to  relate. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Congress  at  [Richmond  was  as 
wilfully  blind  as  the  President  to  the  desperate  situation  of  mili 
tary  affairs.  In  the  growing  distrust  of  Mr.  Davis'  administration 
there  had  come  to  be  a  very  general  opinion  that  the  only  hope  of 
the  South  remained  in  some  radical  change  in  the  conduct  of  mili 
tary  affairs,  some  new  inspiration  of  the  Confederate  arms,  which 
Gen.  Lee  alone  was  competent  to  effect.  To  him  all  eyes  turned 
as  the  remaining  hope  of  the  Confederacy ;  on  his  shoulders  there 
was  an  anxiety  to  put  the  burden  of  the  public  cares ;  and  a  move 
ment  commenced  in  the  second  year  of  the  war,  to  give  him  the 
entire  administration  of  military  affairs  apart  from  and  above  the 
President,  and  then  discontinued  by  his  wishes,  was  now  resolutely 
and  persistently  renewed.  To  the  extent  of  this  trust  and  confi 
dence  of  the  people  in  him  Gen.  Lee  could  not  be  insensible  ;  his 
modesty  could  not  bar  the  knowledge  of  it ;  it  was  in  the  thoughts 
and  speeches  of  all  men ;  it  was  before  his  eye  in  every  newspaper 
he  read ;  it  was  the  daily  conversation  of  the  people ;  it  reached  his 
ear  in  every  tone  of  expression.  His  judgment,  approved  by  so 
many  events ;  the  great  proportions  and  lordly  character  of  the 


GENERAL  EOBEKT  EDWARD  LEE.  143 

man  ;  his  constancy  under  heavy  trials ;  his  noble  equanimity  in 
the  face  of  misfortune,  were  to  popular  apprehension  the  only 
assurances  of  the  future,  the  only  signals  of  hope  and  deliverance 
in  what  was  now  the  darkest  and  most  painful  time  of  the  war. 

The  irresistible  logic  of  events  had  proved  Mr.  Davis  incapable, 
at  least  in  the  military  branches  of  his  administration.  In  times  of 
peace  he  might  have  made  a  fair  President ;  he  had  virtues  and 
accomplishments ;  he  was  really  a  man  of  ability ;  and  in  the  ordi 
nary  routine  of  government,  his  personal  prejudices,  his  unjust  and 
unequal  distribution  of  favours,  might  have  amounted  to  nothing 
more  than  a  partisan  delinquency,  in  which  the  country,  though 
badly  served,  was  not  seriously  injured.  But  he  had  not  the  broad 
intellect  requisite  for  the  gigantic  measures  needed  in  a  time  of 
war ;  he  had  not  the  health  and  physique  for  the  labours  devolving 
on  him  ;  he  was  too  much  of  a  politician  to  discard  prejudices  for 
public  considerations ;  and  he  persisted  in  keeping  aloof  from  him 
and  his  administration  all  the  great  statesmen  and  patriots  who 
had  been  conspicuous  in  the  first  stages  of  secession,  and  had  been 
his  distinguished  colabourers  in  the  work  of  preparing  the  minds 
of  the  people  for  resistance  to  Northern  domination.  While  the 
finance  and  subsistence  of  the  country,  the  two  most  important 
concerns  of  the  war,  were  surrendered  to  such  curiosities  as  Mem- 
minger  and  ISTorthrop,  where  were  such  men  as  Hunter,  Wise, 
Floyd,  Ehett,  Yancey,  Toombs,  etc.  ?  The  mere  apposition  of  such 
names  is  sufficient  commentary  on  Mr.  Davis'  administration.  Its 
cardinal  fault  was  that  he  drove  from  him  the  heart  and  brain  of 
the  country ;  and  the  consequence  was  that  many  of  these  influen 
tial  men  whom  he  excluded  from  the  circle  of  his  patronage  and 
power  busied  themselves  in  organizing  an  opposition,  and  carried 
with  them  the  sympathies  of  the  people. 

It  was  a  long  time  before  Gen.  Lee  could  be  brought  to  accept 
the  position  of  Commander-in-chief  of  all  the  forces  of  the  Con 
federacy,  empowered  to  act  in  military  matters  without  the  advice 
of  the  President,  and  then  only,  as  we  shall  see,  in  an  ineffective 
sense.  The  great  fault  of  Gen.  Lee  was  a  want  of  self-assertion  in 
a  time  and  circumstances  which  demanded  this  quality.  It .  was 
not  so  much  the  declination  of  modesty,  as  a  positive  disinclination 
to  accept  any  responsibilities  not  imposed  upon  him  by  the  clear 
and  dominant  demand  of  duty.  The  disposition  of  the  man  to 


144  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

keep  within  the  severe  boundaries  of  his  vocation,  and  not  to  do 
an  iota  more  or  less  than  duty  demanded,  is  apparent  in  every 
article  of  his  life.  It  was,  we  repeat,  conscientiousness  rather  than 
a  modesty  timid  of  new  experiments ;  but  a  conscientiousness  car 
ried  to  a  morbid  excess,  and  bordering  on  the  negative  side  of  char 
acter,  is  not  admirable,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Gen.  Lee  was 
impracticable  to  the  universal  popular  demand  that  he  should  take 
control  of  the  military  administration  of  the  Confederacy. 

His  scruple  was  that  President  Davis  was  Commander-iri-chief, 
and  the  appointment  of  himself  to  such  a  position,  in  derogation  of 
his  authority,  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  a  revolutionary  measure.  Yet 
the  whole  war  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  revolutionary,  and  the  cir 
cumstances  were  those  in  which  the  solus  reipublicce  was  the  higher 
law  and  the  supreme  consideration  of  duty. 

With  reference  to  the  popular  demand  that  Gen.  Lee  should 
take  command  of  all  the  armies,  President  Davis  made  the  follow 
ing  explanation : — "  When  Gen.  Lee  took  command  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  he  was  in  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the 
Confederate  States  by  my  order  of  assignment.  He  continued  in 
this  general  command,  as  well  as  in  the  immediate  command  of  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  long  as  I  would  resist  his  opinion 
that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  be  relieved  from  one  of  these  two 
duties.  Eeady  as  he  has  ever  shown  himself  to  be  to  perform  any 
service  that  I  desired  him  to  render  to  his  country,  he  left  it  for 
me  to  choose  between  his  withdrawal  from  the  command  of  the 
army  in  the  field,  and  relieving  him  of  the  general  command  of  all 
the  armies  of  the  Confederate  States.  It  was  only  when  satisfied 
of  this  necessity  that  I  came  to  the  conclusion  to  relieve  him 
from  the  general  command,  believing  that  the  safety  of  the  capi 
tal  and  the  success  of  our  cause  depended,  in  a  great  measure, 
on  then  retaining  him  in  the  command  in  the  field  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  President  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  could  have  brought  his  mind  to  so  disingenuous  a  state 
ment.  The  position  which  Gen.  Lee  held  in  1862,  described  here 
as  "  command  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Confederate  States,"  had 
attached  to  it  the  condition,  "  with  the  advice  and  direction  of  the 
President"  and  the  occupant  was  nothing  more  than  part  of  "Mr. 
Davis'  military  family;  "  while  the  present  demand  was  that  Gen. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  145 

Lee  should  have  independent  supreme  control  of  the  armies,  and 
supersede  the  military  authority  of  the  President. 

The  discussion  of  this  change  in  the  Confederate  Administra 
tion  ended  with  the  apparent  acceptance  by  Gen.  Lee  of  the 
appointment  of  Commander-in-chief.  It  was  thus  announced  by 
him  to  the  public : 

u  In  obedience  to  General  Order,  No.  3,  from  the  Adjutant  and 
Inspector-General's  office,  February  6,  1865,  I  assume  command  of 
the  military  forces  of  the  Confederate  States.  Deeply  impressed 
with  the  difficulties  and  responsibility  of  the  position,  and  humbly 
invoking  the  guidance  of  Almighty  God,  I  rely  for  success  upon 
the  courage  and  fortitude  of  the  army,  sustained  by  the  patriot 
ism  and  firmness  of  the  people,  confident  that  their  united  efforts, 
under  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  will  secure  peace  and  indepen 
dence." 

But  Gen.  Lee  did  not  accept  the  position  in  the  sense  and  to  the 
extent  that  Congress  had  intended.  He  had  not  discarded  the 
scruple  referred  to  ;  he  still  believed  the  President  to  be  "  constitu 
tionally  "  Commander-in-chief;  and  while  accepting  the  position  to 
which  Congress  and  the  country  had  called  him,  in  terms  so  as  to 
satisfy  public  sentiment  and  end  a  controversy  in  which  he  was 
unpleasantly  involved,  he  did  it  with  a  mental  reservation  to  re 
spect  the  views  of  the  President  quite  equivalent  to  the  former 
written  conditions  that  had  been  attached  to  the  position.  This  ex 
planation  is  necessary  to  understand  a  part  of  Confederate  history 
which  has  been  generally  confused  ;  and  proofs  of  it  we  shall  soon 
see  in  the  sequel,  where  the  unfortunate  judgment  of  the  President 
was  still  visible,  and  took  its  accustomed  precedence  in  the  conduct 
of  military  affairs. 

The  apparent  change,  however,  in  the  military  conduct  of  af 
fairs,  which  the  public  interpreted  according  to  the  letter  of  the 
announcement,  and  without  knowledge  of  its  limited  application, 
was  the  occasion  of  some  new  animation  in  the  Confederacy.  It 
was  believed  now,  that  with  the  renewal  of  confidence  in  the  ar 
mies  under  Gen.  Lee's  hand,  that  the  efflux  of  desertions  might  be 
stayed,  and  time  gained  for  new  measures  to  recruit  the  armies. 
Men  commenced  to  lay  hold  on  new  grounds  of  hope.  Gen.  Lee 
himself  was  not  despondent,  as  might  be  supposed,  in  his  full 
knowledge  of  the  desperate  condition  of  affairs ;  he  had  conceived 

10 


146  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

the  hypothesis  that  the  Confederacy  might  last  another  campaign, 
and  proceeding  on  this  hypothesis,  he  meditated  many  measures  by 
which  its  strength  might  be  repaired  in  another  twelve  months' 
lease  of  existence,  and  the  really  large  resources  which  yet  remain 
ed  in  the  country  he  made  available  for  the  purposes  of  the  war. 
Mr.  Eives  was  given  as  authority  in  Congress  for  saying  that  Gen. 
Lee  "  had  but  a  single  thing  to  fear,  and  that  was  the  spreading  of 
a  causeless  despondency  among  the  people."  "Prevent  this,"  he 
said,  "  and  all  will  be  well.  We  have  strength  enough  left  to  win 
our  independence,  and  we  are  certain  to  win  it,  if  people  do  not 
give  way  to  foolish  despair." 

These  hopeful  views  of  Gen.  Lee  contemplated  time  ;  and  prob 
ably  proceeded  in  a  great  degree  from  his  conception  of  a  meas 
ure  to  make  available  the  negro  population  of  the  South — a  vast 
resource,  indeed,  but  unwieldy,  and  surrounded  by  embarrassing 
questions  as  to  the  precise  methods  of  employment.  In  September, 
1864,  Gen.  Lee  had  given  his  opinion  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  that  the  army  should  have  the  benefit  of  a  certain  per  cent, 
of  the  negroes,  free  and  slave,  as  teamsters,  labourers,  etc. ;  and  he 
suggested  that  there  should  be  a  corps  of  them  permanently  attached 
to  his  army.  Subsequently,  he  enlarged  his  view  of  the  matter, 
and  addressed  the  following  letter  to  a  leading  member  of  Congress : 

HEADQUARTERS  CONFEDERATE  STATES  ARMIES, 

February  18,  1865. 
Hon.  E.  Barksdale,  House  of  Representatives,  Richmond: 

SIR  : — I  have  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  12th  inst,  with  reference  to  the  employment  of  negroes 
as  soldiers.  I  think  the  measure  not  only  expedient,  but  necessary. 
The  enemy  will  certainly  use  them  against  us  if  he  can  get  pos 
session  of  them ;  and  as  his  present  numerical  superiority  will 
enable  him  to  penetrate  many  parts  of  the  country,  I  cannot  see 
the  wisdom  of  the  policy  of  holding  them  to  await  his  arrival, 
when  we  may,  by  timely  action  and  judicious  management,  use 
them  to  arrest  his  progress.  I  do  not  think  that  our  white  popula 
tion  can  supply  the  necessities  of  a  long  war  without  overtaxing 
its  capacity  and  imposing  great  suffering  upon  our  people ;  and  I 
believe  we  should  provide  resources  for  a  protracted  struggle — not 
merely  for  a  battle  or  a  campaign. 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  147 

In  answer  to  your  second  question,  I  can  only  say  that,  in  my 
opinion,  the  negroes,  under  proper  circumstances,  will  make  effi 
cient  soldiers.  I  think  we  could  at  least  do  as  well  with  them  as 
the  enemy,  and  he  attaches  great  importance  to  their  assistance. 
Under  good  officers,  and  good  instructions,  I  do  not  see  why  they 
should  not  become  soldiers.  They  possess  all  the  physical  quali 
fications,  and  their  habits  of  obedience  constitute  a  good  founda 
tion  for  discipline.  They  furnish  a  more  promising  material  than 
many  armies  of  which  we  read  in  history,  which  owed  their  effi 
ciency  to  discipline  alone.  I  think  those  who  are  employed  should 
be  freed.  It  would  be  neither  just  nor  wise,  in  my  opinion,  to 
require  them  to  serve  as  slaves.  The  best  course  to  pursue,  it 
seems  to  me,  would  be  to  call  for  such  as  are  willing  to  come  with 
the  consent  of  their  owners.  An  impressment  or  draft  would  not 
be  likely  to  bring  out  the  best  class,  and  the  use  of  coercion  would 
make  the  measure  distasteful  to  them  and  to  their  owners. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  if  Congress  would  authorize  their  recep 
tion  into  service,  and  empower  the  President  to  call  upon  individ 
uals  or  States  for  such  as  they  are  willing  to  contribute,  with  the 
condition  of  emancipation  to  all  enrolled,  a  sufficient  number  would 
be  forthcoming  to  enable  us  to  try  the  experiment.  If  it  proved 
successful,  most  of  the  objections  to  the  measure  would  disappear, 
and  if  individuals  still  remained  unwilling  to  send  their  negroes  to 
the  army,  the  force  of  public  opinion  in  the  States  would  soon 
bring  about  such  legislation  as  would  remove  all  obstacles.  I 
think  the  matter  should  be  left,  as  far  as  possible,  to  the  people 
and  to  the  States,  which  alone  can  legislate  as  the  necessities  of 
this  particular  service  may  require.  As  to  the  mode  of  organizing 
them,  it  should  be  left  as  free  from  restraint  as  possible.  Experi 
ence  will  suggest  the  best  course,  and  it  would  be  inexpedient  to 
trammel  the  subject  with  provisions  that  might,  in  the  end,  pre 
vent  the  adoption  of  reforms  suggested  by  actual  trial. 
With  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

E.  E.  LEE,  General. 

What  might  have  been  the  results  of  this  measure  if  the  con 
ditions  of  time  necessary  to  realize  them  had  been  secured,  it  would 
be  profitless  speculation  now  to  inquire ;  for  the  time  to  test  it  was 


148  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

never  obtained.  The  experiment  was  but  poorly  initiated  by  Con 
gress  in  a  very  defective  bill  passed  on  the  heel  of  the  session,  and 
shared  the  fate  of  all  Confederate  things  in  a  few  weeks  there 
after.  While  Gen.  Lee  laid  hold  of  new  hopes  and  new  measures, 
all  were  overwhelmed  by  one  catastrophe,  and  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  fell  with  a  suddenness  that  the  enemy  even  had  not 
expected,  and  perished  before  the  time  predicted  in  which  a  tem 
porary  recovery  might  take  place  and  a  last  grand  struggle  of  arms 
terminate  the  contest. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  149 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Extraordinary  cheerfulness  of  Gen.  Lee. — A  psychological  reflection. — The  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  at  a  third  stage  in  its  history. — Military  preparations  for 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond. — Protests  of  the  Government. — Gen.  Lee's  last  and 
desperate  resolution. — Battle  of  Five  Forks. — Theory  and  results  of  the  action. — 
Grant's  assault  in  front  of  Petersburg. — How  Gen.  Lee  received  it. — His  remark 
to  a  staff-officer. 

IT  has  often  been  remarked  by  those  who  saw  Gen.  Lee  in 
Richmond  in  the  last  periods  of  the  war,  shortly  before  the  final 
battles  of  Petersburg,  what  extraordinary  cheerfulness  he  exhibited, 
despite  of  all  he  knew  of  the  extreme  condition  of  the  Confed 
eracy.  His  manners  were  observed  to  be  unusually  lively  and 
pleasant  at  this  time ;  his  step  was  elastic ;  and  he  presented  a 
picture  of  healthy,  cheerful  activity  that  many  despondent  persons 
were  at  a  loss  to  understand.  There  is  in  some  measure  a  psy 
chological  explanation  of  this  apparent  inconsistency  of  behaviour. 
While  ordinary  men  are  depressed  by  the  approach  of  a  desperate 
trial,  it  appears  to  be  the  gift  of  the  great  soul  to  meet  it  with 
inspirations  of  alacrity,  and  to  show  a  smiling  face  even  in  the 
last  agonies  of  the  contest  against  fate.  It  is  the  old  heathen  pic 
ture  of  man  sublimely  contending  with  fate,  to  the  admiration  of 
the  gods  ;  the  modern  idea  of  the  true  hero,  with  elated  form  and 
illuminated  face,  accepting  the  last  test  of  endurance,  and  with  the 
smile  of  a  sublime  resolution  risking  the  last  defiance  of  fortune. 
Cheerfulness  in  such  circumstances  is  an  inspiration  ;  the  crest  of 
the  truly  great  man  rises  in  circumstances  wherein  the  ordinary 
countenance  falls,  and  the  thought  of  a  desperate  trial  puts  a  pecu 
liar  smile  on  his  face  when  that  of  meaner  men  it  would  stamp 
with  anxiety  and  alarm. 

But  there  were  reasons  other  than  this  recondite  inspiration 
that  so  perceptibly  kindled  Gen.  Lee's  manners  in  what  proved  to 
be  the  last  days  of  Richmond.  He  had  conceived  a  resolution,  at 
that  time  utterly  unknown  to  the  public,  and  founded  on  it  a 
rational  and  lively  hope. 


150  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  at  a  third  stage  in  its  his 
tory.  The  three  stages  were :  First,  when  it  had  defended  Eich- 
mond  on  a  distant  line  of  operations  ;  second,  when  it  held  the  im 
mediate  works  of  the  capital,  and  was  subjected  to  the  operations 
of  siege  ;  third,  when  unable  to  break  the  enemy's  investment,  no 
longer  capable  of  offensive  operations,  and  in  imminent  danger  of 
losing  its  communications,  its  policy  had  come  to  be  the  extrication 
of  itself,  and  an  eccentric  campaign.  The  third  and  last  concern 
Gen.  Lee  was  now  meditating ;  and  he  determined  to  save  his  army 
while  there  was  exit  for  it,  and  the  means  of  retreat  were  available. 

In  the  early  part  of  February  he  made  preparations  for  the 
evacuation  of  Petersburg  and  Richmond.  It  was  certainly  the  best 
thing  he  could  do  under  the  circumstances.  There  is  a  stupid  per 
sistence  in  whatever  may  once  take  the  imagination  of  the  popu 
lace  ;  and  thus  many  persons  in  Eichmond  maintained  the  hallu 
cination  that  Lee's  lines  were  to  be  held  en  permanence,  and  Grant 
to  "  hammer  "  away  indefinitely,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  this 
situation  was  the  one  most  familiar  to  their  minds.  But  it  was 
plain  to  the  intelligent  that  this  situation  must  soon  resolve  itself 
into  one  or  the  other  of  two  things — retreat  or  surrender ;  that  it 
was  impossible  that  Lee  could  hold  his  lines  against  the  large  and 
steady  reinforcements  sent  to  Grant.  He  had  already  forty  miles 
of  earthworks  to  defend  against  more  than  four  times  his  own  num 
bers.  There  were  some  things  obvious  on  the  survey  of  the  field, 
which  were,  of  course,  not  lost  to  the  military  eye  of  Gen.  Lee. 
It  was  obvious  that  if  Grant  continued  to  receive  heavy  reinforce 
ments,  and  Lee  none,  while  his  army  continued  to  diminish  from 
desertions  and  casualties,  the  time  would  soon  come  when  retreat 
or  surrender  would  be  the  only  alternative.  It  was  obvious  that 
if  the  immense  line  of  Lee's  works  was  broken  anywhere,  he  was 
lost.  It  was  obvious  that  he  should  make  an  attempt  to  save  his 
army,  and  that  there  was  only  one  hopeful  way  to  do  it,  the  op 
portunity  of  which  was  of  doubtful  duration. 

If  he  moved  at  all,  he  would  have  to  do  so  on  the  line  of  the 
Southside  Eailroad  towards  Danville ;  and  he  must  move  at  once. 
With  the  hope  of  cutting  off  his  retreat,  and  with  a  full  knowledge 
of  his  adversary's  necessities,  Grant  was  moving  heavy  columns  to 
wards  Hatcher's  Eun,  and  was  awaiting  what  he  supposed  to  be  the 
certain  attempt  of  the  Confederates  to  retreat.  His  army  was  kept 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  151 

ready  day  and  night,  with  rations  cooked  and  in  haversacks,  and 
with  every  preparation  complete  for  instant  pursuit.  If  Gen.  Lee 
did  not  retreat,  time  might  allow  the  Federal  army  to  fight  its  way 
to  the  Southside  road,  or  opportunity  might  be  obtained  to  oper 
ate  on  it  with  a  detached  column ;  and  once  lodged  on  this  great 
artery  of  the  Confederate  army,  it  could  at  once  cut  its  vital 
communications,  and  bar  what  was  apparently  its  only  chance  of 
escape. 

Influenced  by  these  views,  Gen.  Lee  determined  to  evacuate 
Eichmond  and  Petersburg  during  the  winter  months,  and  before 
spring  brought  on  those  active  operations  which  he  feared  might 
be  fatal  to  his  army.  In  February  he  gave  orders  for  the  remo 
val  of  all  the  stores  of  the  army  to  Danville.  Cotton  and  tobacco, 
belonging  to  the  Government,  were  hauled  away  from  Petersburg ; 
large  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  left  the  place;  all  the  surplus 
artillery  was  sent  to  Amelia  Court-House,  and  even  the  reserve 
ordnance  train  of  the  army  was  ordered  to  the  same  point. 

But  in  the  midst  of  these  preparations  came  such  protests  from 
Kichmond  as  Gen.  Lee  felt  bound  to  regard.  President  Davis  con 
sidered  the  evacuation  of  the  capital  as  the  last  thing  to  be  done ; 
he  feared  its  moral  effect ;  he  hoped  for  changes  in  the  military 
situation  elsewhere  which  might  relieve  the  aspect  of  affairs  about 
the  capital ;  he  clung  to  the  strange  idea  of  a  victory  over  Sherman, 
whose  eccentric  march  was  described  by  one  of  the  Eichmond 
clergy  in  the  words :  "  God  had  put  a  hook  in  Sherman's  nose,  and 
was  leading  him  to  destruction."  The  unhappy  consequence  was 
that  Gen.  Lee  was  dissuaded  from  his  first  intentions,  and  finally 
determined  to  hold  his  position,  to  test  his  lines  of  defence,  and  in 
the  last  event  of  their  giving  way  to  trust  for  the  extrication  of 
his  army  through  whatever  developments  might  take  place  in  the 
experiment. 

The  close  of  the  Valley  campaign,  with  another  sum  of  mis 
fortune  for  the  South,  gave  Grant  the  control  of  Sheridan's  unriv 
alled  cavalry  command  of  about  twelve  thousand  sabres.  With 
this  great  advantage  of  cavalry  he  determined  to  organize  a  column 
to  operate  towards  the  Southside  road,  and  to  throw  the  elite  of  his 
army  against  Lee's  right.  Such  an  assault,  in  his  enfeebled  condi 
tion,  was  more  than  Gen.  Lee  could  sustain,  unless  he  stripped  his 
works  elsewhere.  But  a  brave  effort  was  made  to  prepare  for  the 


152  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

coming  storm;  and  Gen.  Lee  was  now  evidently  determined  to 
stand  at  bay  and  fight  to  the  last. 

The  designs  of  the  Federal  commander  were  soon  evident.  For 
some  time  he  had  rested  on  the  assurance  that,  with  the  force  at  his 
command,  and  the  advantages  of  his  new  base  at  City  Point,  suc 
cess  was  but  a  question  of  time.  He  knew  quite  accurately  the 
strength  and  condition  of  the  opposing  force,  and  that  it  was 
quite  impossible  for  Gen.  Lee  to  hold  with  it  a  line  extending 
forty  miles,  and  on  both  sides  of  the  James  Eiver.  The  junction 
of  Sheridan's  cavalry  raised  Grant's  force  to  170,000  effectives, 
and  was  the  signal  of  action.  On  the  29th  March  commenced  the 
movement  to  the  left,  and  the  attack  upon  the  Confederate  right. 
This  movement  was  made  under  the  cover  of  a  threatened  attack 
along  the  entire  line,  but  did  not  deceive  the  wakeful  eye  of  Lee, 
who  at  once  prepared  to  resist  as  best  he  could.  The  divisions  of 
Gen.  Pickett  and  of  Gen.  Bushrod  Johnson  were  sent  to  the 
extreme  right,  and  with  them  the  cavalry,  in  numbers  small ;  and 
in  the  weak  and  broken-down  condition  of  their  horses,  almost 
starved  for  want  of  food,  in  poor  plight  to  compete  with  the  splen 
did  army  under  Sheridan,  flushed  with  their  recent  successes.  To 
Sheridan  and  his  ten  thousand  cavalry,  supported  by  two  corps  of 
picked  infantry,  was  intrusted  the  movement  upon  Lee's  right 
flank.  The  first  attack  was  unsuccessful;  at  Dinwiddie  Court- 
House  Sheridan  was  defeated  by  the  troops  under  Pickett,  and 
compelled  to  retreat.  He  renewed  the  attack  upon  the  1st  April, 
his  cavalry  covering  and  completely  masking  his  infantry.  The 
battle  of  " Five  Forks"  followed.  It  was  the  last  important  fight 
of  the  war.  The  forces  under  Johnson  and  Pickett,  two  small 
divisions,  with  the  handful  of  cavalry,  in  numbers  scarcely  one- 
fourth  of  the  opposing  host,  for  a  time  maintained  most  gallantly, 
and  with  heroic  spirit,  the  unequal  contest.  Their  flanks  were 
turned;  they  were  overpowered  by  numbers,  surrounded,  and  cut 
off ;  resistance  was  no  longer  possible,  and  reinforcements  were  out 
of  the  question. 

There  never  was  published  any  official  report,  on  the  Confed 
erate  side,  of  the  battle  of  Five  Forks.  To  this  day  the  reports  of 
the  Confederate  Generals  engaged,  although  regularly  made  to 
Gen.  Lee,  have  never  seen  the  public  light :  and  the  consequence 
has  been  that  the  Northern  version  of  the  battle  has  been  generally 


GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  153 

accepted,  even  in  the  newspapers  and  popular  narratives  of  the 
South,  and  a  very  false  idea  has  obtained  of  the  merits  of  the 
action  on  the  side  of  the  Confederates,  and  particularly  as  to  the 
extent  of  the  odds  against  which  they  contended  on  the  eventful 
first  day  of  April.  The  author  has  before  him  manuscript  copies 
of  the  official  reports  made  to  Gen.  Lee ;  and  from  these  it  appears 
that  the  Confederate  force  was  not  half  what  it  has  been  popularly 
supposed  to  be ;  that  it  maintained  the  action  with  courage  and 
ability ;  that  it  won  a  victory  at  first  over  Sheridan,  before  his 
infantry  had  reinforced  him ;  and  that  it  at  last  yielded  the  field 
only  after  it  had  been  nearly  enveloped  by  the  largely  superiour 
forces  of  the  enemy.  In  his  official  report  of  Five  Forks  (suppressed 
after  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  arms)  Gen.  Pickett  writes : 
"  The  field  was  most  stubbornly  contested  against  great  odds.  The 
whole  of  Sheridan's  cavalry,  joined  with  Kautz,  the  Second  corps, 
and  part  of  the  Sixth,  were  attacking  us.  I  learned  a  few  days 
afterwards,  from  a  General  of  division  in  Warren's  corps,  that  it 
was  19,000  strong,  making  the  enemy's  force  probably  35,000, 
whilst  we  did  not  have  more  than  8,000  men  engaged."  Of  this 
small  Confederate  force  nearly  one-half  were  taken  prisoners ;  and 
an  action  which  had  taken  place  in  the  most  desperate  circum 
stances,  and  had  once  obtained  some  of  the  auspices  and  fruits  of  a 
Confederate  victory,  became  a  frightful  disaster. 

But  without  reference  to  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  and  even  if 
a  Confederate  victory  had  been  obtained  there,  the  fate  of  Peters 
burg  and  Kichmond  was  decided  elsewhere  ;  for  Grant,  espying  the 
weakness  of  Lee's  intrenched  line  before  the  former  city,  deter 
mined  to  break  it,  and  in  the  morning  of  the  2d  April  opened  an 
attack  from  the  Appomattox  to  Hatcher's  Eun.  Gen.  Lee  had 
foreseen  such  an  attack ;  he  knew  well  how  little  the  troops  of 
Hill  and  Gordon,  strung  on  the  long  line,  were  able  to  meet  it ; 
but  he  was  never  more  calm  and  collected  than  when  on  this  mem 
orable  Sabbath,  in  the  broad  stretches  of  the  morning  sunshine, 
and  on  the  irradiated  landscape,  he  witnessed  from  a  position  near 
his  headquarters  the  battle  that  probably  contained  the  fate  of  him 
self  and  army.  It  was  observed  that,  though  always  attentive  to 
his  person,  he  was  dressed  this  morning  with  unusual  and  scrupu 
lous  care.  His  gold-hiked  sword,  seldom  worn,  hung  by  his  side. 
It  was  as  if  he  had  put  on  his  best  attire  and  insignia,  not  know- 


154  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

ing  where  the  night  might  find  him.  But  to  all  appearance  he 
was  never  more  self-possessed  than  when  mounted  on  his  iron-gray 
horse,  straight  as  an  arrow  and  calm  as  a  May  morning,  he  watched 
through  his  glasses  the  advance  of  the  enemy.  One  could  imagine 
him  at  a  review;  the  repose  of  his  manner  was  perfect  and  com 
manding,  while  his  restive  horse  curveted  and  fretted  under  him  ; 
but  it  was  remarked  once  that  his  cheek  flushed,  and  a  gleam  of 
battle  shone  in  his  face,  as  a  shell  burst  almost  upon  him,  killing  a 
horse  near  by,  and  cutting  the  bridle-reins  of  his  own  magnificent 
charger. 

On  came  the  enemy  in  double  column  with  fearful  array.  Check 
ed  momentarily  on  Gordon's  lines  to  the  left  of  "  the  Crater,"  a 
more  determined  attack  was  made  on  Hill's  weaker  position  ;  and 
it  was  s6on  observed  that  the  masses  of  Federal  infantry,  over 
running  the  slender  opposition,  were  pressing  to  the  line  of  re 
doubts  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  in  rear  of  the  ground  first 
held  by  Hill.  Fort  Gregg  was  run  over ;  Fort  Alexander  fell 
only  after  a  heroic  resistance ;  and  by  noon  it  was  apparent  to  Gen. 
Lee,  that  with  the  Southside  Railroad  in  the  enemy's  possession  and 
his  intrenched  line  in  front  of  Petersburg  gone,  it  only  remained 
for  him  to  hold  the  town  long  enough  to  collect  and  organize  his 
men  for  the  last  chances  of  retreat. 

On  the  brief  and  fiery  drama  that  had  taken  place  before  his 
eyes  he  made  no  comment,  further  than  to  turn  to  Col.  Marshall, 
one  of  his  aides,  and  say :  "  Well,  Colonel,  it  has  happened  as  I 
told  them  it  would  in  Richmond :  the  line  has  been  stretched  until 
it  has  broke." 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  155 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  last  retreat  of  Gen.  Lee's  army. — Two  notable  pictures. — Gen.  Lee  conceives  a 
new  prospect  of  action. — A  fatal  miscarriage  at  Amelia  Court-House. — No  food  for 
the  army. — Terrible  sufferings  of  the  retreat. — General  despair  and.  misery. — Action 
at  Sailor's  Creek. — Condition  of  the  army  at  Appomattox  Court-House. — Apparition 
of  the  white  flag. — Correspondence  between  Generals  Lee  and  Grant. — Authentic 
and  detailed  account  of  their  interview  at  McLean's  House. — Contradiction  of  va 
rious  popular  reports  of  this  event. — Gen.  Lee  announcing  the  terms  of  surrender 
to  his  officers. — Scenes  in  the  encampments. — Gen.  Lee's  last  address  to  his  troops. 
— His  return  to  Richmond. — Last  tokens  of  affection  and  respect  for  the  Confed 
eracy. 

NIGHT  gave  Gen.  Lee  the  time  lie  wanted  to  collect  his  forces 
for  retreat,  and  the  morning  of  the  3d  April  found  him  across  the 
Appomattox,  with  the  remains  of  his  army  well  got  together,  head 
ing  away  from  Richmond.  In  the  light  of  that  morning  were  two 
notable  pictures.  A  pall  of  smoke,  with  the  golden  light  weaved 
in  its  folds,  hung  in  the  sky  above  Richmond ;  beneath  roared  and 
surged  a  sea  of  fire,  reaching  from  the  island-dotted  river  to  the 
tall  trees  that  fringed  the  hill  on  which  the  Capitol  stood  ;  skirting 
this  sea,  pouring  down  Church  Hill,  was  the  victorious  army  glis 
tening  with  steel  and  banners,  now  ascending  Franklin  street,  curv 
ing  at  the  Exchange  Hotel  to  the  upper  streets  that  led  to  Capitol 
Square,  making  this  curve  the  point  where  passionate  music  clash 
ed  out  its  triumph,  and  each  body  of  troops  took  up  the  cheer  of 
victory,  and  cavalrymen  waved  their  swords,  and  the  column  swept 
up  the  hill  as  if  in  sudden  haste  to  seize  the  green  patch  of  ground 
where  stood  the  dumb  walls  of  the  Capitol  of  the  Confederacy. 
Away  from  this  scene  of  sublime  horrour  was  the  other  picture :  an 
army  tattered,  brown,  weather-beaten,  moving  through  the  woods 
and  on  blind  roads,  with  straggling,  distressed  trains,  the  faces  of 
its  soldiers  turned  from  Richmond,  but  ever  and  anon  looking  cu 
riously  to  the  sky,  and  to  its  pillars  and  drapery  of  smoke,  and 
the  black  horrour  that  stood  there  all  day,  while  the  forest  pulsed 
in  glorious  sunshine,  and  quiet  fields  peeped  out  in  the  garniture  of 
Spring. 


156  GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 

The  last  game  of  war  had  now  truly  commenced  between  Lee 
and  Grant,  the  former  aiming  to  save  his  army,  which  he  had 
already  extricated  beyond  his  hopes,  and  the  latter  making  every 
endeavour  to  cut  off  and  capture  or  destroy  it.  In  the  morning  of 
the  3d  April,  Gen.  Lee  showed  remarkable  spirits,  and  had  evi 
dently  obtained  a  new  confidence.  A  correspondent  of  the  London 
Times,  who  faithfully  and  vividly  described  the  retreat,  relates  that 
on  this  morning  Gen.  Lee  remarked :  "  I  have  got  my  army  safe 
out  of  its  breastworks,  and  in  order  to  follow  me,  my  enemy  must 
abandon  his  lines,  and  can  derive  no  further  benefit  from  his  rail 
roads  and  the  James  River."  Anyhow,  a  reflection  of  this  sort 
was  just.  Gen.  Lee  had  yet  an  army  of  twenty-five  thousand  men ; 
it  was  foot-loose,  ready  to  move  in  any  direction ;  the  men  were 
exhilarated,  relieved  from  the  confinement  of  siege  and  emerging 
into  the  open  country ;  and  having  already  accomplished  so  much, 
the  commander  might  yet  hope  to  use  his  army  with  effect,  espe 
cially  if  opportunity  occurred  to  fall  in  detail  upon  the  forces  into 
which  Grant  would  necessarily  have  to  divide  his  army,  with  a 
view  to  a  comprehensive  and  vigorous  pursuit. 

In  that  pursuit,  the  possession  of  the  Southside  Eailroad  had 
given  the  enemy  all  the  advantages  of  the  interiour  line.  Lee  was 
alive  to  this  disadvantage ;  the  very  privates  of  his  army  under 
stood  it.  Men  who  carried  muskets  were  heard  to  say  to  their 
comrades:  "Grant  is  trying  to  cut  off  'Uncle  Robert'  at  Burkes- 
ville  junction"  (the  point  of  meeting  of  the  Southside  and  Danville 
roads) ;  and  the  answer  was:  "  Grant  has  got  the  inside  track  and 
can  get  there  first."  This  was  the  plain  truth  of  the  situation. 

Grant  held  the  Southside  road,  and  was  pressing  forward  troops 
under  Sheridan  towards  the  Danville  road,  to  which  he  had  a 
straight  cut  without  a  particle  of  obstruction,  except  a  small  force 
of  cavalry  under  Fitzhugh  Lee.  Gen.  Lee,  on  the  contrary,  was 
moving  by  a  circuitous  route  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Appomattox, 
encumbered  by  a  huge  wagon  train,  and  having  in  front  of  him  a 
swollen  river,  which  proved,  indeed,  a  terrible  delay  when  every 
moment  counted.  So  great  were  these  obstacles,  that  there  is  little 
doubt  Grant  might  have  effectually  intercepted  the  retreat  at 
Amelia  Court-House,  if  he  had  made  extraordinary  exertions  to 
do  so,  and  concentrated  the  forces  under  Sheridan  and  Meade.  As 
it  was,  Gen.  Lee  did  not  succceed  in  reaching  this  point  until  the 


GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  157 

5th  April ;  the  bridges  over  the  Appomattox  being  swept  away, 
or  rendered  useless  by  the  freshets  which  covered  the  low  grounds 
and  prevented  access  to  them.  The  troops  finally  crossed  on  pon 
toons  at  two  or  three  places ;  and  although  suffering  severely  from 
want  of  rations,  they  pushed  forward  in  good  spirits  to  Amelia 
Court-House. 

In  the  suburbs  of  this  pretty  little  village  the  trains  encamped, 
and  the  travel- worn  troops  bivouacked  in  the  fields.  The  morale 
of  the  army  was  excellent ;  it  had  not  yet  been  put  to  the  test  of 
any  great  suffering.  It  still  presented  a  formidable  spectacle  in 
lines  of  veterans  with  bristling  bayonets,  led  by  such  heroic  com 
manders  as  Longstreet,  Gordon  and  Mahone.  The  important,  vital 
concern  was,  to  provision  it ;  and  a  fortnight  before,  Gen.  Lee,  in 
view  of  the  exigencies  of  retreat,  had  given  urgent  and  precise 
orders  that  large  supplies  of  commissary  and  quartermaster's  stores 
should  be  sent  forward  from  Danville  to  Amelia  Court-House. 
But  at  the  latter  place  he  found  not  a  ration.  His  orders  had  been 
disregarded ;  and  now,  in  the  second  stage  of  retreat,  aiming  at 
Lynchburg  in  the  direction  of  Farmville,  his  army  faced  a  new 
enemy  in  hunger,  and  staggered  under  an  accumulation  of  distress 
that  only  the  hardiest  natures  could  endure. 

The  line  of  retreat  penetrated  a  region  of  hills,  where  good  posi 
tions  might  be  taken  for  defence ;  but  the  straggling  woods,  the 
pine  barrens,  and  the  small  patches  of  clearing,  afforded  but  little 
prospect  for  subsistence.  Half  the  army  was  broken  up  into  forag 
ing  parties  to  get  food ;  opportunities  of  desertion  diminished  it  at 
every  step  ;  men  who  plucked  from  the  trees  leaves  and  twigs  to 
assuage  their  hunger,  dropped  out  by  the  wayside,  famishing ; 
jaded  horses  and  mules  sunk  under  the  whips  of  the  teamsters,  and 
broken  wagons  choked  the  roads.  The  retreat  became  slow  and 
slower.  The  numbers  and  excellence  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  gave 
them  a  fatal  advantage.  The  reserve  train,  containing  nearly  all 
the  ammunition  of  Lee's  army,  was  attacked  and  burned  in  the  first 
stages  of  retreat,  and  the  fate  awaiting  other  portions  of  the  army 
train  was  foreseen.  Its  unwieldy  size  and  slow  movement  made  it 
an  easy  prey,  and  it  was  incessantly  attacked,  and  large  sections 
carried  off  or  destroyed.  From  this  time  commenced  the  most  dis 
tressing  scenes  of  the  march.  Hunger  brought  with  it  the  demoral 
ization  it  never  fails  to  produce  in  a  large  number  of  men  ;  nearly 


158  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

every  hour  of  the  day  there  was  an  attack  of  cavalry,  a  running 
fight ;  the  woods  rocked  with  the  explosions,  where  burning  wag 
ons  filled  with  ammunition  and  shells  had  been  abandoned  ;  and 
when  night  came,  and  the  army  paused  in  the  hasty  field-works 
thrown  up  for  their 'protection,  the  wolves  were  heard  again  upon 
the  track,  and  the  incessant  cry  of  "  cavalry,"  and  fierce  volleys 
of  fire,  prevented  the  jaded  men  from  catching  even  one  undisturbed 
hour  of  sleep. 

The  retreat  continued.  Hunger,  thirst,  and  weariness  continued. 
For  the  four  or  five  days,  during  which  the  retreating  army  toiled 
on,  it  is  said  "  the  suffering  of  the  men  from  the  pangs  of  hunger 
has  not  been  approached  in  the  military  annals  of  the  last  fifty 
years."  Despondency,  like  a  black  poisonous  mist,  weighed  down 
its  endeavours,  and  infected  the  stoutest  hearts.  The  men  fell  out 
of  the  ranks  by  hundreds,  overcome  by  want  of  food  and  sleep,  and 
worn  out  by  exhaustion  ;  or  what  was  equally  bad,  they  dropped 
their  heavy  guns  and  cartridge-boxes,  and  straggled  along,  a  useless 
and  cumbrous  mob.  Many  laid  down  to  die ;  many  welcomed 
death  as  God's  blessing  in  disguise,  and  with  gaunt  famine  glaring 
hopelessly  from  their  sunken,  eyes,  sought  places  to  throw  down 
their  exhausted  bodies,  and  demand  from  nature  the  end  of  their 
sufferings. 

The  fashion  of  retreat  was,  that  at  every  hill  divisions  would 
alternately  halt  and  form  lines  of  battle  to  check  their  pursuers. 
It  was  on  one  of  these  halts,  just  south  of  Sailor's  Creek,  a  tributary 
of  the  Appomattox,  that  a  considerable  fight  ensued  on  the  6th  of 
April,  in  which  Sheridan  struck  in  upon  the  line  of  retreat,  and 
took  a  number  of  prisoners,  but  not  without  learning  to  his  cost, 
that  in  the  fugitive,  famishing  crowd  there  was  yet  something  of  the 
old  fire  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  capable  of  an  episode 
of  desperate  and  devoted  courage,  in  what  were  evidently  the 
final  scenes  of  its  existence.  The  attack  was  made  with  great 
suddenness ;  the  enemy  running  over  a  portion  of  Swell's  com 
mand,  appeared  determined  to  bring  matters  to  a  crisis,  when  sud 
denly  he  found  in  his  front  a  line  of  battle  that  had  been  devel 
oped  with  a  swiftness  that  showed  that  Lee  had  yet  under  his 
quick  and  facile  hand  troops,  devoted,  desperate,  even  in  the 
last  extremity  responsive  to  their  commander.  At  the  first  per 
ception  of  the  shock  of  attack,  Gen.  Lee  formed  a  line  of  battle  to 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  159 

repulse  the  enemy,  if  he  advanced  upon  what  remained  of  the  Con 
federate  trains  moving  towards  High  Bridge.  A  brigade  of  infan 
try  was  pushed  across  at  double-quick,  and  between  E  well's  men 
and  the  hitherto  victorious  troopers  of  Sheridan,  arose  a  wall  of 
bayonets  flanked  by  cannon.  In  view  of  this  formidable  appari 
tion,  the  enemy  went  back.  At  one  time,  however,  a  fierce  battle 
was  expected,  and  in  the  gloom  of  twilight  a  lurid  glare  of  signals 
along  the  Federal  lines  made  a  luminous  track  through  the  forest, 
and  seemed  to  be  the  prelude  to  another  attack.  Gen.  Lee  himself 
watched  anxiously  the  remarkable  and  picturesque  scene.  On  a 
plateau,  raised  from  the  forest  whence  they  had  emerged,  were  the 
broken  troops ;  there  were  exclamations  of  rage  and  defiance 
among  them,  the  evident  smart  of  mortification  ;  in  front  was  the 
line  of  battle  still  and  calm,  awaiting  another  attack.  But  no 
attack  was  made ;  Sheridan  was  content  with  his  adventure.  As 
Gen.  Lee  rode  back  in  the  gathering  gloom  of  night,  through  the 
disordered  groups  on  the  plateau,  there  were  cries :  "  It's  Gen.  Lee ! 
Uncle  Kobert !  Where's  the  man  who  won't  follow  Uncle  Kobert  ?  " 
He  had  not  yet  despaired  of  saving  the  men  who  testified  to  him 
such  love  and  confidence  in  the  extremities  of  fate. 

In  the  night  of  the  8th  April,  the  reduced,  worn,  suffering 
army  reached  Appomattox  Court-House.  It  was  now  within 
twenty-four  miles  of  Lynchburg,  on  a  strip  of  land  between  the 
James  and  Appomattox  Eivers.  What  had  been  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  was  now  counted  by  a  few  thousands.  Gordon 
marched  in  front  with  scarcely  more  than  two  thousand  men ;  the 
wreck  of  Longstreet's  command  made  up  the  rear ;  and  between 
Gordon  and  Longstreet  were  the  remaining  wagons,  and  clinging 
to  them  thousands  of  unarmed  and  famished  stragglers,  too  weak 
to  carry  their  muskets.  To  such  condition  was  reduced  the  grand, 
memorable  army  that  had  traversed  so  many  distances,  and  accom 
plished  so  many  campaigns;  that  had  twice  trod  the  enemy's  soil, 
and  displayed  itself  on  the  foreground  of  Washington ;  that  had 
never  known  rout  or  panic ;  that  had  made  the  greatest  name  in 
the  world's  history ;  and  that  was  now  to  die  only  in  the  annihila 
tion  of  all  its  parts,  without  ever  having  given  to  its  enemy  aught 
of  triumph  or  taken  upon  itself  a  shadow  of  shame. 

In  the  early  light  of  the  9th  April,  Gordon  discovered  the 
enemy  in  his  front  in  heavy  force,  closing  the  outlet  towards 


160  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

Lynchburg,  and  was  ordered  to  cut  his  way  through.  Advancing 
with  his  thin  line,  he  drove  the  enemy's  dismounted  cavalry  for 
half  an  hour,  until  he  came  upon  large  masses  of  infantry  just 
forming  to  advance.  It  was  now  apparent  that  the  Federal  forces 
were  closing  in,  and  extending  their  cordon  of  infantry,  cavalry, 
and  artillery,  until  the  Confederate  army  was  almost  completely 
surrounded.  Sheridan  was  in  front,  Heade  was  in  the  rear,  Ord 
was  south  of  the  Court-House.  The  moment  seemed  to  have  come 
when  in  an  attempt  to  extricate  itself,  what  remained  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Yirginia  would  be  called  upon  to  crown  its  historic 
fame  by  a  last  charge  and  a  glorious  death.  There  were  men  who 
would  have  died  with  Lee,  without  a  murmur,  fighting  to  the  last. 
But  a  wanton  sacrifice  of  human  life  was  far  from  the  thoughts  of 
the  great  commander. 

At  first  Gen.  Lee  had  recoiled  from  the  idea  of  surrender.  In 
the  distress  of  retreat  the  idea  had  been  suggested  to  him  by  one 
of  his  officers,  and  he  had  answered  with  concern  and  in  a  tone  of 
displeasure:  "Surrender!  I  have  too  many  fighting  men  for 
that."  When  on  the  7th  April,  Grant  sent  a  note  proposing  sur 
render,  Gen.  Lee  replied  by  denying  the  premise  assumed  by  the 
enemy  "  of  the  hopelessness  of  future  resistance  on  the  part  of 'the 
Army  of  Northern  Yirginia."  But  the  experience  of  two  succeed 
ing  days  brought  him  face  to  face  with  the  desperate  situation ; 
the  current  was  now  too  strong  against  him,  and  he  was  forced  to 
yield. 

As  the  signs  of  battle  strangely  and  suddenly  ceased  by  the 
appearance  of  a  flag  of  truce,  Gen.  Lee  was  seen  riding  rapidly  to 
the  rear  to  seek  an  interview  with  Grant. 

The  object  of  this  sharp  ride  in  the  fresh  morning  was  known 
only  to  the  two  commanders.  After  the  affair  of  Sailor's  Creek, 
and  while  Gen.  Lee  continued  his  retreat  towards  Appomattox 
Court-House,  the  following  correspondence  had  gone  on  while  both 
armies  were  in  motion,  unconscious  of  the  silent  and  significant  use 
of  the  pen  that  had  at  last  come  in  to  supersede  their  arms,  and 
conclude  the  drama : 

I. 

April  7. 

Gen.  R  E.  Lee}  Commander  C.  S.  A.  : 

SIR  : — The  result  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you  of  the 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  161 

hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my 
duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  effusion 
of  blood,  by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the 
Confederate  States  army  known  as  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant- General, 
Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

II. 

April  7. 

GENERAL  : — I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date.  Though 
not  entirely  of  the  opinion  you  express  of  the  hopelessness  of 
further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I 
reciprocate  your  desire  to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and, 
therefore,  before  considering  your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you 
will  offer  on  condition  of  its  surrender. 

K.  E.  LEE,  General. 

TO  LlEUT.-G-EN.  U.  S.  GRANT, 

Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

III. 

April  8. 
To  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  Confederate  States  Army : 

GENERAL: — Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to  mine  of  same 
date,  asking  the  conditions  on  which  I  will  accept  the  surrender  of 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  is  just  received. 

In  reply,  I  would  say,  that  peace  being  my  first  desire,  there 
is  but  one  condition  that  I  insist  upon,  viz. : 

That  the  men  surrendered  shall  be  disqualified  for  taking  up 
arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly 
exchanged. 

I  will  meet  you,  or  designate  officers  to  meet  any  officers  you 
may  name  for  the  same  purpose,  at  any  point  agreeable  to  you j,  for 
the  purpose  of  arranging  definitely  the  terms  upon  which  the  sur 
render  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  will  be  received. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,. 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieutenant- General; 
Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  /States.. 
11 


162  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

IV. 

April  8. 

GENERAL  : — I  received,  at  a  late  hour,  your  note  of  to-day  in 
answer  to  mine  of  yesterday. 

I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of  your  proposition.  To 
be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency  has  arisen  to  call  for  the 
surrender.  But,  as  the  restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole 
object  of  all,  I  desire  to  know  whether  your  proposals  would  tend 
to  that  end. 

I  cannot,  therefore,  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surrender  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  so  far  as  your  proposition  may 
affect  the  Confederate  States  forces  under  my  command,  and  lead 
to  the  restoration  of  peace,  I  should  be  pleased  to  meet  you  at 
10  A.M.  to-morrow,  on  the  old  stage-road  to  Richmond,  between 
the  picket-lines  of  the  two  armies. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  E.  LEE, 

General  Confederate  States  Armies. 
To  LIEUT.-GEN.  GRANT, 

Commanding  Armies  of  the  United  States. 

V. 

April  9. 

Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  C.  S.  A.  : 

GENERAL : — Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  As  I  have  no 
authority  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace,  the  meeting  proposed  for 
10  A.M.  to-day  could  lead  to  no  good.  I  will  state,  however, 
General,  that  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  yourself;  and 
the  whole  North  entertain  the  same  feeling.  The  terms  upon 
which  peace  can  be  had  are  well  understood.  By  the  South  laying 
down  their  arms  they  will  hasten  that  most  desirable  event,  save 
thousands  of  human  lives,  and  hundreds  of  millions  of  property 
not  yet  destroyed. 

Sincerely  hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may  be  settled  without 
the  loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe  myself, 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieut.- Gen.   U.  S.  A. 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  163 


VI. 

•April  9,  1865. 

GENERAL  : — I  received  your  note  of  this  morning  on  the  picket- 
line,  whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you  and  ascertain  definitely 
what  terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposition  of  yesterday  with 
reference  to  the  surrender  of  this  army. 

I  now  request  an  interview  in  accordance  with  the  offer  con 
tained  in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for  that  purpose. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

R  E.  LEE,  General. 
To  LIEUT.-GEN.  G-EANT, 

Commanding  United  States  Armies. 

VII. 

April  9. 
Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  Confederate  States  Armies : 

Your  note  of  this  date  is  but  this  moment  (11.50  A.  M.)  re 
ceived. 

In  consequence  of  my  having  passed  from  the  Richmond  and 
Lynchburg  road  to  the  Farmville  and  Lynchburg  road,  I  am  at 
this  writing  about  four  miles  west  of  "Walter's  Church,  and  will 
push  forward  to  the  front  for  the  purpose  of  meeting  you. 

Notice  sent  to  me  on  this  road  where  you  wish  the  interview 
to  take  place  will  meet  me. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieut.- Gen. 

It  was  in  accordance  with  this  intimation  that  Gen.  Lee  now 
rode  to  the  rear.  The  news  ran  quickly  through  the  Federal  and 
Confederate  ranks,  as  they  suspended  hostilities.  While  the  inter 
view  was  taking  place  between  the  commanders,  the  two  armies 
watched  each  other  in  a  strange  suspense,  readily  imagining  the 
mighty  interests  which  these  two  men  now  weighed  in  the  simple 
farm-house  where  they  had  met.  Peace  might  follow  this  inter 
view.  It  might  end  in  resumption  of  hostilities,  in  fiercest  battle, 
in  terrible  carnage.  The  two  armies  were  plainly  visible  to  each 
other.  The  Confederates  skirted  a  strip  of  woods  in  rear  of  the 
town.  Through  the  vistas  of  the  streets  might  be  seen  their  wagon- 
trains.  The  minutes  passed  but  slowly.  The  approach  of  every 


164  GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

horseman  attracted  an  eager  look.  Skirmish  line  confronting  skir 
mish  line,  lines  of  battle  confronting  lines  of  battle,  cannon  con 
fronting  cannon,  awaited  in  dead  silence  the  issue  of  the  pregnant 
hour. 

The  interview  in  which  Gen.  Lee  concluded  to  surrender  his 
army,  and  resolved  the  destiny  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  is 
certainly  one  of  the  most  important  and  memorable  single  events 
of  modern  annals.  It  is  usual  in  history,  and  a  great  satisfaction 
to  the  curious,  to  relate  such  events  with  singular  minuteness, 
attending  to  the  slightest  circumstances.  The  author  has  been 
enabled  to  give  such  an  account  of  this  interview ;  and  it  is  inter 
esting  to  notice  how  this  plain  circumstantial  account,  bordering  on 
the  style  of  a  proces-verbal,  differs  from  the  many  attempts  to 
dramatize  the  event,  and  contradicts  nearly  every  popular  story 
that  has  been  recited  for  sensation.  The  author  has  the  best  evi 
dence  in  the  world  for  saying  that  every  account  of  this  interview 
which  has  hitherto  appeared  in  popular  publications  contains  no 
less  than  four  or  five  distinct  and  remarkable  errours. 

Thus  it  has  been  popularly  reported  that  the  first  interview 
between  the  two  commanders  took  place  under  an  apple-tree,  which 
has  consequently  been  crowned  with  historic  associations.  This  is 
false.  The  fact  is,  that  in  the  morning  of  the  9th  April,  after  the 
correspondence  between  the  two  commanders  had  progressed  to 
the  point  referred  to  in  our  narrative,  Gen.  Lee,  with  a  single 
member  of  his  staff,  was  resting  under  an  apple-tree,  when  Col. 
Babcock,  of  Gen.  Grant's  staff,  rode  up  under  a  flag  of  truce,  say 
ing  that  if  Gen.  Lee  remained  where  he  was,  Gen.  Grant  would 
come  to  him  by  the  road  the  latter  was  then  pursuing.  This  was 
the  only  interview  under  or  near  the  apple-tree ;  and  it  may  be 
mentioned  here  that  the  following  day  Col.  Marshall,  who  attended 
Gen.  Lee  on  the  occasion,  was  surprised  to  find  Federal  soldiers 
hacking  at  the  tree,  and  was  amused  at  their  idea  of  obtaining 
from  it  mementoes  of  the  surrender.  Obtaining  news  of  Grant's 
approach,  Gen.  Lee  at  once  ordered  Col.  Marshall  to  find  a 
fit  and  convenient  house  for  the  interview.  Col.  Marshall  applied 
to  the  first  citizen  he  met,  Mr.  Wilmer  McLean,  and  was  directed 
to  a  house  vacant  and  dismantled.  He  refused  to  use  it,  and  Mr. 
McLean  then  offered  to  conduct  him  and  the  General  to  his 
own  residence,  a  comfortable  frame  house,  with  a  long  portico  and 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  165 

convenient  "  sitting-room,"  furnished  after  the  bare  style  of  the 
times. 

The  house  was  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  Gen.  Lee's  camp. 
The  Confederate  commander  was  attended  only  by  one  of  his  aides, 
Col.  Marshall,  a  youthful,  boyish-looking  scion  of  the  old  and 
illustrious  Marshall  family  of  Virginia,  who  had  been  the  constant 
companion  of  Gen.  Lee  in  all  his  campaigns,  and,  as  his  private 
secretary,  had  shown  himself  master  of  the  pen  as  well  as  of  the 
sword.  With  Grant  there  were  several  of  his  staff-officers ;  and  a 
number  of  Federal  Generals,  including  Ord  and  Sheridan,  entered 
the  room  and  joined  in  the  slight  general  conversation  that  took 
place  there. 

The  interview  was  opened  without  the  least  ceremony.  The 
story  has  been  frequently  repeated  that  Gen.  Lee  tendered  his 
sword,  and  that  Gen.  Grant  returned  it  with  a  complimentary 
remark.  There  was  no  such  absurdity.  Gen.  Lee  wore  his  sword 
(which  was  not  his  usual  habit),  and,  on  the  exchange  of  saluta 
tions,  Gen.  Grant  remarked:  "I  must  apologize,  General,  for  not 
wearing  my  sword;  it  had  gone  off  in  my  baggage,  when  I 
received  your  note."  Gen.  Lee  bowed,  and  at  once,  and  without 
further  conversation,  asked  that  Gen.  Grant  would  state,  in 
writing  if  he  preferred  it,  the  terms  on  which  he  would  receive 
the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Gen.  Grant 
complied  by  sitting  at  a  table  in  the  room,  and  writing  with  a 
common  lead-pencil  the  following  note  : 

APPOMATTOX  COURT-HOUSE,  April  9,  1865. 
Gen.  JK.  E.  Lee,  Commanding  C.  S.  A.  : 

In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter  to  you  of  the 
8th  inst.,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  on  the  following  terms,  to  wit : 

Eolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate, 
one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  designated  by  me,  the  other  to 
be  retained  by  such  officers  as  you  may  designate. 

The  officers  to  give  their  individual  parole  not  to  take  arms 
against  the  Government  of  the  United  States  until  properly 
exchanged ;  and  each  company  or  regimental  commander  to  sign 
a  like  parole  for  the  men  of  their  commands. 

The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property  to  be  parked  and 


166  GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

stacked,  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed  by  me  to  receive 
them. 

This  will  not  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers,  nor  their 
private  horses  or  baggage. 

This  done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to 
their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authority  so  long 
as  they  observe  their  parole  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may 

reside. 

Yery  respectfully, 

U.  S.  GRANT,  Lieut- General. 

Gen.  Lee  read  the  paper  with  quiet  and  sober  attention; 
there  was  no  discussion  of  terms.  The  common  report  that  Gen. 
Lee  expressed  any  grateful  emotion,  or  characterized  the  terms  as 
generous,  is  wholly  untrue.  Such  an  effusion  might  have  been 
just;  it  is  a  pleasant  satisfaction  to  one  party  of  the 'curious,  but 
it  did  not  occur.  The  only  and  single  remark  he  made  upon  the 
pencilled  note  was  to  inquire  about  the  officers'  property  exempted 
from  the  surrender,  remarking  that  most  of  the  horses  in  the  ser 
vice  were  owned  by  those  using  them.  The  note  was  handed  to 
Col.  Badeau,  who  attended  Gen.  Grant  as  secretary,  to  copy  in  ink. 
There  was  but  one  ink-stand  available,  and  copies  were  made  in 
turn  by  Col.  Badeau  and  Col.  Marshall.  This  occupied  some  time, 
and  in  the  interval  the  Generals  made  some  natural  inquiries  after 
the  health  and  condition  of  mutual  acquaintances.  But  there  was 
no  conversation  of  general  interest  except  one  remark  of  Gen.  Lee, 
that  he  had  some  2,000  or  3,000  Federal  prisoners  on  his  hands, 
and  feared  that  he  did  not  have  rations  to  supply  them.  Gen. 
Sheridan  spoke  up :  "I  have  rations  for  25,000  men."  The  copy 
of  Gen.  Grant's  note  having  been  obtained  in  ink,  Gen.  Lee  spoke 
apart  to  Col.  Marshall,  who  wrote  a  reply  commencing  with  the 
usual  formality,  "  I  have  the  honour  to  reply  to  your  communica 
tion  of,"  &c,  which  words  Gen  Lee  erased,  reducing  the  reply  to 
the  following  brief  sentences : — 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 
April  9,  1865. 

Lieut.- Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  Commanding  U.  S.A.: 

GENERAL  : — I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  containing 
the  terms  of  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  pro- 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  167 

posed  by  you.    As  they  are  substantially  the  same  as  those  express 
ed  in  your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.,  they  are  accepted.     I  will  proceed 
-to  designate  the  proper  officers  to  carry  the  stipulations  into  effect. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

E.  E.  LEE,  General. 

The  exchange  of  these  notes  terminated  the  interview.  It  was 
singularly  simple ;  utterly  bald  of  all  rhetorical  flourishes  and  cere 
monies  ;  but  its  very  simplicity  give  it  an  interest  and  dignity  that 
the  most  excessive  formalities  might  fail  to  furnish.  The  bareness 
of  the  dialogue  should  not  give  the  idea  of  stiffness  in  the  actors ; 
there  was  nothing  of  the  sort.  The  manners  of  both  commanders 
were  easy,  self-possessed,  those  of  plain  gentlemen  in  ordinary  inter 
course,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  no  two  men  of  important  station 
could  be  found  within  the  limits  of  America  who  so  equally  abhor 
red  the  theatrical  as  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  and  Gen.  Kobert  E.  Lee. 
The  manners  and  carriage  of  the  latter  in  the  memorable  interview 
were  thus  described  by  the  correspondent  of  a  Northern  news 
paper :  "  Gen.  Lee  looked  very  much  jaded  and  worn,  but,  never 
theless,  presented  the  same  magnificent  physique  for  which  he  has 
always  been  noted.  He  was  neatly  dressed  in  gray  cloth,  without 
embroidery  or  any  insignia  of  rank,  except  three  stars  worn  on  the 
turned  portion  of  his  coat  collar.  His  cheeks  were  very  much 
bronzed  by  exposure,  but  still  shone  ruddy  underneath  it  all.  He 
is  growing  quite  bald,  and  wears  one  of  the  side  locks  of  his  hair 
thrown  across,  the  upper  portion  of  his  forehead,  which  is  as  white 
and  fair  as  a  woman's.  He  stands  fully  six  feet  one  inch  in  height, 
and  weighs  something  over  two  hundred  pounds,  without  being 
burdened  with  a  pound  of  superfluous  flesh.  During  the  whole  in 
terview  he  was  retired  and  dignified  to  a  degree  bordering  on  taci 
turnity,  but  was  free  from  all  exhibition  of  temper  or  mortification. 
His  demeanour  was  that  of  a  thoroughly  possessed  gentleman  who 
had  a  very  disagreeable  duty  to  perform,  but  was  determined  to 
get  through  it  as  well  and  as  soon  as  he  could." 

When  Gen.  Lee  rode  back  slowly  and  thoughtfully  to  his 
headquarters,  what  had  been  done  was  visible  in  his  face,  and  there 
was  no  need  of  words  to  inform  his  officers  assembled  to  meet  him 
that  terms  of  surrender  had  been  agreed  upon,  and  that  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  was  no  more.  When  he  had  announced  the 


168  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

result  to  his  officers  in  a  few  simple  words,  they  approached  him 
in  order  of  rank  to  shake  hands  and  express  their  satisfaction  at 
his  course.  Many  shed  tears ;  but  the  ceremony  was  quiet  and 
decorous  ;  and  when  at  a  later  hour  the  fact  of  surrender  and  the 
terms  were  announced  to  the  troops,  there  was  not  a  shout,  not  a 
word  of  exultation  even  at  the  prospect  of  the  termination  of 
their  sufferings,  and  the  observer  could  scarcely  appreciate  the 
magnitude  of  an  event  unattended  by  spectacle  or  dramatic  cir 
cumstance. 

The  fact  was,  the  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
was  an  event  felt  without  an  exhibition  to  the  eye.  There  was  no 
spectacular  conclusion  of  a  struggle  that  for  four  years  had  rocked 
the  fields  of  Virginia ;  no  dramatization  ;  the  feelings  of  the  troops 
in  this  respect  were  magnanimously  spared  by  the  enemy.  There 
was  a  Federal  column  waving  a  white  flag  and  lines  of  troops 
fringing  a  distant  hill.  There  was  nothing  visible  in  front  but 
these ;  no  crash  of  music  disturbed  the  evening  air ;  no  cheer  was 
heard.  On  the  Confederate  side  the  disbanded  lines  of  attack 
moved  across  the  field  with  the  slow  step  of  mourners.  As  the 
sun  descended  the  sky  it  was  strange  to  see  that  Federal  column 
so  near,  and  yet  no  gun  in  position  to  confront  it,  no  line  of  battle, 
no  preparations  for  action  so  long  familiar  to  the  soldiers  who  had 
so  often  snatched  their  hasty  sleep  on  the  verge  of  battle,  thinking 
of  the  chances  of  eternity  on  the  morrow. 

The  very  absence  of  dramatic  accessary  in  the  surrender  gives 
it  a  strange  and  tender  interest.  The  simple  scene  in  which  Gen. 
Lee  and  his  army  separated  is  touching  from  its  very  simplicity. 
There  was  no  harangue  or  ceremony  when  in  the  evening  of  this 
memorable  day  the  men  surrounded  Gen.  Lee's  headquarters,  and 
without  distinction  pressed  upon  the  illustrious  and  beloved  com 
mander,  and  sought  to  shake  his  hand  and  hear  the  voice  that  had 
so  often  conducted  them  to  battle.  It  was  said  that  Gen.  Lee  wept 
on  the  occasion.  He  did  not ;  there  were  deeper  signs  of  suffering 
— the  misty  look  of  unshed  tears  in  a  strong  man's  face  as  he  turned 
to  the  throng  that  pressed  upon  him,  and  said  slowly  and  painfully : 
"  Men,  we  have  fought  through  the  war  together.  I  have  done  my 
best  for  you.  My  heart  is  too  full  to  say  more." 

The  formal  leave  of  his  army  was  accomplished  the  next  day  in 
the  following  written  address: 


GENERAL   EGBERT  EDWARD   LEE.  169 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA, 
April  10,  1865. 

After  four  years  of  arduous  service,  marked  by  unsurpassed 
courage  and  fortitude,  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  has  been 
compelled  to  yield  to  overwhelming  numbers  and  resources. 

I  need  not  tell  the  survivors  of  so  many  hard-fought  battles, 
who  have  remained  steadfast  to  the  last,  that  I  have  consented  to 
this  result  from  no  distrust  of  them ;  but  feeling  that  valour  and 
devotion  could  accomplish  nothing  that  could  compensate  for  the 
loss  that  would  have  attended  the  continuation  of  the  contest,  I 
have  determined  to  avoid  the  useless  sacrifice  of  those  whose  past 
services  have  endeared  them  to  their  countrymen. 

By  the  terms  of  agreement,  officers  and  men  can  return  to  their 
homes,  and  remain  there  until  exchanged. 

You  will  take  with  you  the  satisfaction  that  proceeds  from  the 
consciousness  of  duty  faithfully  performed ;  and  I  earnestly  pray  that 
a  merciful  God  will  extend  to  you  His  blessing  and  protection. 

With  an  unceasing  admiration  of  your  constancy  and  devotion 
to  your  country,  and  a  grateful  remembrance  of  your  kind  and 
generous  consideration  of  myself,  I  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell. 

E.  E.  LEE,  General. 

At  the  final  act  of  surrender  Gren.  Lee  was  not  present.  It  was 
executed  by  commissioners,  designated  for  the  purpose,  who  acceded 
to  the  following  agreement: 

APPOMATTOX  COURT-HOUSE,  YA.,  April  10,  1865. 

Agreement  entered  into  this  day,  in  regard  to  the  surrender  of  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  to  the  United  States  authorities. 

First. — The  troops  shall  march  by  brigades  and  detachments  to 
a  designated  point ;  stack  their  arms,  deposit  their  flags,  sabres, 
pistols,  etc.,  and  from  thence  march  to  their  homes,  under  charge 
of  their  officers,  superintended  by  their  respective  division  and 
corps  commanders,  officers  retaining  their  side-arms  and  the 
authorized  number  of  private  horses. 

Second. — All  public  horses,  and  public  property  of  all  kinds, 
to  be  turned  over  to  staff-officers  to  be  designated  by  the  United 
States  authorities. 

Third. — Such  transportation  as  may  be  agreed  upon  as  neces- 


170  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

sary  for  the  transportation  of  the  private  baggage  of  officers  will 
be  allowed  to  accompany  the  officers,  to  be  turned  over,  at  the  end 
of  the  trip,  to  the  nearest  United  States  quartermaster,  receipts 
being  taken  for  the  same. 

Fourth. — Couriers  and  mounted  men  of  the  artillery  and 
cavalry,  whose  horses  are  their  own  private  property,  will  be 
allowed  to  retain  them. 

Fifth. — The  surrender  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  shall 
be  construed  to  include  all  the  forces  operating  with  that  army  on 
the  8th  instant,  the  date  of  the  commencement  of  the  negotiations 
for  surrender,  except  such  bodies  of  cavalry  as  actually  made  their 
escape  previous  to  the  surrender,  and  except,  also,  such  pieces  of 
artillery  as  were  more  than  twenty  miles  from  Appomattox  Court- 
House  at  the  time  of  surrender  on  the  9th  instant. 
(Signed)  JOHN  GIBBON,  Maj. -Gen.  Volunteers. 

CHARLES  GRIFFIN,  Brevet  Maj.-  Gen.  U.  S.Vols. 

W.  MERRITT,  Brevet  Maj.- Gen. 

J.  LONGSTREET,  Lieut.- Gen. 

J.  B.  GIBBON,  Maj.- Gen. 

W.  1ST.  PENDLETON,  Brig. -Gen.  and  Chief  of  Artillery. 

A  few  days  after  the  surrender,  Gen.  Lee  rode  into  the  city  of 
Eichmond  he  had  so  long  defended,  and  passed  through  its  black 
ened  streets,  a  paroled  prisoner  of  war.  He  entered  the  city  with 
no  display,  accompanied  by  five  members  of  his  staff,  took  the 
shortest  route  to  his  house,  and  appeared  anxious  to  avoid  all  kind 
of  public  demonstration.  He  had  so  often  passed  through  those 
streets,  the  object  of  all  eyes,  attended  by  the  admiration  of  the 
populace !  Though  he  came  back  now  a  fallen  commander,  though 
his  arrival  was  unexpected,  he  found  in  quickly  gathered  crowds 
evidence  that  the  people  still  loved  him ;  evidence  that  the  enemy 
respected  him.  The  first  cheers  that  had  been  heard  from  citi 
zens  since  the  scarred  and  blackened  city  cringed  under  the  flag  of 
the  enemy,  now  ran  along  the  streets,  and  brave  and  noble-minded 
men,  in  Federal  uniform,  raised  their  caps,  as  the  former  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  passed  before  their 
eyes,  with  hair  white  as  snow,  and  care-worn  face,  but  with  touch 
ing  and  unspeakable  dignity.  To  the  doors  of  his  house  he  was 
followed  by  a  large  crowd,  who  cheered  him  as  heartily  as  if  he 


GENERAL  EGBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  171 

had  ridden  into  Eichmond  at  the  head  of  a  victorious  army.  It 
was  no  word  that  he  spoke,  for  he  did  not  open  his  lips.  It  was 
no  gesture,  no  sign  of  emotion,  for  he  rode  on  without  other  recog 
nition  of  the  crowd  than  occasionally  to  raise  his  hat.  It  was  his 
presence  and  its  signification  that  moved  the  people  of  Eichmond 
to  a  demonstration,  in  which  men  forgot  their  own  sorrow,  dis 
regarded  the  presence  of  a  hostile  army,  and  gave  way  to  the 
glory  and  gratitude  of  the  past.  The  occasion  was  that  of  the 
last  token  of  visible  public  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  made  in  face  of  the  enemy,  who  neither  interrupted 
the  demonstration,  nor  gainsaid  the  tribute  it  implied. 


172  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD   LEE. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

An  interesting  interview  with  Gen.  Lee  after  the  surrender. — Remarks  upon  the 
Federal  rule. — Indicted  for  "  treason." — Proceedings  stayed  on  the  protest  of  Gen. 
Grant. — Explanation  of  Gen.  Lee's  course  with  reference  to  amnesty,  etc. — Elect 
ed  President  of  Washington  College. — The  true  spirit  of  his  advice  of  "  submis 
sion." — His  hopes  for  the  repose  and  welfare  of  the  South. 

WHEN  Gen.  Lee  entered  his  house  in  Richmond,  he  showed  a 
disposition  to  shut  himself  in  its  four  walls,  and  to  exclude  all 
visitors,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  especial  friends.  There 
was  no  bitterness  in  this  disposition.  There  are  times  in  the  lives 
of  all  men  when  retirement  is  decorous  and  necessary.  In  the 
career  of  the  great  man  there  are  pauses  where  he  rests  with 
dignity,  weighs  past  and  future,  collects  the  scattered  thoughts,  and 
courts  solitude  for  the  self-communion. 

An  intimate  friend  of  Gen.  Lee,  who  secured  an  interview  with 
him  shortly  after  his  return  to  Richmond,  gives  the  following 
account  of  what  transpired,  and  quotes  the  words  of  the  fallen 
commander  as  precisely  as  he  can  recollect  : 

"  I  had  seen  him  on  the  field  of  battle  and  in  victory.  I 
desired  to  hear  how  such  a  man  would  talk  in  adversity.  When 
inquiring  what  guaranty  he  had  that  Gen.  Grant's  terms  would  be 
observed,  he  remarked  that  he  had  no  assurance  beyond  his  per 
sonal  good  faith,  upon  which  he  relied.  He  said  that  the  civil 
authorities  might  nullify  Gen.  Grant's  conditions  and  exact  new 
ones,  as  they  seemed  then  by  degrees  doing ;  but  that  it  would  be 
in  spite  of  Grant's  efforts  to  the  contrary,  remarking  that  he  had 
written  to  him,  calling  his  attention  to  the  violation  of  the  terms  of 
surrender  in  the  imposition  of  new  conditions;  and  though  he  had 
received  no  answer,  he  had  implicit  faith  in  the  honour  of  Gen. 
Grant,  and  in  his  determination  to  stand  up  to  the  spirit  of  his 
stipulations.  I  remarked  that  the  paroled  officers  and  men  were 
in  a  great  dilemma  as  to  what  to  do ;  and  in  view  of  the  condition 
of  the  country  and  the  gloomy  future,  many  were  talking  of 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  173 

emigrating  to  other  countries.  With  a  dignity  and  impressiveness 
I  shall  never  forget,  and  with  a  sigh  that  came  from  the  depths  of 
a  saddened  heart,  he  replied  that  the  condition  of  our  people  was, 
indeed,  most  deplorable.  With  every  species  of  industry  pros 
trated,  the  resources  of  the  country  exhausted,  want  and  destitu 
tion  threatening  almost  every  one,  it  was  a  sad  spectacle  to  con 
template,  and  the  duty  of  every  one  was  clear,  but  in  one  respect. 
4  What  course  I  shall  pursue,'  said  he,  1 1  have  not  decided  upon, 
and  each  man  must  be  the  judge  of  his  own  action.  We  must 
all,  however,  resolve  on  one  thing — not  to  abandon  our  country. 
Now,  more  than  at  any  other  time,  Virginia,  and  every  other  State 
in  the  South,  needs  us.  We  must  try  and,  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible,  go  to  work  to  build  up  their  prosperity.  The  young 
men,  especially,  must  stay  at  home,  bearing  themselves  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  gain  the  esteem  of  every  one,  at  the  same  time  that 
they  maintain  their  own  self-respect.'  In  allusion  to  the  oath 
which,  it  was  required  to  take  before  entering  upon  any  pursuit,  he 
remarked  that  he  hoped  that  would  be  regarded  as  violating  the 
terms  of  surrender,  and  be  no  longer  required ;  but  l  meanwhile,' 
said  he,  *  what  can  we  do  ?  Hundreds  of  brave  and  gallant  men 
have  families  starving.  Without  money,  they  cannot  even  work 
for  their  sustenance,  unless  they  take  the  oath  under  Gen.  Halleck's 
order.  We  cannot  even  claim  protection  from  violence.  If  I  walk 
upon  the  street,  and  a  ruffian  choses  to  seize  my  watch  in  the  eye  of 
day,  and  in  a  street  full  of  witnesses,  I  can  have  no  recourse  unless 
I  have  taken  the  oath.  In  fact,  the  practical  operation  of  the  sys 
tem,  as  now  conducted,  is  to  outlaw  all  of  us  who  decline  to  take 
the  oath.  My  only  hope  at  present  is  that  the  power  of  Gen.  Grant 
will  prevail  in  requiring  the  strict  observance  of  the  terms  of  my 
surrender.'  r 

The  order  of  things  at  Washington  soon  called  Gen.  Lee  to 
attend  to  his  personal  position.  President  Johnson's  proclamation 
of  amnesty  was  soon  issued ;  and  shortly  thereafter  the  outrage 
was  perpetrated  of  framing  an  indictment  for  treason  against  Gen. 
Lee  in  the  Federal  court  at  Norfolk.  Proceedings,  however,  were 
withheld  at  the  interposition  of  Gen.  Grant,  who  very  properly  and 
manfully  insisted  that  such  a  prosecution  would  compromise  the 
engagements  he  had  made  in  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court- 
House. 


174  GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

In  his  farewell  address  to  his  army,  Gen.  Lee  had  expressed  his 
last  conviction  of  the  justice  of  the  cause  for  which  he  had  fought, 
and  had  pleaded  the  satisfaction  of  a  "consciousness  of  duty." 
It  is  certainly  in  apparent  opposition  to  such  sentiments  that  he 
should  have  sought  amnesty  for  the  past,  and  been  willing  to  di 
rect  an  application  to  Washington  for  pardon.  There  were  some 
hasty  strictures  on  this  conduct ;  but,  taken  in  the  light  of  subse 
quent  explanations,  it  is  found  to  be  the  noblest  part  of  Gen.  Lee's 
life,  consistent  with  all  he  had  done,  and  characteristic  of  his  un 
selfish  spirit.  There  was  no  passionate  chagrin  of  defeat  when 
Gen.  Lee  surrendered  his  army.  He  had  fought  gallantly  while 
by  fighting  he  could  hope  to  achieve  any  practicable  result ;  but 
when  the  fate  of  war  determined  such  hope,  submission  became  a 
duty,  humanity  spared  the  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  honour 
demanded  compliance  with  the  arbitration  of  arms.  But  Gen. 
Lee  proposed  to  go  further  than  the  sheer  act  of  submission,  and 
determined  to  show  a  lively  acquiescence  in  the  result,  to  manifest 
renewed  allegiance  to  the  Federal  authority,  and  under  its  direction 
to  qualify  himself  afresh  for  the  active  pursuits  of  life.  It  was  a 
determination  taken  in  no  selfish  spirit;  he  knew  the  immense 
weight  of  his  name  with  his  countrymen  ;  he  saw  with  pain  and 
anxiety  the  disordered  condition  of  the  South  ;  and  he  resolved  to 
give  an  example  of  acquiescence  in  the  new  order — an  example  of 
ready  resumption  of  the  active  d'uties  of  life  calculated  to  restore 
the  public  spirit  and  reestablish  some  of  the  prosperity  of  former 
times.  His  duty  to  the  South  was  not  yet  ended,  and  he  had  no 
false  pride  to  set  above  the  true  interests  of  his  country.  Even  if 
his  own  desires  pointed  to  retirement,  and  he  had  been  content 
to  reject  all  relations  with  the  new  authority,  while  he  gave  it  the 
bare  submission  conditioned  in  his  parole*,  and  rested  on  a  reputa 
tion  complete  in  history,  there  was  a  higher  sense  of  duty  which 
contemplated  the  peculiar  necessities  of  his  Southern  countrymen, 
and  prompted  him  by  his  personal  example  to  assist  in  the  restora 
tion  of  a  cordial  and  lasting  peace.  To  secure  such  a  peace  it  was 

*  The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  parole  signed  by  Gea  Lee  and  his  staff-officers : 
"  We,  the  undersigned,  prisoners  of  war  belonging  to  the  Army  of  Northern  Vir 
ginia,  having  been  this  day  surrendered  by  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  commanding  said  army, 
to  Lieut-Gen.  Grant,  commanding  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  do  hereby  give 
our  solemn  parole  of  honour  that  we  will  not  hereafter  serve  in  the  armies  of  the  Con- 


GENERAL  ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE.  175 

not  only  necessary  that  the  South  should  abandon  its  arms,  but 
abandon  also  all  enmity  and  negative  position,  and  accept  with 
cheerful  alacrity  the  changes  of  the  time.  It  was  mainly  from  unself 
ish  considerations  such  as  these,  and  yet  with  much  of  that  natu 
ral  elasticity  with  which  the  true  hero  rises  from  misfortune  and 
takes  up  the  broken  thread  of  his  life,  that  Gen.  Lee  resolved  to 
emerge  from  retirement  and  qualify  himself  for  whatever  active 
employment  the  broken  fortunes  of  the  South  might  now  bestow 
upon  him. 

It  has  been  well  remarked  since  the  war  that  the  truest  Con 
federate,  the  man  who  now  gives  the  best  proofs  of  wisdom  and 
affection  for  the  land  he  loves,  is  not  he  who  disputes  and  dispar 
ages  the  restored  Federal  authority,  or  resents  the  results  of  the  war 
by  private  violence,  or  shows  an  unjust  temper  to  the  unoffending 
negro.  The  standard  of  Southern  patriotism  is  now  quite  to  the 
contrary.  He  comes  best  up  to  it,  who  gave  his  whole  heart  and 
soul  to  the  cause  when  the  war  prevailed ;  who  fought,  and  would 
willingly  have  died  for  it ;  but  who,  having  surrendered,  observes 
with  a  scrupulous  and  knightly  fidelity  all  its  terms  and  conditions, 
and  all  the  obligations  implied,  by  the  oaths  he  took  ;  who  keeps 
the  peace,  aims  at  the  repose  and  welfare  of  his  people,  and,  by  ex 
ample  and  influence,  endeavours  so  to  shape  the  Southern  conduct, 
as  to  leave  the  North  no  excuse  for  the  further  exclusion  of  the 
South  from  her  proper  place  in  the  Union.  Such  a  model  South 
ern  man,  such  a  true  Confederate,  was  Gen.  Lee. 

federate  States,  or  in  any  military  capacity  whatever,  against  the  United  States  of 
America,  or  render  aid  to  the  enemies  of  the  latter,  until  properly  exchanged  in  such 
manner  as  shall  be  mutually  approved  by  the  relative  authorities. 

R.  E.  LEE,  General. 

W.  H.  TAYLOR,  Lieut.- Col  and  A.  A.  G. 

CHAS.  S.  YENABLE,  Lieut.-  Col.  and  A.  A.  G. 

CHAS.  MARSHALL,  Lieut.- Col.  and  A.  A.  G. 

H.  E.  PRATON,  Lieut- Col.  and  Inspector- General. 

GILES  BROOKE,  Major  and  A.  A.  Surgeon- Gen. 

H.  S.  YOUNQ,  A.  A.  General. 
Done  at  Appomattox  Court-House,  Ya.,  ) 
this  ninth  (9)  day  of  April,  1865."       j" 

The  parole  was  countersigned  as  follows: 

The  above-named  officers  will  not  be  disturbed  by  United  States  authorities  as 
long  as  they  observe  their  parole  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside. 

GEO.  H.  SHARPE, 
General,  and  Assistant  Provost-Marshal. 


176  GENERAL   ROBERT  EDWARD  LEE. 

In  August,  1865,  he  was  offered  the  Presidency  of  Washington 
College,  at  Lexington.  Here  was  the  home  of  his  great  and  be 
loved  lieutenant,  Stonewall  Jackson ;  here  an  institution  of  learn 
ing  had  been  planted  under  the  gifts  and  auspices  of  George  "Wash 
ington  ;  and  in  these  pleasing  and  appropriate  associations  Gen. 
Lee  undertook  a  task  which  was  not  unbecoming,  to  which  his  na 
ture  was  not  foreign,  and  to  which  his  personal  example  gave 
assistance  and  dignity.  Having  qualified  himself  by  taking  the 
"  amnesty  oath,"  he  was  installed  with  interesting  ceremonies  on 
the  2d  October,  1865.  In  his  letter  accepting  the  appointment,  he 
wrote :  "  It  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen,  in  the  present  condition 
of  the  country,  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  aid  in  the  restoration  of 
peace  and  harmony,  and  in  no  way  to  oppose  the  policy  of  the 
State  or  General  Government  directed  to  that  object ;  and  it  is 
particularly  incumbent  on  those  charged  with  the  instruction  of 
the  young  to  set  an  example  of  submission  to  authority." 


ion  has  ; 
lu  1 

I 


rith  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Boyhood  of  Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson. — His  experience  at  West  Point. — His  studies 
and  habits. — A  novel  analysis  of  awkward  manners. — Jackson's  promotions  in  the 
Mexican  War. — His  love  of  fight. — Recollections  of  "Fool  Tom  Jackson"  at  Lex 
ington. — A  study  of  his  face  and  character. — His  prayers  for  "the  Union."— A 
reflection  on  Christian  influences  in  America. — Jackson  appointed  a  colonel  in 
the  Virginia  forces. — In  command  at  Harper's  Ferry. — Constitution  of  the  "  Stone 
wall  Brigade." — Jackson  promoted  to  Brigadier. — His  action  on  the  field  of  Ma- 
nassas. — He  turns  the  enemy's  flank  and  breaks  his  centre. — How  much  of  the 
victory  was  due  him. — His  expedition  towards  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac. 

THOMAS  JONATHAN  JACKSON  was  born  at  Clarksburg,  in 
Harrison  county,  Virginia,  in  1824.  He  came  of  a  Scotch-Irish 
family  that  had  settled  in  Virginia  in  1748  ;  and  a  perhaps  fanci 
ful  relation  has  been  traced  between  his  ancestral  stock  and  that 
of  Andrew  Jackson,  the  seventh  President  of  the  United  States. 
In  1827,  he  was  left  one  of  three  penniless  orphans ;  his  father, 
Jonathan  Jackson,  a  lawyer  of  moderate  repute,  and  a  man  of 
social  and  facile  temper,  having  wrecked  a  good  estate  by  an  im 
prudent  and  irregular  life.  The  early  life  of  the  orphan  was  harsh 
and  erratic.  He  found  shelter  with  one  or  another  of  his  relatives, 
until  at  last  he  obtained  a  pleasant  home  and  countenance  in  the 
house  of  an  uncle,  Cummins  Jackson,  residing  in  Lewis  county. 
Here  he  remained  until  he  was  sixteen  years  old.  The  early 
adversity  and  buffet  of  his  life  appear  to  have  inspired  the  boy 
with  singular  determination  ;  and  among  the  first  signs  of  charac 
ter  we  find  in  him  is  a  sensitive  ambition  reflecting  painfully  on 
his  dependence  on  his  relatives,  and  coupled  with  the  resolution  to 
reinstate  himself  in  the  ranks  of  his  kindred,  and  rise  from  the 
position  to  which  orphanage  and  destitution  had  thrust  him. 

12 


178  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

There  were  no  aristocratic  names  or  traditions  of  great  wealth  in 
his  family ;  but  among  the  peculiar  population  of  Western  Vir 
ginia  the  Jacksons  were  known  as  an  energetic,  dominant  stock, 
making  distinct  impressions  on  the  new  country,  potential  in  their 
neighbourhoods,  filling  the  county  offices  and  places  of  local  dis 
tinction,  marked  by  strong  and  characteristic  features,  and  disposed 
to  be  clannish  in  their  family  associations.  To  assert  his  proper 
position  in  this  close  and  influential  kindred,  and  to  recover  from 
his  position  as  dependent  in  the  house  of  one  of  them,  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  ambition  of  young  Jackson,  and  the  first 
instance  of  serious  resolution  in  his  life. 

He  resolved  to  obtain  an  education.  He  had  access  to  what  is 
called  in  Virginia  the  "  old-field  school ;  "  he  might  there  learn  to 
read  and  "  cipher ; "  but  his  mind  was  set  upon  acquisitions  far 
beyond  these  rudiments  of  learning ;  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  we 
find  him  having  recourse  to  the  office  of  constable  and  collector, 
and  hoping  from  its  paltry  fees  to  collect  means  to  enable  him  to 
realize  to  some  extent  his  ardent  desire  for  a  liberal  education.  At 
this  time  there  appears  to  have  been  in  young  Jackson's  mind  no 
thought  of  a  military  career,  or  aspiration  after  the  profession  of 
the  soldier.  The  direction  of  his  life  to  military  employments  was 
purely  accidental,  and  came  to  pass  through  his  general  desire  for 
an  education  of  some  better  sort  than  he  was  able  to  get  in  his 
neighbourhood.  Happening  to  learn  that  in  the  military  school  at 
West  Point  there  was  a  vacancy  from  the  Congressional  district 
which  he  inhabited,  and  perceiving  here  an  opportunity  to  obtain 
a  thorough  scientific  education  at  the  expense  of  the  Government, 
he  eagerly  caught  at  it,  and  at  once  obtained  letters  of  recommen 
dation  to  the  member  of  Congress  representing  his  district,  and 
qualified  to  nominate  him  to  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  letters 
were  dispatched  at  once.  But  so  anxious  and  active  was  the  boy 
that  he  determined  to  make  the  journey  to  Washington,  and 
enforce  his  application  by  every  possible  means.  Part  of  the  jour 
ney  was  performed  on  foot.  The  ardent  country  youth,  clothed  in 
homespun,  with  his  leathern  saddle-bags  on  his  shoulder,  made 
his  difficult  and  curious  way  to  the  Federal  capital.  Without 
delaying  even  to  change  his  dress,  he  ascertained  the  address  of 
the  Congressman,  Mr.  Hays,  and,  accompanied  by  his  patron, 
with  the  stains  of  travel  upon  him,  he  was  introduced  at  the  War 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  179 

Department,  and  the  circumstances  of  his  journey  related  there. 
The  Secretary  of  "War  was  at  once  pleased  with  the  evidence  of  the 
boy's  resolution,  and  his  manifestation  of  an  honourable  desire  of 
improvement ;  and  the  warrant  of  young  Jackson,  as  a  cadet,  was 
made  out  on  the  spot. 

The  four  years  of  our  hero's  life  spent  at  West  Point  were,  to 
the  common  apprehension,  of  but  little  promise.  He  had  gone 
there  with  very  defective  literary  qualifications  and  no  special  prep 
aration  whatever  for  the  course  of  study ;  he  showed  no  natural 
sprightliness  of  mind ;  his  acquisition  of  knowledge  was  slow  and 
laborious,  but  he  had  the  advantage  of  studying  with  great  thor 
oughness  and  honesty ;  and  although  in  the  first  year  he  barely 
escaped  being  ruled  among  the  "incompetents,"  he  advanced  his 
grade  each  year,  and  by  steps  of  remarkable  distinctness  showed 
what  resolute  toil  may  accomplish  in  a  race  with  minds  of  easier 
disposition.  In  his  first  year  his  "  general  standing  "  had  been  51 ; 
in  his  second,  30  :  in  his  third,  20 ;  in  his  fourth  it  was  IT.  In  the 
same  class  with  him  were  Generals  McClellan,  Foster,  Keno,  Stone- 
man,  Couch,  and  Gibbon,  of  the  United  States  army  afterwards ;  and 
Generals  A.  P.  Hill,  Pickett,  Maury,  D.  E.  Jones,  W.  D.  Smith, 
and  Wilcox,  of  the  Confederate  States  army.  In  such  a  company 
Jackson  was  scarcely  the  man  to  be  designated  for  future  preem 
inence  ;  but  to  the  studious  observer  his  steady  steps  of  ascent,  and 
above  all  his  unlimited  confidence  in  himself,  were  true  signs  of 
future  greatness.  The  young  man  who  wrote  in  a  private  book  of 
"  maxims,"  "  You  may  be  whatever  you  resolve  to  be,"  who  made 
this  the  practical  dogma  of  his  life,  and  who  was  heard  repeatedly 
to  declare  that  "  he  could  always  do  what  he  willed  to  accomplish," 
had  shown  that  supreme  confidence  in  himself  which,  distinguished 
from  vanity  and  conceit,  never  expressing  itself  offensively,  always 
associated  with  quietude  and  modesty  of  manner,  is  the  unfailing 
mark  of  greatness. 

Such  a  confidence  resides  in  all  great  minds ;  a  peculiar  con 
fidence,  supreme,  quiet,  waiting  its  time,  rather  approaching  aus 
terity  than  conceit,  never  unpleasant  in  its  expression,  disposed  to 
silence  and  solitude,  and  often  exhibiting  that  shyness  and  embar 
rassment  in  general  companies  which  were  early  remarked  as  pecu 
liarities  in  Jackson's  behaviour,  and  superficially  ascribed  to  a 
naturally  graceless  manner.  The  world  makes  no  greater  mistake 


180  LIEUT. -GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

than  to  designate  as  "  modest"  men,  or  as  persons  holding  low  opin 
ions  of  themselves,  those  who  are  awkward  and  bashful  in  society, 
who  blush  easily  when  confronted  in  a  general  conversation,  or 
are  constrained  and  embarrassed  in  the  conventionalisms  of  social 
intercourse.  But  an  observation  more  studious  than  that  of  the 
drawing-room  and  general  assembly  often  discovers  under  such 
manners  the  very  sensitiveness  of  a  supreme  self-appreciation,  the 
chafe  or  reserve  of  a  great  proud  spirit  without  opportunity  to 
assert  itself.  It  is  thus  we  may  explain  how  the  shy  and  clumsy 
manners  of  Jackson,  which  made  him  the  butt  of  social  companies, 
yet  covered  an  enormous  self-regard  and  masked  the  ambition 
which  devoured  him.  A  recent  biographer  declares :  "  The  recol 
lection  is  still  preserved  of  many  of  his  personal  peculiarities  ;  his 
simplicity  and  absence  of  suspicion  when  all  around  him  were 
laughing  at  some  of  his  odd  ways ;  his  grave  expression  and  air 
of  innocent  inquiry  when  some  jest  excited  general  merriment,  and 
he  could  not  see  the  point;  his  solitary  habits  and  self-contained 
deportment ;  his  absence  of  mind,  awkwardness  of  gait,  and  evident 
indifference  to  every  species  of  amusement.''  These  eccentricities 
were  the  subjects  of  jesting  comment  among  the  companions  of 
the  obscure  man :  they  have  since  been  recited  as  curiosities  of 
greatness. 

In  the  Mexican  War  Jackson's  ambition  was  like  a  consuming 
fire ;  he  sought  the  earliest  distinction,  and  from  "West  Point  he 
immediately  reported  for  duty  on  the  field,  in  Mexico,  where  he 
was  assigned  to  the  First  regiment  of  heavy  artillery.  His  record 
in  this  war  was  a  succession  of  active  and  daring  services ;  he  was 
always  seeking  the  post  of  danger,  and  the  opportunity  of  distinc 
tion.  For  "  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  at  the  siege  of  Yera 
Cruz,"  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  first-lieutenant.  In  the 
battles  of  Contreras  and  Cherubusco,  he  again  obtained  distinction, 
and  was.  brevetted  captain.  Intent'  upon  the  opportunity  of  dis 
tinction,  he  had  obtained  a  transfer  to  light  artillery  service,  then 
almost  an  experiment  in  American  warfare,  and  an  arm,  the  pecu 
liarity  of  which  was  to  be  always  thrust  forward  to  the  post  of  dan 
ger  and  of  honour.  At  Chapultepec  he  had  charge  of  a  section  of 
Magruder's  famous  light  field-battery,  and  had  pushed  forward 
until  he  found  himself  unexpectedly  in  the  presence  of  a  strong 
battery  of  the  enemy,  at  so  short  a  range  that  its  whirlwind  of  iron, 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  181 

tore  man  and  horse  to  pieces.  The  cannoneers  were  either  struck 
down  or  fled  from  their  pieces,  until  only  Jackson  and  a  sergeant 
were  left  in  the  storm  of  fire.  At  this  time,  Capt.  Magruder  dashed 
forward ;  a  shot  cut  his  horse  from  under  him  ;  he  ordered  Jackson 
to  withdraw  his  guns,  one  of  which  the  heroic  officer  was  yet  serv 
ing,  with  the  sponge-staff  in  his  hand.  Jackson  remonstrated ;  he 
could  hold  his  ground,  he  declared,  and  if  they  would  send  him 
fifty  veterans,  he  would  capture  the  battery  which  had  so  crippled 
his.  Magruder,  enthused  by  such  a  display  of  spirit,  acquiesced, 
the  men  were  sent,  and  Jackson  immediately  advanced  his  section, 
which  was  soon  thundering  after  the  discomfited  Mexicans  towards 
the  gates  of  the  city.  For  his  gallantry  on  this  occasion  Jackson 
received  the  brevet  rank  of  major. 

To  this  rank  Jackson  had  risen  within  seven  months,  from  the 
position  of  brevet  second-lieutenant.  He  was  promoted  oftener 
for  meritorious  conduct  than  any  other  officer  in  the  whole  army 
in  Mexico  ;  he  had  made  a  greater  stride  in  rank  than  any  of  his 
competitors ;  he  had  obtained  high  and  remarkable  commendation 
in  the  official  reports ;  Magruder,  his  immediate  superiour,  wrote 
of  him:  "  If  devotion,  industry,  talent  and  gallantry,  are  the  high 
est  qualities  of  a  soldier,  then  he  is  entitled  to  the  distinction  which 
their  possession  confers."  The  ambition  of  Jackson  was  at  once 
gratified  and  stimulated ;  and  from  this  time  he  appears  to  have 
conceived  most  strongly  the  idea  that  war  was  his  true  vocation, 
and  that  his  way  to  distinction  was  the  career  of  the  soldier.  And 
he  was  profoundly  right  in  this  estimate  of  himself.  He  was,  by 
nature,  a  soldier.  And  although  we  afterwards  find  him  in 
the  quiet  walk  of  a  professor  at  the  Virginia  Military  Institute, 
possessed  by  a  remarkable  religious  zeal,  a  fervid  member  of  the 
church,  delighting  in  the  exercises  of  piety,  yet  at  the  bottom  of 
the  man,  and  to  the  day  of  his  death,  was  the  same  dominant,  com 
bative  nature,  the  same  disposition  delighting  in  antagonism  and 
conflict  that  he  had  displayed  on  the  fields  of  Mexico.  To  the  last, 
with  all  his  piety  and  kindliness,  Jackson  loved  the  battle,  and 
confessed  to  a  peculiar  exaltation  and  delight  in  its  hot  atmosphere 
— the  irrepressible  emotion,  indeed,  of  the  born  soldier. 

In  1851,  Jackson  was  elected  a  professor  in  the  Military  Institute 
of  Virginia,  at  Lexington,  securing  a  preference  over  McClellan, 
Eeno,  Kosecrans,  and  G.  W.  Smith,  whose  names  were  submitted 


182  LIEUT.- GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

by  the  Faculty  of  West  Point.  Here  the  recollection  is  preserved 
of  him  as  a  stiff,  earnest,  military  figure,  eccentric  and  abstracted 
in  his  habits,  practising  a  military  exactness  in  the  courtesies  of 
society,  an  oddity  on  the  street,  a  "blue-light"  Presbyterian,  a 
harsh,  awkward  teacher  of  youth,  punished  by  his  scholars  with 
the  name  of  "  Fool  Tom  Jackson."  It  is  surprising  what  different 
opinions  have  been  held  as  to  the  comeliness  of  the  man.  To  the 
vulgar  eye  he  was  a  clumsy-looking  man,  and  his  roughly-cut  fea 
tures  obtained  for  him  the  easy  epithet  of  an  ugly  man.  But  to 
the  eye  that  makes  of  the  human  face  the  janua  animi,  and  exam 
ines  in  it  the  traces  of  character  and  spirit,  the  countenance  of  Jack 
son  was  superlatively  noble  and  interesting.  The  outline  was 
coarse ;  the  reddish  beard  was  scraggy ;  but  he  had  a  majestic 
brow,  and  in  the  blue  eyes  was  an  introverted  expression,  and  just 
sufficient  expression  of  melancholy  to  show  the  deeply  earnest  man. 
But  the  most  striking  feature,  the  combative  sign  of  the  face,  was 
the  massive  iron-bound  jaw — that  which  Bulwer  declares  to  be  the 
mark  of  the  conqueror,  the  facial  characteristic  of  Coesar,  and  Wil 
liam  of  Normandy,  the  latter  of  whom  he  has  brought  before  our 
eyes  in  one  of  his  most  splendid  romances.  In  brief,  while  common 
curiosity  saw  nothing  to  admire  in  Jackson,  a  closer  scrutiny  dis 
covered  a  rare  and  interesting  study.  It  was  not  the  popular 
picture  of  a  bizarre  and  austere  hero :  it  was  that  of  a  plain  gentle 
man  of  ordinary  figure,  but  with  a  lordly  face,  in  which  serious  and 
noble  thoughts  were  written  without  effort  or  affectation. 

It  is  more  interesting  than  the  world  takes  it  to  study  a  charac 
ter  like  that  of  Jackson  in  repose,  as  when  withdrawn  to  the  tran 
quil  life  of  professor.  In  such  times  there  appears  to  be  a  tender 
ness  of  great  minds,  a  disposition  to  poetical  sentiment,  strangely  in 
contrast  with  the  fiery  and  active  life  in  other  circumstances.  Stern 
and  dull  as  Jackson  appeared  in  the  routine  of  professor,  there  was 
a  concealed  poetry  in  his  nature,  a  strange  tenderness  in  those 
reveries  which  common  observers  regarded  only  as  absence  and 
blankness  of  mind.  We  have  read  no  more  simple  and  touching 
tribute  to  the  beauties  of  nature,  and  their  soothing  influence,  than 
that  contained  in  a  private  letter  of  Ja,ckson  written  during  his 
quiet  term  of  years  at  Lexington.  "  I  love,"  wrote  Professor  Jack 
son,  "  to  stroll  abroad  after  the  labours  of  the  day  are  over,  and 
indulge  feelings  of  gratitude  to  God  for  all  the  sources  of  natural 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  183 

beauty  with  which  He  has  adorned  the  earth.  Some  time  since 
my  morning  walks  were  rendered  very  delightful  by  the  singing 
of  the  birds.  The  morning  carolling  of  the  birds,  and  their  notes 
in  the  evening,  awaken  in  me  devotional  feelings  of  praise  and 
gratitude,  though  very  different  in  their  nature.  In  the  morning, 
all  animated  nature  (man  excepted)  appears  to  join  in  active 
expressions  of  gratitude  to  God  ;  in  the  evening,  all  is  hushing  into 
silent  slumber,  and  thus  disposes  the  mind  to  meditation."  But  in 
these  tranquil  scenes  and  exquisite  reveries  the  life  of  Jackson  was 
not  destined  to  pass.  The  warriour  was  to  be  called  to  the  field 
again.  The  stormy  music  of  battle  that  had  saluted  his  ambitious 
youth  was  to  summon  his  more  mature  but  not  less  ambitious  man 
hood  to  the  hard-fought  fields  of  a  mighty  contest,  and  celebrate 
there  the  chief  interest  and  glory  of  his  life. 

In  the  discussion  of  parties  which  preceded  the  great  war  in 
America,  Jackson  was  found  an  adherent  of  the  Union.  He 
deprecated  that  enormous  aggregate  of  woe  which  he  foresaw 
would  ensue  from  a  war  so  peculiar ;  and  in  a  conversation  with 
his  pastor  but  a  little  while  before  the  catastrophe,  he  suggested 
the  idea  that  all  the  Christian  people  of  the  land  should  be  induced 
to  unite  in  a  concert  of  prayer  to  avert  the  calamities  of  civil  strife. 
The  idea  was  characteristic  and  forcible.  But  it  is  a  significant 
commentary  on  that  want  of  vital  practical  Christianity  which 
foreigners  have  remarked  in  the  churches  of  America,  that  these 
bodies,  with  all  their  boasts  of  numbers  and  influence,  were  not 
only  incompetent  to  avert  the  horrours  of  fratricidal  contest,  but 
powerless  to  make  the  least  visible  impression  on  events,  and 
unable  at  any  time  of  the  ensuing  conflict  to  give  tone  or  qualifica 
tion  to  the  war.  The  influence  of  the  American  churches  was  null ; 
events  hurried  on  ;  the  tempest  of  passion  continued  to  rise ;  the 
battle  of  Sumter  was  fought ;  Virginia  withdrew  from  the  Union  ; 
and  Jackson,  now  resolved  to  do  his  duty  to  his  State,  offered  his 
sword  and  service  at  Eichmond  to  what  had  now  become  the  dis 
tinct  side  of  right  in  a  war  which  it  was  no  longer  possible  to  avoid. 
He  left  Lexington  at  a  half-day's  notice,  taking  no  time  to  arrange 
his  private  affairs.  It  was  Sunday  when  an  order  came  to  march 
the  cadets  to  Eichmond;  Jackson  mustered  them  for  a  parting 
prayer  by  his  pastor,  devoted  an  hour  to  religious  exercises,  and 
then  turned  his  back  on  the  peaceful  home,  where  his  familiar 


184  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

figure  was  never  to  return  but  as  a  corpse  bedewed  and  sanctified 
by  the  tears  of  a  nation. 

After  his  arrival  in  Eichmond  Jackson  performed  various 
duties  in  the  camp  of  instruction  and  in  the  engineer  department. 
While  he  was  thus  engaged,  Governor  Letcher  nominated  him  for 
colonel  in  the  Virginia  forces,  and  indicated  that  he  would  take 
command  at  Norfolk  or  Harper's  Ferry.  When  the  nomination 
was  communicated  to  the  State  Convention  there  was  some  distrust 
and  hesitation,  so  important  were  these  points  then  considered. 
Some  one  inquired,  "  Who  is  this  Major  Jackson,  to  whom  we  are 
asked  to  confide  so  important  a  trust  ?  "  "  He  is  one,"  replied  the 
member  from  Kockbridge,  "  who  if  you  order  him  to  hold  a  post, 
will  never  leave  it  alive  in  the  face  of  an  enemy."  The  recom 
mendation  was  so  much  to  the  taste  of  the  Convention  that  Jack 
son's  appointment  was  at  once  and  unanimously  confirmed. 

On  the  3d  May,  1861,  he  took  command  of  the  forces  assembled 
at  Harper's  Ferry.  Here  a  most  important  and  difficult  task 
awaited  him  in  moulding  and  organizing  into  an  army  a  mass  of 
raw  volunteers,  who  had  been  thrown  into  almost  inextricable  con 
fusion  by  the  revocation  of  the  commissions  of  all  the  militia 
officers  in  command  of  them ;  who  exhibited  scarcely  a  sign  of  dis 
cipline  ;  who  were  without  an  ordnance  department,  and  had  not 
more  than  five  or  six  rounds  of  ammunition  to  the  man.  Jackson 
speedily  reduced  this  crude  material  to  order  and  consistency ; 
secured  transportation,  collected  artillery  horses,  obtained  ammuni 
tion,  drilled  the  troops,  equipped  them  as  far  as  he  could,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  showed  the  result  of  his  enormous  labours  in  a  compact 
little  army  of  nine  regiments,  and  two  battalions  of  infantry,  four 
companies  of  artillery,  and  about  three  hundred  cavalry. 

When  the  Confederate  authority  was  established  at  Eichmond, 
Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  appointed  to  take  command  at  Har 
per's  Ferry,  and  superseded  Jackson  there  on  the  23d  May.  But 
Jackson  was  consoled,  and  the  appreciation  of  his  services  marked 
by  his  assignment  to  the  command  of  the  Virginia  regiments  which 
were  now  separated  and  organized  into  a  brigade.  This  was  "the 
Stonewall  Brigade,"  a  name  it  was  shortly  to  earn  on  the  first  im 
portant  field  of  battle,  and  to  carry  through  the  war  as  an  unsur 
passed  title  of  glory.  It  consisted  of  the  Second  Virginia,  Col. 
Allen  ;  the  Fourth  Virginia,  Col.  Preston ;  the  Fifth  Virginia,  Col. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  185 

Harper,  and  the  Twenty -seventh  (Lieut.-Col.  Echols  commanding), 
to  which  was  soon  afterwards  added  the  Thirty-third  Yirginia,  Col. 
Gumming.  These  regiments  were  composed  of  the  flower  and 
pride  of  Virginia  manhood.  When  Gen.  Johnston  fell  back  from 
Harper's  Ferry,  they  were  the  advanced  body  of  the  infantry  of 
the  Army  of  the  Valley,  and  continually  near  the  enemy,  learning 
steadiness  under  fire,  receiving  the  impress  of  their  commander's 
strong  character  and  genius,  and  unconsciously  training  for  the 
important  crisis  in  which  they  achieved  their  great  and  familiar 
name  in  history. 

It  would  be  uninteresting  to  recite  in  detail  here  those  move 
ments  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  which  were  only  designed  as  a 
preface  to  the  conflict  preparing  on  the  plains  of  Manassas.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  in  the  movements  which  followed  Gen.  John 
ston's  strategic  retreat  from  Harper's  Ferry,  and  which  were  de 
signed  to  foil  Patterson's  superiour  force,  and  neutralize  it,  Jackson 
did  marked  service.  On  one  occasion,  with  only  a  single  regiment 
— the  Fifth  Virginia — a  few  companies  of  cavalry,  and  a  light  field 
piece,  he  encountered  an  entire  brigade  of  the  enemy  advancing 
from  Williamsport,  held  them  in  check  for  several  hours  at  Falling 
Waters,  fell  back  with  consummate  skill,  and  took  the  first  lot  of 
prisoners  in  the  war.  On  his  return  to  Winchester  he  again  had 
evidence  that  his  services  were  appreciated,  and  that  his  energy  at 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  his  activity  in  the  field,  had  been  noticed  at 
Eichmond.  The  following  note  awaited  him : 

RICHMOND,  3d  July,  1861. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL  : — I  have  the  pleasure  of  sending  you  a 
commission  of  Brigadier-General  in  the  Provisional  Army ;  and  to 
feel  that  you  merit  it.  May  your  advancement  increase  your  use 
fulness  to  the  State.  Very  truly, 

E.  E.  LEE. 

On  the  18th  July,  Gen.  Johnston  having  eluded  Patterson,  was 
hastening  his  force  to  join  that  of  Beauregard,  now  threatened  with 
battle  on  the  banks  of  Bull  Eun,  near  Manassas  Junction.  Jack 
son's  brigade  headed  the  march.  The  next  day  this  body  of  troops 
had  reached  the  Junction,  and  hungry,  weary,  and  dusty,  were 
marched  to  the  pine  coppices  near  one  of  the  fords  of  Bull  Eun. 


18G  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

In  the  line  of  the  great  battle  of  the  21st,  Jackson's  brigade 
was  put  in  reserve  in  a  position  calculated  to  support  Bonham  at 
Mitchell's  Ford,  or  to  extend  aid  to  Cocke's  forces  below  Stone 
Bridge,  where  rested  the  extreme  Confederate  left.  The  first 
development  of  the  battle  was  a  heavy  flank  movement  of  the 
enemy,  who  following  a  narrow  road  through  the  "  Big  Forest," 
had  crossed  Bull  Run,  so  as  to  commence  the  assault  in  the  rear 
of  the  Confederate  left ;  the  effect  of  which  movement  was  ulti 
mately  to  form  a  line  of  battle  at  right  angles  to  the  stream,  the 
Confederates  facing  westward.  In  this  general  situation  we  may 
now  understand  the  important  part  taken  by  Jackson's  command. 
When  Evans,  who  guarded  the  Stone  Bridge  with  800  infantry 
and  two  six-pound  guns,  advanced  to  check  the  column  of  the 
enemy  descending  from  Sudley  Ford,  Jackson  was  ordered  to 
move  up  to  the  bridge ;  but  his  quick  and  trained  ear  discovered 
from  the  volume  of  fire  in  the  direction  of  Evans'  march  that  here 
was  the  true  point  of  danger,  and  he  hastened  towards  it,  sending 
forward  a  messenger  to  Gen.  Bee,  who  had  already  reinforced 
Evans,  to  encourage  him  with  the  assurance  of  support.  There 
were  yet  only  five  regiments  and  six  guns  breasting  the  Federal 
advance.  As  Jackson  advanced  he  met  the  fragments  of  these 
regiments  retiring  sullenly  from  the  field,  Bee  exerting  himself 
to  retire  his  shattered  little  command  in  something  like  order  to 
the  plateau  near  the  Henry  House.  The  bristling  battalions  of  the 
enemy's  infantry  were  hard  upon  him ;  defeat  appeared  certain 
unless  time  could  be  gained  to  form  a  new  line  of  battle  on 
the  plateau ;  it  was  a  scene  of  inexpressible  anguish  and  despair  ; 
and  as  Bee,  covered  with  dust  and  sweat,  reined  his  foaming  steed 
by  Jackson's  side,  he  exclaimed,  "  General,  they  are  beating  us 
back."  The  eye  of  Jackson  glittered,  and  he  replied  curtly,  li  Sir, 
we  will  give  them  the  bayonet."  It  was  then  Bee  exclaimed,  as 
words  of  fresh  rally  to  his  troops,  "  There  are  Jackson  and  his 
Virginians  standing  like  a  stone  wall"  But  the  expression  was 
hardly  correct ;  Jackson  did  not  stand  long ;  he  paused  only  until 
he  was  assured  by  Bee  that  the  troops  would  be  rallied  in  the  rear ; 
and  then  rapidly  advancing,  he  carried  his  line  of  2,600  bayonets 
near  the  summit  of  the  next  hill. 

His  orders  were  to  charge  the  enemy  with  the  bayonet  as  soon 
as  he  should  appear  over  the  crest,  and  within  about  fifty  yards. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  187 

But  the  Federal  advance  had  already  wavered ;  and  it  now  appear 
ed  to  be  the  enemy's  design  to  use  his  artillery,  and  to  break  the 
advanced  lines  of  the  Confederate  infantry  by  a  tempest  of  missiles 
poured  upon  them  and  their  batteries.  Jackson's  infantry  stood 
the  ordeal ;  the  men  lying  behind  the  batteries,  while  the  plunging 
shot  and  shells  of  the  enemy  ploughed  frequent  gaps  through  their 
lines.  Jackson  knew  that  time  was  now  the  important  thing,  and 
that  he  was  appointed  to  save  the  decisive  hour,  while  Beauregard 
re-formed  his  line  of  battle  and  brought  up  his  reserves.  He  kept 
his  devoted  line  steady  at  every  point ;  he  rode  between  the  artil 
lery  and  the  prostrate  regiments  to  encourage  his  men  by  his  pres 
ence  ;  it  was  noticed  that  his  eye  blazed  as  he  traversed  the  storm 
of  death.  Meanwhile  the  precious  season  was  being  diligently  im 
proved  by  Gens.  Beauregard  and  Johnston  in  bringing  up  their 
reserves ;  and  a  little  past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  order 
was  given  for  a  general  advance  of  the  new  line  of  battle  that  had 
been  constructed  while  Jackson  held  the  enemy  at  bay. 

Jackson  was  now  opposite  the  enemy's  centre.  As  he  ordered 
his  men  to  advance  on  the  long  and  glittering  lines  of  the  Federal 
infantry  he  shouted,  "  Give  them  the  bayonet ;  and  when  you  charge, 
yell  like  furies  !  "  Delivering  but  one  volley,  they  dashed  upon  the 
enemy,  who  never  waited  to  cross  bayonets,  but  broke  in  mad 
confusion  as  the  line  of  levelled  steel  bore  down  upon  them.  Sim 
ultaneously,  the  whole  Confederate  line  was  advanced  and  the  dis 
puted  plateau  was  won.  But  Jackson  had  performed  the  most  im 
portant  part,  for  he  had  cut  the  enemy's  centre  and  thus  separated 
his  two  wings.  His  fiery  brigade,  however,  was  too  eager  in  pur 
suit  of  the  fugitive  foe ;  it  had  advanced  so  far  that  both  its  flanks 
were  turned  by  Federal  forces,  and  it  seemed  at  one  time  that  it 
would  be  enveloped  by  the  enemy.  It  was  saved,  however,  by 
Jachson.  quickly  reposting  the  artillery  in  rear ;  the  contested  arena 
was  firmly  occupied,  and  on  it  Gen.  Beauregard  arranged  the 
final  charge  upon  the  enemy,  which  easily  put  him  in  full  retreat. 

It  will  be  readily  seen  how  critical  were  Jackson's  two  parts  in 
the  battle  of  Manassas — first  in  checking  the  enemy's  flank  move 
ment,  and  secondly  in  breaking  his  centre  in  the  decisive  charge 
of  the  day.  To  a  friend  in  Eichmond  he  proudly  wrote :  "  You 
will  find  that  when  my  report  shall  be  published,  that  the  First 
brigade  was  to  our  army  what  the  Imperial  Guard  was  to  the  First 


188  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Napoleon — that,  through  the  blessing  of  God,  it  met  the  thus  far 
victorious  enemy  and  turned  the  fortunes  of  the  day."  The  report 
never  saw  the  light,  and  was  lost  in  the  accidents  of  the  war.  That 
of  the  Commanding  General  has  been  frequently  criticised  as  unre 
liable,  and  as  slighting  the  claims  of  the  Virginia  troops  on  that 
day.  Certainly  it  made  but  imperfect  mention  of  Jackson ;  the 
newspaper  accounts  naturally  followed  the  general  tenour  of  the 
official  narrative,  and  reflected  its  partialities ;  and  so  it  happened 
that  Jackson's  brilliant  story  at  Manassas  was  for  a  long  time  un 
known,  and  obtained  many  imperfect  versions,  and  emerged  slowly 
to  the  surface  of  history.  While  so  many  were  vaunting  their 
exploits  in  the  newspapers,  Jackson  was  comparatively  ignored,  no 
doubt  to  his  own  painful  surprise,  and  much  to  the  impatience  of 
his  friends,  who  were  aware  of  his  valuable  services.  To  his  wife 
he  wrote :  "  You  must  not  be  concerned  at  seeing  other  parts  of 
the  army  lauded,  and  my  brigade  not  mentioned.  '  Truth  is  power 
ful,  and  will  prevail.'  You  think  that  the  papers  ought  to  say  more 
about  me.  My  brigade  is  not  a  brigade  of  newspaper  correspon 
dents.  I  know  that  the  First  brigade  was  the  first  to  meet  and 
pass  our  retreating  forces,  to  push  on  with  no  other  aid  than  the 
smiles  of  God,  to  boldly  take  its  position  with  the  artillery  that 
was  under  my  command,  to  arrest  the  victorious  foe  in  his  onward 
progress,  to  hold  him  in  check  until  reinforcements  arrived,  and 
finally  to  charge  bayonets,  and,  thus  advancing,  pierce  the  enemy's 
centre." 

Truth  has  prevailed,  and  has  since  testified,  not  only  that  Jack 
son  more  than  any  other  brigade  commander  saved  the  day  at 
Manassas,  but  that  more  than  the  Commanding  General  he  under 
stood  the  extent  of  the  success ;  that  he  looked  at  the  retreating 
army  with  eager  and  excited  eyes ;  that  he  said :  "  Give  me  ten 
thousand  men,  and  I  will  be  in  Washington  to-night."  But  the 
inspiration  was  not  caught,  and  the  fruits  of  Manassas  were  not 
more  than  the  visible  ones  of  the  battle-field. 

Some  months  after  this  famous  battle,  Jackson  made  another 
limited  appearance  before  the  public  in  command  of  an  expedition 
towards  the  head  waters  of  the  Potomac,  designed  to  protect  the 
Valley  of  Virginia  against  Gen.  Banks,  and  to  clear  the  counties 
of  Hardy,  Hampshire,  and  Morgan,  of  the  Federal  troops  which 
had  so  long  harassed  them.  He  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  189 

Maj or- General,  and  assigned  to  take  command  at  Winchester  of 
various  detached  bodies  of  troops  ordered  to  concentrate  there,  includ 
ing  the  commands  of  Gens,  Loring  and  Henry  E.  Jackson,  which  had 
hitherto  operated  in  "Western  Virginia.  Here  too  he  regained  his 
old  brigade ;  and  with  an  army  of  about  ten  •  thousand  men,  he 
moved  in  the  early  days  of  January,  1862,  in  the  direction  of  Bath, 
thence  to  Komney,  effectually  reconquering  from  the  enemy  the 
country  about  these  places,  wrecking  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Kail- 
road,  and  making  some  important  captures-  But  the  results  of 
the  expedition  were  scarcely  in  proportion  to  its  hardships ;  they 
were  diminished  by  the  recall  of  Loring  from  Komney  by  the  War 
Department  at  Kichmond,  overriding  Jackson's  authority;  most 
of  the  country  reoccupied  was  again  laid  open  to  the  enemy ;  the 
sum  of  success  was  slight,  the  hardship  and  distress  of  the  expedi 
tion  memorable,  and  the  addition  to  Jackson's  reputation  scarcely 
perceptible. 


190  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Description  of  the  Shenandoah  Valley.—  Its  importance  as  an  avenue  to  "Washing 
ton. — Gen.  Jackson  retreats  from  Winchester,  and  returns  and  fights  the  battle  of 
Kerns  town. — His  first  and  last  defeat. — Analysis  of  the  enemy's  "  On-to-Rich- 
mond." — Four  armies  to  converge  on  the  Confederate  capital. — Situation  of  Gen. 
Jackson. — Reinforced  by  Swell's  division. — His  rapid  movement  to  McDowell, 
and  its  designs. — He  falls  upon  the  enemy  at  Front  Royal. — He  chases  Banks' 
army  through  Winchester  and  across  the  Potomac. — President  Lincoln  "  sets  a 
trap  "  for  him. — Gen.  McDowell's  remonstrance. — Battles  of  Cross  Keys  and  Port 
Republic. — Summary  of  the  Yalley  campaign. 

THE  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  of  which  we  have  seen  Jack 
son  already  appointed,  in  some  respect,  the  guardian,  and  where 
he  was  to  win  the  most  of  his  fame,  is  that  portion  of  Virginia 
lying  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  North  Mountains,  and  extend 
ing  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Shenandoah  near  Staunton  to  the 
Potomac.  It  afforded  a  natural  avenue  into  the  territory  of  the 
North,  and  enabled  the  Confederate  forces  in  Virginia  to  menace 
the  flank  of  Washington  during  the  entire  period  of  the  war.  Two 
principal  places  of  entrance  from  Maryland  are  Harper's  Ferry  and 
Williamsport.  The  Valley  is  tolerably  open  until  Strasburg  is 
reached,  where,  in  the  centre,  begins  a  separate  chain — the  Massa- 
nutten  range — which  splits  the  valley  for  just  fifty  miles,  where, 
near  Harrisonburg,  it  abruptly  ends.  At  the  head  of  the  western 
division  stands  Strasburg :  at  the  head  of  the  eastern,  Front  Royal. 
The  country  thus  described  contained  the  most  beautiful  and  fruit 
ful  fields  of  Virginia.  The  scenery  was  exquisite  and  picturesque ; 
there  were  animated  pictures  of  splendid  landscape  to  be  obtained 
from  the  spurs  of  the  Blue  Ridge ;  tall  trees  skirted  the  streams, 
bounding  well-garnished  fields;  mighty  forests  stretched  up  the 
sides  of  the  mountains;  and  the  summer  blooms  burdened  the  airs 
of  a  delicious  climate  with  constant  perfumes.  It  was  not  the  pic- 
turesqueness  of  sterile  peaks  and  frowning  rocks.  The  land  was 
quick  with  growing  life  ;  green-clad  fields  basked  in  the  sunshine ; 
gentle,  round-bosomed  hills  nestled  in  the  arms  of  the  great  moun- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  191 

tain  ;  the  forests  opened  with  vistas  of  cultivation ;  and  on  the 
tossing  plumes  of  the  wheat-fields  the  light  and  shade  of  the  day 
chased  each  other.  The  region  was  not  inappropriately  called  ihc 
"  Garden  of  Virginia." 

Here  was  not  only  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  romantic 
theatres  of  the  war,  but  from  a  military  point  of  view  one  of  the 
most  important  districts  of  the  Confederacy.  While  it  held  the 
proper  gate  to  Washington,  its  possession  by  the  enemy  would 
turn  upon  the  Confederates  almost  equal  danger  and  involve  the 
security  of  Kichmond.  A  short  march  through  the  Blue  Eidge, 
at  Snicker's,  Ashby's,  or  Manassas'  Gaps,  would  enable  the  enemy 
to  take  Manassas  Junction  in  flank  and  reverse,  and  assail  the  Con 
federate  force  there  at  an  enormous  advantage.  We  have  already 
seen  that  to  guard  against  this  danger,  Gen.  Jackson  had  been  sent 
to  the  lower  part  of  the  Valley.  The  key  of  the  region  was  Win 
chester.  This  ancient  town  was  less  than  thirty  miles  from  the 
Potomac  ;  and  turnpike  roads  converged  towards  it  from  Eomney, 
Martinsburg,  Sheppardstown,  Charlestown,  and  Berryville.  Over 
these  roads,  the  Federal  forces,  reported  to  be  near  Eomney  and 
Williamsport,  could  easily  advance  with  their  trains  and  artillery  ; 
and  it  was  therefore  important  that  they  should  be  closely  watched 
in  a  movement  which  might  affect  the  whole  military  situation  in 
Virginia. 

When  Gen.  Johnston  retreated  from  Centreville,  and  com 
menced  his  masterly  movement  to  unite  his  army  with  that  under 
Gen.  Magruder  on  the  Peninsula,  for  the  defence  of  Eichmond,  it 
became  critically  important  that  Jackson — who  was  still  at  Win 
chester,  and  who  constituted,  as  it  were,  the  left  of  Johnston's 
army — should  check  or  amuse  the  enemy  in  this  direction.  But 
Jackson's  army  had  been-  diminished  now  to  about  4,000  men.  In 
front  of  him  at  Charlestown  was  Gen.  Banks,  with  about  35,000 
men ;  it  being  understood  that  the  design  of  this  commander  was 
to  occupy  Winchester,  and  after  defeating  or  crippling  Jackson,  to 
move  the  bulk  of  his  forces  rapidly  to  Manassas,  and  take  part  in 
McClellan's  new  combination  against  Eichmond.  On  the  12th 
March,  1862,  Banks  occupied  Winchester,  and  Shields'  division 
was  advanced  as  far  up  the  Valley  as  Strasburg.  Jackson  con 
tinued  to  retreat  until  he  arrived  at  the  little  town  of  Mount  Jack 
son,  nearly  opposite  Luray,  and  about  forty-five  miles  from  Win- 


192  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Chester.  Shields;  having  desisted  from  pursuit,  returned  to  Win 
chester,  and  occupied  it  with  three  brigades ;  while  the  other  forces 
of  Banks  commenced  their  march  to  Manassas,  well  assured  that 
no  serious  trouble  was  to  be  apprehended  from  Jackson,  and  that 
they  might  now  take  their  part  against  Johnston,  who  lingered  on 
the  banks  of  the  Eappahannock. 

At  once  apprehending  the  necessity  of  a  rapid  diversion,  Jack 
son  hurried  forward  by  forced  marches  to  Winchester.  In  the  after 
noon  of  the  23d  March,  he  came  up  with  the  enemy's  rear  at  the 
little  village  of  Kernstown,  about  three  miles  from  Winchester,  on 
the  road  to  Strasburg,  and  one  of  the  most  unequal  and  brilliant 
battles  of  the  war  ensued.  For  once  Jackson  had  not  a  correct 
idea  of  the  force  he  engaged;  he  had  been  informed  that  the 
enemy  had  only  four  regiments  in  Winchester,  and  he  ultimately 
found  himself  engaging  a  force  triple  his  numbers.  But  he  strug 
gled  for  the  field  desperately  and  furiously.  According  to  his 
official  report  his  infantry  engaged  was  2,742  men ;  and  he  esti 
mated  the  force  of  the  enemy  present  at  11,000,  of  whom  "  over 
8,000,"  he  declares,  were  probably  engaged.  But  even  against 
these  odds  it  appeared  at  one  time  that  he  would  win  the  field. 
The  fury  of  the  battle  did  not  relent  as  the  sun  sunk  beneath  the 
horizon.  Jackson  watched  the  contest  with  an  eager  and  animated 
eye,  shouting,  again  and  again :  "  One  more  volley,  my  brave 
boys ! "  as  charge  after  charge  of  the  enemy's  infantry  was  re 
pulsed,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  vigour  of  their  attack  must 
soon  be  spent.  But  while  Jackson,  on  his  high  sorrel  charger, 
towered  above  the  smoke,  watching  for  the  conclusion  of  the  day, 
he  suddenly  noticed  his  old  brigade  retiring,  under  the  command 
of  Gen.  Garnett.  He  galloped  towards  them,  stern  and  menacing. 
a  Beat  the  rally,"  he  shouted,  seizing  a  fugitive  drummer,  and 
holding  him  by  the  shoulder  in  a  storm  of  balls.  But  it  was  too 
late ;  the  enemy  had  penetrated  the  opening,  the  day  was  lost ; 
and  Jackson,  without  giving  any  order  to  retreat,  moved  sullenly 
among  his  troops,  who  had  done  everything  that  human  courage 
and  endurance  could  accomplish,  and  even  at  the  last  fell  back 
without  panic  and  surrendered  a  field  covered  with  nearly  one-fifth 
of  their  numbers  killed  and  wounded. 

Kernstown  was  not  a  Confederate  victory.  It  was  Jackson's 
first  and  last  defeat.  It  had  been  fought  on  imperfect  information, 


LIEUT. -GEN.  STONEWALL  JACKSON.  193 

and  was  yet  not  a  blunder ;  for,  no  matter  what  was  the  enemy's 
superiority  of  force,  it  was  an  essential  part  of  Jackson's  calcula 
tion  and  design,  to  attack,  with  the  view  of  taking  the  attention  of 
Banks,  and  disconcerting  the  enemy's  programme  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Blue  Eidge.  In  this  sense  the  battle  of  Kernstown  was  a 
success,  accomplished  the  most  important  part  of  Jackson's  de 
sign,  and  even  exceeded  his  expectations.  Banks,  at  once  alarmed, 
hastened  back  to  Winchester,  and  ordered  the  troops  on  the  march 
to  Manassas  to  retrace  their  steps.  It  was  at  once  believed  at 
Washington  that  the  Confederates  were  still  in  considerable  force 
in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  It  was  decided  to  detain  Gen.  Banks 
there  with  an  augmented  command ;  and  the  consequence  was, 
that  the  plans  of  McClellan  had  to  be  subjected  to  fresh  changes 
and  more  delays. 

When  at  last  a  definite  programme  did  emerge  from  the  con 
fusion  and  conflict  of  views  at  Washington,  it  was  formidable 
enough  to  Eichmond,  and,  on  paper,  was  readily  decisive  of  the 
fate  of  that  city.  Upon  the  Confederate  capital  four  armies  were 
to  converge :  that  of  Fremont  from  the  northwest,  that  of  Banks 
from  the  Valley,  that  of  McDowell  from  Fredericksburg,  and  that 
of  McClellan  from  the  Peninsula,  between  the  James  and  York. 
Towards  the  middle  of  April,  the  three  first-mentioned  armies 
occupied  respectively  the  following  positions :  Gen.  Fremont  was 
at  Franklin,  a  small  town  in  the  mountains  of  Western  Virginia, 
near  the  source  of  the  south  branch  of  thePotomac,  with  a  force  of 
at  least  three  divisions,  including  that  of  Blenker,  which  had  been 
withdrawn  from  the  Army  of  the  Potomac ;  Gen.  Banks,  having 
advanced  along  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  Eiver,  had 
placed  his  headquarters  at  Newmarket,  beyond  the  terminus  of 
the  rail  which  intersects  the  Shenandoah  Valley ;  while  Gen. 
McDowell,  with  about  30,000  men,  occupied  Fredericksburg  on 
the  Eappahannock.  The  line  of  operations  against  Eichmond  thus 
extended  from  the  shores  of  the  James  to  the  base  of  the  Blue 
Eidge ;  for  it  was  designed  that  the  forces  in  the  Valley,  driving 
Jackson  out,  should  cut  the  Confederate  communication,  sweep 
down  upon  the  capital  from  the  mountains,  while  McDowell  was 
to  advance  from  Fredericksburg  and  extend  his  left  wing  until  it 
formed  a  junction  with  McClellan's  right,  on  the  lines  about 
Eichmond. 

13 


194    -  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Where  was  Jackson  in  this  fearful  situation  ?  After  the  battle 
of  Kernstown,  he  had  retreated  up  the  Yalley  by  way  of  Harrison- 
burg,  and  turning  to  the  Blue  Eidge,  took  up  a  position  between 
the  south  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  and  Swift  Kun  Gap.  Here  he 
was  retained  by  Johnston,  after  the  main  body  of  the  Confederate 
army  had  been  drawn  in  towards  Kichmond.  On  the  30th  April, 
he  was  joined  by  E well's  division  from  Gordonsville,  and  with  the 
combined  force  was  now  prepared  to  take  the  desperate  field, 
hoping  to  strike  in  detail  the  divided  forces  of  the  enemy. 

His  first  care  was  to  evade  Gen.  Banks.  That  dull  commander 
had  already  advanced  a  considerable  distance  up  the  Shenandoah 
Yalley,  felicitating  himself  with  the  idea  that  he  was  driving  Jack 
son  before  him,  and  delighting  the  authorities  at  "Washington  with 
the  report  that  the  Confederates  were  about  to  relinquish  the  Yalley : 
while  Milroy,  dommanding  the  advanced  guard  of  Fremont's  army, 
had  reached  Buffalo  Gap  in  the  chain  of  mountains  on  the  western 
side  of  the  Yalley,  en  route  for  the  proposed  junction  that  was  to 
threaten  Eichmond  from  the  west.  Jackson  was  indeed  between 
two  armies — that  of  Fremont  and  Banks ;  but  seizing  the  opportu 
nity  to  strike  in  detail,  he  left  Ewell  on  Banks'  front,  hurried  for 
ward  to  the  support  of  Gen.  Edward  Johnson,  who  was  endeavour 
ing  to  hinder  Fremont's  advance,  struck  the  enemy  at  McDowell, 
driving  back  the  brigades  of  Milroy  and  Schenck  to  Franklin,  and 
then  swiftly  brought  his  forces  over  the  mountains  to  the  attack  of 
Banks,  who  having  taken  some  alarm,  had  fallen  back  to  Strasburg. 

Instead  of  marching  direct  on  Strasburg,  Jackson  diverged  on 
a  line  to  the  eastward  by  way  of  Luray  Yalley,  and  moved  on 
Front  Eoyal,  with  the  view  of  cutting  off  Banks'  retreat  from 
Strasburg,  interposing  between  him  and  reinforcements,  and  com 
pelling  his  surrender.  On  the  23d  May,  he  entered  Front  Eoyal, 
capturing  the  garrison  of  seven  hundred  men  there,  under  Col. 
Kenly ;  and  thence  he  moved  to  Middletown  by  a  road  to  the  right 
of  the  main  Yalley  road,  hoping  there  to  cut  off  Banks.*  Here, 

*  There  was  published  in  a  Northern  newspaper  the  following  account  of  the 
surprise  of  Banks  at  Jackson's  sudden  apparition  at  Front  Eoyal,  in  which  a  private 
soldier  claims  to  have  first  alarmed  the  commander  in  time  to  save  the  bulk  of  his 
army :  "  Our  company  and  company  B  [Fifth  New  York  Cavalry]  were  ordered  to 
Front  Royal,  hi  the  mountains,  twelve  miles  from  Strasburg,  last  Friday,  and  when 
we  got  within  two  miles  of  our  destination  we  heard  cannonading.  The  Major  or- 


LIEUT.- GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  195 

however,  he  pierced  the  enemy's  column  of  retreat,  drove  a  part 
of  his  rear  towards  Strasburg,  and  then  pressed  on  in  hot  pursuit 
to  Winchester.  The  enemy  continued  his  frantic  retreat  through 
the  streets  of  the  city.  As  his  fugitive  masses  made  their  exit  on 
the  north  side  of  the  town,  the  Confederates  entered  it.  All  the 
streets  were  in  commotion  ;  cavalry  were  rushing  in  disorder,  and 
infantry,  frightened  by  the  rapidity  of  their  mounted  companions, 
were  in  consternation.  Guns,  knapsacks,  cartridge-boxes,  bayonets, 
and  bayonet-cases,  lay  scattered  upon  the  ground  in  great  profu 
sion,  thrown  away  by  the  panic-stricken  soldiers. 

On  the  heights  north  of  the  town,  Banks  made  a  momentary 
stand,  but  was  soon  in  full  retreat  again.  In  the  night  of  25th  May 
he  reached  the  Potomac,  having  accomplished  a  march  of  fifty-three 
miles  in  forty-eight  hours.  He  had  made  an  extraordinary  race, 
and  one  of  the  most  ludicrous  flights  of  the  war.  His  army  was  in 
miserable  plight,  but  excessively  thankful.  No  sooner  had  his  panic- 
stricken  troops  taken  breath  than  he  wrote  to  Washington :  "  There 
never  were  more  grateful  hearts  in  the  same  number  of  men,  than 

dered  the  baggage  to  stop,  and  our  two  companies  dashed  on,  and  found  several 
companies  of  our  infantry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  engaged  with  several  thousand 
of  the  enemy.  Just  as  we  arrived  on  the  field,  CoL  Parem,  who  had  command  of 
our  forces,  rode  up  to  me  and  ordered  me  to  take  one  man  and  the  two  fastest  horses 
in  our  company,  and  ride  for  dear  life  to  Gen.  Banks'  headquarters  in  Strasburg,  for 
reinforcements.  The  direct  road  to  Strasburg  was  occupied  by  the  enemy,  so  I  was 
obliged  to  ride  round  by  another,  seventeen  miles.  I  rode  the  seventeen  miles  in 
fifty-five  minutes.  Gen.  Banks  didn't  seem  to  thin£  it  very  serious,  but  ordered  one 
regiment  of  infantry  and  two  pieces  of  artillery  off.  I  asked  Gen.  Banks  for  a  fresh 
horse  to  rejoin  my  company,  and  he  gave  me  the  best  horse  that  I  ever  rode,  and  I 
started  back.  I  came  out  on  the  Front  Koyal  turnpike,  about  two  miles  this  side  of 
where  I  left  our  men.  Saw  two  men  standing  in  the  road,  and  their  horses  standing 
by  the  fence.  I  supposed  they  were  our  pickets.  They  didn't  halt  me,  so  I  asked 
them  if  they  were  pickets  ?  They  said  no.  Says  I :  '  Who  are  you  ?  '  '  We  are 
part  of  Gen.  Jackson's  staff.'  I  supposed  that  they  were  only  joking.  I  laughed,  and 
asked  them  where  Jackson  was.  They  said  he  was  in  the  advance.  I  left  them  and 
rode  to  Front  Royal,  till  I  overtook  a  soldier,  and  asked  him  what  regiment  he  be 
longed  to.  He  said  he  belonged  to  the  Eighth  Louisiana.  I  asked  how  large  a  force 
they  had,  and  the  reply  was  '  twenty  thousand.'  1  turned  back  and  drew  my  re 
volver,  expecting  either  a  desperate  fight  or  a  Southern  jail ;  but  the  officers  in  the  road 
didn't  stop  me,  and  I  was  lucky  enough  not  to  meet  any  of  their  pickets.  But  if  it 
was  not  a  narrow  escape,  then  I  don't  know  what  is.  When  I  got  out  of  the  enemy's 
lines  I  rode  as  fast  as  the  horse  could  carry  me  to  Gen.  Banks,  and  reported  what  I 
had  seen  and  heard.  He  said  I  had  saved  the  army.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  whole 
army  was  in  motion  towards  Winchester." 


196  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

when  at  mid-day  on  the  26th  we  stood  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
Potomac." 

Jackson  had  shown  nerve,  energy,  rapidity  of  movement,  and 
had  accomplished  a  success  far  beyond  the  limit  of  his  captures. 
His  apparition  in  Winchester  was  the  occasion  of  unbounded  con 
sternation  at  "Washington.  The  news  of  Banks'  defeat  fell  like  a 
thunderbolt  on  the  Federal  war  council;  the  most  exaggerated 
rumours  of  the  numbers  and  designs  of  Jackson  were  circulated 
through  the  North ;  Washington  was  declared  to  be  in  danger ;  the 
"secessionists"  of  Baltimore  appeared  about  to  rise;  and  sharing 
the  general  alarm,  President  Lincoln  at  once  countermanded  the 
order  for  McDowell's  advance  from  Fredericksburg,  to  unite  with 
McClellan,  and  directed  him  to  put  twenty  thousand  men  in  motion 
for  the  Valley,  and  "set  a  trap "  for  the  man  who  knew  every  gap 
and  gorge  of  the  country. 

Gen.  McDowell,  who  was  not  without  sagacity,  addressed  to  the 
authorities  at  Washington  a  strong  letter  of  remonstrance  on  the 
policy  of  transferring  so  large  a  portion  of  his  force  from  Fredericks- 
burg  to  the  Shenandoah.  His  out-pickets  had  already  effected  a 
junction  with  those  of  Gen.  McClellan ;  and  he  fully  appreciated 
the  importance  of  a  conjoined  movement  upon  Eichmond.  But 
Jackson  had  already  created  the  panic  that  was  to  break  up  the 
designs  against  the  Confederate  capital,  and  destroy  a  critical  part 
of  the  combination;  and  the  only  answer  that  McDowell  received 
to  his  remonstrance,  was  a  repeated  order  to  march  to  the  Shen 
andoah.  Shields'  division  was  accordingly  sent  towards  Stras- 
burg,  where  it  was  expected  a  converging  movement  of  Fremont 
might  entrap  Jackson,  who  was  now  on  his  retreat  from  Win 
chester. 

On  the  1st  June  Fremont  entered  Strasburg,  a  few  hours  before 
the  main  body  of  Shields'  division.  But  again  had  Gen.  Jackson 
escaped  his  pursuers ;  he  had  passed  through  the  town  unmolested, 
in  a  night  of  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning.  His  long  train  conveyed 
the  plunder  and  spoils  of  Banks'  army,  and  about  2,000  prisoners ; 
his  rear  was  protected  by  Ashby's  cavalry,  and  he  marched  rapidly 
onward.  Fremont  now  engaged  in  the  pursuit  by  moving  up  the 
valley  of  the  north  fork  of  the  Shenandoah  Eiver,  while  Shields 
marched  in  an  almost  parallel  line  up  its  southern  branch,  and  was 
preparing  to  cut  off  the  retreat  through  the  passes  of  the  Blue  Kidge 


LIEUT.-GEN.  .STONEWALL  JACKSON.  197 

Mountains.  Jackson's  position  was  most  perilous.  The  only  point 
to  cross  the  branches  of  the  Shenandoah,  was  a  bridge  at  Port  Re 
public  ;  Shields  might  prevent  his  crossing,  or  effect  a  junction 
with  Fremont;  and  both  these  results  were  to  be  prevented. 
Jackson  rapidly  threw  forward  his  own  division  to  cover  the  bridge, 
and  left  E well's  division  five  miles  back  on  the  road,  to  take  care 
of  Fremont.  '  It  was  a  desperate  venture,  for  Ewell  fought  with  his 
back  to  a  river,  and  against  superiour  numbers.  But  Jackson  had 
not  miscalculated  the  man  whom  he  trusted  of  all  others.  Ewell 
repulsed  Fremont ;  and  by  the  bold  battle  of  Cross  Keys,  Jackson 
was  able  to  effect  the  object  he  had  in  view  of  falling  with  his 
whole  force  on  Shields.  In  the  night  of  the  8th  June,  he  brought 
the  greater'  portion  of  Ewell's  division  across  the  North  Eiver  by 
the  bridge  at  Port  Republic,  leaving  only  a  small  force  on  the  left 
bank  to  deceive  Fremont,  and  to  burn  the  bridge.  The  plan  was 
successful,  and  Fremont  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  river  only  in 
time  to  see  the  bridge  in  flames,  and  to  hear  the  guns  which  were 
playing  on  his  colleague. 

Shields  had  obtained  a  very  strong  position.  His  left  rested 
on  wooded  hills,  and  on  a  small  knoll  near  the  woods  was  posted 
the  greater  portion  of  his  artillery.  The  Confederate  batteries  were 
no  match  for  those  of  the  enemy.  Jackson  found  his  lines  of  infan 
try  soon  disordered  and  broken.  At  one  time  the  enemy  gained 
ground,  and  it  was  only  by  a  determined  attack  of  Ewell  with 
some  Virginia  regiments  on  the  flank  of  the  enemy's  advancing 
line,  that  the  battle  was  restored.  Jackson's  unerring  eye  now 
saw  at  once  the  key  of  the  whole  position.  He  instantly 
determined  that  unless  the  enemy's  artillery,  so  advantageously 
posted,  was  captured  or  silenced,  it  would  continue  to  sweep  the 
entire  ground  in  front,  and  render  an  attack  upon  the  Federal  cen 
tre  or  right  wing  impossible.  He  sat  on  his  horse,  looking  at  the 
guns  belching  forth  their  showers  of  iron  hail,  and  turning  to  Gen. 
Taylor,  commanding  the  Louisiana  brigade,  said  briefly,  "  Can 
you  take  that  battery  ?  It  must  be  taken."  The  Louisianians  re 
sponded  with  a  shout,  advanced  through  an  incessant  storm  of 
grape,  canister  and  shell,  gained  the  crest,  and  by  a  sudden  charge 
captured  the  greater  portion  of  the  artillery.  The  enemy's  line 
was  broken,  some  regiments  retreated  in  fair  order,  others  were 
completely  routed,  and  in  detached  bodies  took  to  the  hills  and 


198  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

sought  refuge  among  the  woods.     The  Confederate  cavalry  pur 
sued,  and  the  defeat  was  complete. 

Jackson  had  won  the  most  doubtful  day  of  his  campaign,  and 
was  safe.  He  had  obtained  a  crowning  victory  in  the  last  con 
juncture  of  danger  ;  he  had  turned  upon  his  pursuers,  and  defeat 
ed  them  right  and  left ;  and  when  Fremont,  who  had  helplessly 
watched  the  battle  across  the  river,  commenced  his  languid  retreat 
down  the  Valley,  Jackson  withdrew  leisurely  to  the  gaps  of  the 
Blue  Eidge,  whence  he  had  easy  access  to  the  most  practicable 
routes  and  direct  line  of  rail  to  Eichmond. 

A  summary  of  Gen.  Jackson's  campaign  in  the  Valley  is  un 
doubtedly  the  most  brilliant  page  in  the  history  of  the  war.  We 
have  seen  how  he  checked  the  advance  of  Milroy  from  the  west ; 
how  he  then  advanced  upon  Banks,  and  drove  him  precipitately 
across  the  Potomac ;  how  he  outmarched  the  columns  of  Fremont 
and  Shields  which  pursued  him,  brought  off  all  his  captured  stores 
and  prisoners,  and  finally,  by  a  strategy  as  successful  as  it  was 
daring,  turned  upon  two  important  forces  of  the  enemy,  defeated 
them  in  detail,  and  concluded  the  campaign  in  a  blaze  of  victory. 
With  a  little  army  of  15,000  men,  at  one  time  a  hundred  miles 
from  its  base,  and  with  about  40,000  enemies  on  his  front  and 
flanks,  he  had  accomplished  a  chapter  of  wonders,  and  conducted 
a  campaign  of  unbroken  brilliancy.  He  had  defeated  four  separ 
ate  armies ;  he  had  overcome  his  old  adversary  Banks,  in  a  way  to 
cover  him  with  ridicule,  delighting  the  South  with  the  caricature 
of  a  commander  who  was  especially  odious  to  them  ;*  he  had  cap 
tured  a  total  of  3,500  prisoners ;  he  had  marched  four  hundred 
miles  within  forty  days,  in  constant  combats  and  skirmishes ;  and 
defeating  at  last  two  armies,  whose  aggregate  was  double  his  own, 
he  was  left  master  of  the  situation,  with  his  victorious  hands  full 
of  trophies.  Finally,  and  above  all,  he' had  succeeded  in  neutral 
izing  a  force  of  at  least  60,000  men  designed  to  operate  against 
Eichmond,  and  to  this  extent  had  contributed  to  the  safety  of  the 
capital  of  the  Confederacy. 

*  The  Charleston  Mercury  printed  the  following  epigram : 

"  Whilst  Butler  plays  his  silly  pranks, 
And  closes  up  New-Orleans  banks, 
Our  Stonewall  Jackson,  with  more  cunning, 
Keeps  Yankee  Banks  forever  running." 


LIEUT.-GEST.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  199 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Gen.  Jackson's  share  in  the  "  seven  days'  battles  "  around  Richmond. — Shifting  of  the 
scenes  of  war  from  the  James  River  to  the  Rappahannock. — Battle  of  Cedar  Run. 
— Gen.  Jackson  moves  a  column  between  the  enemy's  rear  and  Washington. — 
Scenes  of  the  march. — Battle  of  Groveton. — The  two  days'  conflict  on  Manassas 
Plains. — Gen.  Jackson  strikes  the  enemy  at  Ox  Hill. — Results  of  the  campaign  so 
far. — Extraordinary  achievement  of  Jackson's  command. — He  moves  against,  and 
captures  Harper's  Ferry. — His  part  hi  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg. 

GENERAL  JACKSON  was  yet  to  do  more  for  the  safety  of  Rich 
mond,  and  to  crown  what  he  had  done  in  strategy  by  a  direct 
attack  on  the  lines  of  the  Chickahominy.  Gen.  Lee  had  taken 
pains  to  mask  his  withdrawal  from  the  Yalley  by  sending  him  the 
divisions  of  Whiting  and  Lawton,  as  if  to  reinforce  him  to  prose 
cute  the  campaign  to  Winchester,  where  Fremont  had  withdrawn ; 
but  his  orders  in  fact  were  to  move  towards  Richmond,  and  fall 
upon  McClellan's  right,  while  Lee's  other  divisions  moved  directly 
upon  Mechanicsville.  On  the  25th  June,  Jackson  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Ashland,  about  twelve  miles  from  Richmond.  At  sun 
rise  next  morning  his  forces  were  in  motion,  advancing  abreast  of 
the  enemy's  right  flank  at  Mechanicsville ;  and  as  he  crossed  the 
Tottopotomy  Creek,  his  cannon  announced  to  A.  P.  Hill,  who 
awaited  the  signal  at  Mechanicsville,  that  the  time  for  action  had 
arrived. 

At  night  Jackson  bivouacked  within  sound  of  the  furious  can 
nonade,  with  which  Hill  and  Longstreet  sought  to  dislodge  the 
enemy  at  Beaver  Dam,  turned  the  position  in  the  morning,  and 
now  joined  by  D.  H.  Hill,  took  up  his  line  of  march  to  a  point 
a  few  miles  north  of  Cold  Harbour,  Passing  Cold  Harbour,  he 
perceived  the  enemy  a  little  to  the  southward,  drawn  up  in  battle 
array ;  Hill  and  Longstreet  were  already  engaged ;  and  Jackson, 
hoping  that  if  the  enemy  retreated,  he  would  expose  his  flank  to 
him,  halted  his  troops  in  a  margin  of  woods.  It  sbon  became 
apparent,  however,  that  the  Confederates  were  hard  pressed,  and 
that  upon  Jackson's  three  divisions  might  depend  the  fortune  of 


200  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

desperate  attack.  Gen.  Lee,  ascertaining  the  approach  ot  Jackson, 
hastened  to  give  him  the  necessary  orders.  Exchanging  a  hurried 
greeting,  the  Commanding  General  paused  a  moment,  and  listened 
anxiously  to  the  roar  of  artillery  in  the  woods.  "  The  fire  is  very 
heavy,"  he  said :  "  do  you  think  your  men  can  stand  it?"  "  Sir," 
said  Jackson,  "  they  can  stand  almost  anything ; "  and  then  turn 
ing  his  head  to  one  side  to  listen,  " they  can  stand  that"  In  a 
moment  his  columns  were  in  motion,  advancing  with  tumultuous 
cheers,  which  were  caught  up  and  ran  along  the  shattered  lines  of 
Hill,  proclaiming  the  long-expected  relief.  Whiting's  division 
was  hurried  forward  to  assist  Longstreet  in  his  assault  upon  the 
Federal  left,  and  formed  on  the  left  of  his  line,  joining  the  right  of 
Gen.  A.  P.  Hill.  On  the  left  of  Hill,  and  opposite  the  enemy's 
centre,  was  a  part  of  Jackson's  old  division,  the  remainder  being 
sent  to  the  right ;  on  the  left  of  that,  Swell's ;  and  on  the  extreme 
left,  D.  H.  Hill's  division. 

The  latter  first  came  in  contact  with  the  enemy's  line,  rushing 
through  the  swamp,  underwood,  and  felled  trees.  It  was  unable  to 
rout  the  enemy,  but  obtained  some  ground  and  stubbornly  held  it. 
Ewell  moved  next,  and  engaged  the  enemy  in  the  forest.  Mean 
while  Whiting  attacked  the  enemy's  left,  having  the  most  difficult 
part  of  the  field,  and  achieved  the  critical  triumph.  He  emerged 
into  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  deep  ravine,  which  covered  the 
Federal  left;  he  advanced  through  a  number  of  retreating  and 
disordered  regiments ;  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  the  enemy,  protected 
by  breastworks,  poured  into  the  advancing  line  a  destructive  and 
terrible  fire;  but  yet  the  devotSd  column,  led  by  "  Hood's  brave 
Texans,"  pressed  on  with  unfaltering  step.  In  this  splendid  charge 
upwards  of  a  thousand  men  fell  killed  and  wounded.  Its  way  was 
strewn  with  carnage.  Leaping  ditch  and  stream,  clambering  up 
a  difficult  assent,  through  showers  of  cannon  and  musketry,  amid 
smoke  and  smell  of  blood,  these  heroic  troops  pierced  the  Federal 
stronghold,  took  fourteen  pieces  of  artillery,  and  placed  the  battle- 
flag  of  the  Confederates  on  the  first,  then  on  the  second  tier  of  the 
enemy's  defences.  "  It  was,"  wrote  Jackson — who  seldom  used  an 
animated  phrase  in  an  official  report — "a  rapid  and  almost  match 
less  display* of  desperate  and  daring  valour."  "The  shouts  of 
triumph  which  rose  from  our  brave  men,  as  they,  unaided  by 
artillery,  had  stormed  this  citadel  of  the  enemy's  strength,  were 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  201 

promptly  carried  from  line  to  line ;  and  the  triumphant  issue  of 
this  assault,  with  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  batteries,  and  success 
ful  charges  of  Hill  and  Winder  upon  the  enemy's  right,  determined 
the  fortunes  of  the  day.  The  Federals,  routed  at  every  point, 
and  aided  by  the  darkness  of  the  night,  escaped  across  the  Chicka- 
hominy." 

Beyond  this  glorious  part  in  the  decisive  field  called  Games' 
Mills,  Jackson  had  but  little  share  in  the  "  seven  days'  battles." 
He  was  obstructed  in  White  Oak  Swamp,  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
important  bridges  having  been  destroyed ;  and  at  Malvern  Hill, 
D.  H.  Hill's  division,  which  was  temporarily  with  Jackson,  began 
the  action  prematurely,  and  was  compelled  to  fall  back  before 
Ewell's  troops  could  reinforce  him. 

The  campaign  of  the  Peninsula  ended  here.  In  a  few  weeks 
it  was  perceived  that  the  scene  of  action  was  rapidly  changing  from 
the  James  to  the  Eappahannock.  It  became  necessary  to  maintain 
the  Confederate  position  at  Gordonsville,  and  to  guard  that  point, 
Jackson  was  detached  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  with  a  force  con 
sisting  of  his  "old  division,"  Ewell's,  and  afterwards  that  of  A.  P. 
Hill.  Ascertaining  to  his  satisfaction  that  Pope,  who  commanded 
the  Federal  forces  in  Northern  Virginia,  was  waiting  at  Culpeper 
Court-House  to  be  reinforced  by  Burnside,  he  resolved  to  attack 
before  that  event  should  occur.  On  the  8th  August  he  crossed 
the  Eapidan,  and  took  up  a  position  in  the  wooded  and  hilly 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  main  road  from  Gordonsville  to  Cul 
peper.  His  force  consisted  of  about  15,000  men,  and  on  his  front 
was  the  corps  of  his  old  Yalley  acquaintance,  Banks,  with  a  division 
of  McDowell.  This  force  had  been  thrown  forward  by  Pope,  to 
take  a  strong  position  near  Cedar  or  Slaughter's  Mountain,  the 
wooded  slopes  of  which  Jackson  had  already  occupied.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  9th  August,  Banks  advanced  his  divisions,  and 
the  battle  of  Cedar  Run  was  fought.  The  result  was  that  the 
Federal  line  was  driven  back  about  a  mile,  and  Pope  himself 
acknowledged  a  loss  of  1,800  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  and 
stated  that  fully  1,000  more  straggled  back  to  Culpeper  Court- 
House  and  beyond,  and  never  entirely  returned  to  their  commands. 

In  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run,  Jackson  had  only  intended  to  check 
the  enemy's  advanced  divisions,  and  to  save  Gordonsville  ;  and  he 
now  proposed  to  defer  operations  until  the  arrival  of  the  main  army 


202  LIEUT.-GEN.  STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

from  Eichmond,  set  free  by  -the  withdrawal  of  McClellan  from 
Harrison's  Landing.  He  did  not  have  long  to  wait.  Gen.  Lee  was 
soon  up  with  him,  made  various  demonstrations  at  the  fords  of 
the  Eapidan  to  attract  Pope's  attention,  and  while  thus  amusing 
the  enemy,  designed  an  attack  on  his  left  flank  and  rear,  so  as  to 
cut  off  his  retreat  to  the  Kappahannock  by  the  line  of  the  railroad. 
"With  this  end  in  view,  Longstreet  moved  by  way  of  Eaccoon  Ford, 
and  Jackson  by  way  of  Somerville  Ford,  on  the  Eapidan. 

Pope  declined  the  battle  with  Lee's  forces  massed  on  his  flank, 
and  fell  back  promptly  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Eappahannock. 
It  was  now  determined  by  the  Confederate  commander  to  send  a 
column  against  the  enemy's  rear,  to  get  between  him  and  Washing 
ton,  cut  his  communications,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  rest  of 
the  army  which  would  follow,  engage  his  whole  force,  and  capture 
or  destroy  it  before  it  could  retreat  to  the  Potomac.  This  despe 
rate  movement  was  intrusted  to  Jackson.  On  the  25th,  he  left 
the  main  army,  and  proceeded  rapidly  towards  the  head  waters  of 
the  Eappahannock.  It  was  a  sore  and  painful  march,  up  the  steeps, 
along  and  across  the  valleys  skirting  the  Blue  Eidge  Mountains ; 
the  artillery  was  dragged  with  difficulty  up  the  narrow  and  rock- 
ribbed  roads ;  many  of  the  men  were  barefooted,  many  faint  from 
want  of  food.  But  Jackson  was  on  his  favourite  adventure — a 
flank  movement — and  inspiriting  his  men,  pushed  forward  to  Thor 
oughfare  Gap,  hoping  to  reach  it  before  the  enemy  could  be  made 
aware  of  his  intention.  Passing  Salem  through  "  crowds  all  wel 
coming,  cheering,  staring  with  blank  amazement,"  he  pressed  on 
through  the  plains  to  the  well-known  mountain  gorge.  It  was  un 
defended.  He  passed  rapidly  between  the  frowning  ramparts  with 
his  little  army,  hungry,  exhausted,  but  resolute  as  ever.  The  open 
country  was  now  before  him,  and  he  descended,  like  a  hawk,  upon 
Manassas. 

Here  a  small  force  of  the  enemy  was  routed,  and  a  rich  spoil 
obtained.  Eight  pieces  of  artillery,  ten  locomotives,  and  two 
trains  of  enormous  size,  loaded  with  many  millions'  worth  of  stores, 
fell  into  Jackson's  hands.  The  rich  and  varied  contents  of  the 
sutlers'  stores  were  turned  over  to  the  men,  who  had  been  living 
mostly  on  roasted  corn  since  they  had  crossed  the  Eappahannock. 
"  To  see,"  said  an  eye-witness,  "  a  starving  man  eating  lobster-salad, 
and  drinking  Ebine  wine,  barefooted  and  in  tatters,  was  curious ; 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON".  203 

the  whole  thing  was  incredible."  But  they  did  not  tarry  long  at 
their  strange  feast.  Destroying  what  he  could  not  appropriate, 
Jackson,  at  nightfall  of  the  27th  August,  turned  his  back  on  the 
burning  houses  of  Manassas  ;  for  Pope  was  now  moving  to  attack 
him,  and  the  head  of  the  Federal  column  had  already  come  in 
collision  with  Ewell. 

"With  his  command  reduced  by  the  hardships  of  the  march  to 
scarcely  more  than  twenty  thousand  jaded  men,  far  from  his  sup 
ports,  with  Pope's  whole  force  faced  upon  him  and  threatening 
annihilation,  it  was  now  the  difficult  task  of  Jackson  to  ward  off 
the  threatened  blow,  and  yet  hold  the  enemy  in  check  until  Lee 
and  Longstreet  arrived.  These  latter  forces,  marching  the  same 
route  which  Jackson  had  pursued,  had  to  follow  the  arc  of  a  circle, 
over  the  chord  of  which  Pope  moved ;  and  the  Federal  commander 
had  already  announced,  in  the  slang  of  the  braggart,  that  he  would 
"  bag "  Jackson.  But  arrived  at  Manassas  Junction,  the  enemy 
found  that  Jackson  had  given  him  the  slip,  and  moving  across  to 
the  Warrenton  turnpike,  had  gained  the  high  timber-land  north 
and  west  of  Groveton,  and  taken  a  position  to  form  a  junction 
with  Longstreet  as  soon  as  he  arrived.  As  one  of  the  Federal 
columns  advanced  parallel  with  the  "Warrenton  turnpike,  it  unwit 
tingly  presented  a  flank  to  Jackson.  The  temptation  to  assail  it 
was  irresistible.  Jackson  said  briefly,  "  Ewell,  advance ! "  and, 
bringing  up  his  old  division,  furiously  attacked  the  enemy.  It  was 
a  fierce  and  sanguinary  conflict ;  the  enemy  did  not  give  way,  but 
at  night  his  forces — those  of  McDowell — were  withdrawn  to 
Manassas,  and  Jackson  held  precisely  the  position  to  put  himself 
in  the  way  of  a  junction  with  the  main  body  of  Lee's  army,  and 
which  it  should  have  been  Pope's  supreme  object  to  have  antici 
pated. 

The  next  morning,  29th  August,  Jackson,  now  confident  of  his 
ability  to  hold  his  ground  until  reinforcements  arrived,  presented 
a  dauntless  front,  ready  to  accept  battle  at  any  moment.  A  cloud 
of  dust  in  the  direction  of  Thoroughfare  Gap  told  the  tale  of  suc 
cour  and  good  hope ;  and  Longstreet's  divisions  were  soon  formed 
across  the  "Warrenton  road,  his  left  resting  upon  a  range  not  far 
from  Jackson's  right.  The  enemy  appeared  to  adhere  to  his  design 
of  overwhelming  Jackson  before  succour  reached  him;  and  as 
Longstreet  was  coming  into  position,  a  heavy  column  attacked 


201  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Jackson's  left  with  great  fury.  Six  separate  and  distinct  assaults 
were  met  and  repulsed.  For  hours  the  conflict  continued  obstinate 
and  determined.;  until  a  demonstration  made  on  the  enemy's  left 
by  the  brigades  of  Hood  and  Evans  relieved  Jackson  from  the 
heavy  pressure  of  the  enemy's  columns,  gained  some  ground,  but 
left  the  day  undecided. 

In  the  greater  battle  of  the  next  day,  Jackson  appeared  destined 
again  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  enemy's  attack.  Most  of  the  day 
was  consumed  by  the  enemy  in  manoeuvring ;  but  about  four 
o'clock,  a  dense  column  of*  infantry,  massed  in  a  strip  of  woods 
near  Groveton,  advanced  against  the  Confederate  centre,  where 
Jackson's  right  and  Longstreet's  left  joined,  and  where  eight  bat 
teries  had  been  concentrated.  As  the  fire  of  these  was  directed 
upon  the  enemy's  triple  lines  of  infantry,  it  seemed  to  rake  and 
tear  them  to  pieces.  They  were  swept  away  like  leaves  in  the 
wind.  But  again  the  obstinate  masses  came  charging  as  before ; 
again  the  iron  storm  crashed  through  the  ranks ;  and  again  they 
broke  and  retired.  A  third  force,  heavier  than  before,  now 
advanced  with  mad  impetuosity,  and,  in  the  midst  of  the  rapid 
fire  of  the  batteries,  threw  themselves  upon  Jackson,  and  engaged 
him  in  a  last  and  terrible  struggle  for  the  field. 

The  desperate  onset  was  sustained  by  Jackson.  As  he  strug 
gled,  Col.  Lee  moved  the  batteries  referred  to  a  little  to  the  left, 
and  at  four  hundred  yards  from  the  Federal  lines  poured  into  them 
a  fire  that  ploughed  broad  gaps  through  them.  Through  the  rifts 
of  smoke  could  be  seen  soldiers  falling  and  flying ;  and  then  pierc 
ing  yells  told  that  Jackson  was  advancing  with  his  terrible  weapon, 
the  bayonet.  Just  at  this  moment  Longstreet  seized  the  opportu 
nity  presented  to  him,  and  attacked  the  exposed  left  flank  of  the 
enemy.  The  whole  Confederate  line  was  now  advancing ;  it  was 
charge !  charge !  through  the  woods,  over  the  hills,  over  the  dead 
and  dying.  Jackson's  troops  came  on  like  "  demons  emerged  from 
the  earth."  The  whole  field  was  swept  with  the  bayonet;  the 
grand  advance  never  paused  ;  and  the  Federal  army,  breaking  and 
disappearing  in  the  rapidly  gathering  darkness,  now  thought  of 
nothing  but  its  safety  beyond  the  sheltering  heights  of  Centreville. 

The  next  day  Jackson's  corps  was  again  in  motion :  it  had  not 
yet  completed  its  work.  At  Centreville,  Pope  united  with  the 
corps  of  Franklin  and  Sumner,  and  Jackson  was  at  once  sent  on 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWAL^,  JACKSON.  205 

a  detour  to  his  right  to  intercept,  if  possible,  his  retreat  to  Wash 
ington.  Pope,  meantime,  fell  back  to  positions  covering  Fairfax 
Court-House  and  Germantown ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  1st 
September,  Jackson  struck  his  right,  posted  at  Ox  Hill,  near  Ger 
mantown.  On  the  Confederate  side  the  action  was  fought  with 
Hill's  and  E  well's  divisions,  in  the  midst  of  a  cold  and  drenching 
rain.  The  conflict  was  maintained  until  dark,  when  the  enemy 
retreated,  having  lost  two  general  officers: — Eeno  and  Kearney — 
and  the  next  day  had  drawn  back  within  the  lines  of  Washington. 

This  engagement  closed  the  campaign  against  Pope.  It  will  be 
observed  that  throughout  it  Jackson  was  given  the  most  prominent 
place.  The  campaign  was  commenced  by  him  alone ;  he  had  won 
a  victory  at  Cedar  Run ;  he  had,  by  a  swift  and  silent  march, 
reached  Thoroughfare  Gap  before  the  enemy  suspected  his  advance ; 
passed  through  the  narrow  gorge  without  resistance  ;  repulsed  the 
advances  of  Pope  at  Bristoe  Station  ;  captured  and  destroyed  the 
large  stores  at  Manassas ;  cut  to  pieces  the  force  sent  to  relieve  the 
garrison ;  retired  with  deliberation  to  the  old  battle-field  of  Ma 
nassas  ;  repulsed  the  attack  of  the  Federal  army ;  held  his  position 
until  Longstreet  arrived ;  and  then  falling  upon  the  enemy,  had 
borne  the  brunt  of  the  encounter  during  battles  of  incredible  fury, 
•joined  in  the  final  and  decisive  charge,  and  pursued  him  to  the 
foreground  of  Washington.  The  total  loss  of  the  Confederate  army 
in  this  series  of  battles  was  about  7,500,  of  whom  1,100  were  killed 
upon  the  field.  Of  this  loss,  nearly  5,000  fell  upon  the  corps  of 
Jackson  ;  out  of  which  number  805  officers  and  men  were  killed. 
The  prisoners  lost  by  him,  in  the  whole  of  the  long  struggle, 
amounted  to  only  thirty-five. 

But  the  wonderful  campaign  of  the  Confederates  was  not  to 
end  on  the  historic  plains  of  Manassas,  so  deeply  crimsoned  with 
Southern  blood ;  and  while  Pope  retreated  towards  Alexandria, 
Lee  had  determined  on  the  invasion  of  Maryland,  and  was  making 
for  the  fords  of  the  Potomac.  Between  the  4th  and  7th  Septem 
ber,  the  whole  Confederate  army  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  encamp 
ed  in  the  vicinity  of  Frederick.  It  was  ascertained  that  at  Harper's 
Ferry  a  force  of  about  12,000  of  the  enemy  remained  directly  in 
Lee's  rear ;  and  it  became  necessary  to  dislodge  that  force  before 
concentrating  the  Confederate  army  west  of  the  mountains.  To 
this  duty  Jackson,  with  his  own  three  divisions,  the  two  divisions 


206  LIEUT.-GE^".   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

of  McLaws,  and  the  division  of  Walker,  was  assigned.  The  ad 
vance  was  begun  on  the  10th.  In  the  morning  of  the  14th,  the 
investment  of  Harper's  Ferrj  was  complete;  McLaws  having 
occupied  Maryland  Heights,  and  Jackson  and  Walker  investing 
the  town  by  the  rear,  the  latter  occupying  Loudoun  Heights. 
During  the  day,  the  heights  were  crowned  with  artillery ;  and  at 
dawn  of  the  15th  Jackson  opened  his  artillery.  In  two  hours  a 
white  flag  was  raised  in  token  of  surrender.  Jackson  received  the 
capitulation  of  12,000  men,  and  came  into  possession  of  seventy- 
three  pieces  of  artillery,  13,000  small-arms,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
military  stores.*  He  tarried  but  a  little  while  with  his  prize  ;  and 
leaving  A.  P.  Hill  at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  headed  towards  Maryland 
to  unite  with  Lee,  and  by  a  severe  night-march  reached  Sharpsburg 
in  the  morning  of  the  16th  September. 

In  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  Jackson  held  the  Confederate  left. 
He  had  with  him  only  Ewell's  and  his  own  division,  the  greater 
portion  of  his  command  being  yet  en  route  from  Harper's  Ferry. 
Against  his  thin  line  the  heaviest  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  was 
directed  in  the  early  part  of  the  day ;  and  with  such  effect  that 
Jackson  himself  gave  the  order  to  retire.  Hood's  two  brigades 
were  moved  to  his  support ;  and  of  what  ensued  a  Northern  cor 
respondent  writes :  "  The  rebels,  greatly  reinforced,  made  a  sudden 

*  A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Evening  Post,  who  had  an  opportunity  of  see 
ing  Jackson  during  the  brief  hours  he  was  at  Harper's  Ferry,  thus  records  his  im 
pressions  of  the  famous  Confederate: 

"  While  the  officers  were  dashing  down  the  road,  and  the  half-naked  privates 
begging  at  every  door,  Gen.  Jackson  was  sunning  himself,  and  talking  with  a  group 
of  soldiers  at  the  pump  across  the  street— a  plain  man,  in  plain  clothes,  with  an  iron 
face  and  iron-gray  hair.  Only  by  his  bearing  could  he  be  distinguished  from  his  men. 
He  stood  as  if  the  commonest  of  all,  marked  only  by  the  mysterious  insignia  of  in 
dividual  presence  by  which  we  know,  intuitively,  the  genius  from  the  clown.  No 
golden  token  of  rank  gleamed  on  his  rusty  clothes ;  of  the  shining  symbols  of  which, 
alas,  too  many  of  our  officers  are  so  ridiculously  fond  that  they  seem  unconscious 
how  disgraceful  is  this  glitter  of  vanity!  They  were  nowhere  visible  on  old  Stone- 
wall's  person.  When  Gen.  Jackson  had  drank  at  the  pump,  and  talked  at  his  leisure, 
he  mounted  his  flame-colored  horse  and  rode  down  the  street  at  the  jog  of  a  com 
fortable  farmer  carrying  a  bag  of  meal. 

"As  he  passed,  I  could  but  wonder  how  many  times  he  had  prayed  on  Saturday 
night  before  commencing  his  hellish  Sabbath  work.  His  old  servant  says  that  '  When 
massa  prays  four  times  in  de  night,  he  knows  the  devil  '11  be  to  pay  de  next  day.' 
And  I  am  very  sure  that  there  were  a  large  number  of  devils  at  work  above  Har 
per's  Ferry  on  Sunday,  September  14,  1862." 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  207 

and  impetuous  onset,  and  drove  our  gallant  fellows  back  over  a 
portion  of  the  hard- won  field.  "What  we  had  won,  however,  was 
not  relinquished  without  a  desperate  struggle,  and  here,  up  the  hills 
and  down,  through  the  woods  and  the  standing  corn,  over  the 
ploughed  land  and  the  clover,  the  line  of  fire  swept  to  and  fro  as 
one  side  or  the  other  gained  a  temporary  advantage."  As  the  day 
advanced  the  troops  of  McLaws  and  Walker  reached  the  field,  and 
Jackson  was  enabled  to  defeat  the  persistent  attempt  of  the  enemy 
to  turn  his  left.  The  design  of  the  Federal  commander  was  to 
force  Lee  back  upon  the  river,  and  to  cut  him  to  pieces  before  he 
could  cross.  His  main  assault  was  against  the  Confederate  left,  and 
his  failure  there  destroyed  his  best  expectations  of  the  day.  Jack 
son  held  his  ground  firmly ;  on  other  parts  of  the  field  the  battle 
spent  itself  in  indecisive  results ;  and  the  day  closed  with  the  two 
armies  holding  the  same  positions  which  they  occupied  when  it 
began,  save  that  in  the  centre  the  Confederate  line  was  retracted 
about  two  hundred  yards. 

Sharpsburg,  although  not  a  Federal  victory,  purchased  a  respite 
in  the  storms  of  war.  Gen.  Lee  having  determined  to  recruit  his 
army,  withdrew  to  the  soil  of  Yirginia ;  and  Jackson's  corps 
passed  the  beautiful  autumn  months  in  the  bosom  of  the  most 
charming  regions  of  the  lower  Yalley  of  the  Shenandoah.  It  was 
not  until  these  precious  months  of  rest  had  glided  past,  and  the 
blasts  of  winter  carried  away  the  gorgeous  foliage  and  the  brilliant 
sunshine,  that  the  Federal  authorities  were  prepared  for  another 
advance  into  Yirginia,  and  the  veteran  corps  of  Jackson  sum 
moned  to  other  bloody  scenes  of  conflict. 


208  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


CHAPTEE  XVIIL 

Battle  of  Fredericksburg. — Gen.  Jackson  conceives  the  desperate  enterprise  of  driv 
ing  the  enemy  into  the  river. — But  he  recalls  the  attack. — Battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville. — A  night  council  under  the  pines. — The  flank-march. — How  Gen.  Hooker 
was  deceived. — Gen.  Jackson's  last  dispatch.— Fury  of  his  attack  in  the  Wilder 
ness. — He  is  shot  from  his  horse  by  his  own  men. — Particulars  of  his  wound  and 
sufferings. — His  dying  moments. — Funeral  ceremonies  in  Eichmond. 

WHEN  the  Federal  host,  now  put  under  the  command  of  the 
feeble  but  gallant  Burnside,  essayed  its  fourth  "  On-to-Kichmond," 
it  was  determined  to  try  the  line  of  the  Eappahannock ;  and  in 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  fought  the  13th  December,  Jackson's 
command  had  an  active  share.  In  the  Confederate  line  of  battle 
Jackson  held  the  right,  occupying  about  half  of  the  range  of  hills, 
which  swept  around  to  Hamilton's  Crossing  on  the  railroad,  in 
closing  a  broken  plain  stretching  back  from  the  margin  of  the 
Kappahannock.  In  the  early  hours  of  the  day  the  sun  struggled 
with  a  thick  haze ;  but  as  the  morning  mist  lifted  there  was  sud 
denly  revealed  one  of  the  most  animated  scenes  of  the  war,  in 
which  the  Confederates,  looking  down  as  from  an  amphitheatre, 
saw  before  them  a  plain  alive  with  the  multitudes  of  a  great  army, 
and  the  gleaming  bayonets  of  columns  advancing  to  the  attack. 
On  the  crest  of  hills  the  lines  of  the  Confederate  army  stretched 
away,  and  on  a  commanding  eminence,  a  little  southeast  of  Marye's 
Heights,  Gen.  Lee  obtained  a  view  of  the  entire  field.  Occasion 
ally  Jackson  rode  up  to  this  point  of  observation,  where  Lee 
camly  conversed  with  his  lieutenants,  and  arranged  the  final  order 
of  battle.  Once  Gen.  Longstreet  exclaimed  to  Jackson :  "Are  you 
not  scared  by  that  multitude  of  Yankees  you  have  before  jou. 
down  there  ?  "  To  which  the  latter  replied :  "  Wait  till  they  come 
a  little  nearer,  and  they  shall  either  scare  me  or  I'll  scare  them." 

The  sun  had  no  sooner  let  in  light  enough  to  disclose  the  prox 
imity  of  the  lines  than  the  battle  commenced  with  a  fierce  attack 
upon  A.  P.  Hill,  who  held  Jackson's  front.  The  divisions  of 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  209 

Early  and  Taliaferro  composed  Jackson's  second  line,  while  D.  H. 
Hill's  division  was  held  in  reserve.  Jackson  estimated  the  enemy 
in  his  front  at  55,000  men — the  wing  of  Franklin,  supported  by  a 
portion  of  Hooker's  division.  The  first  serious  incident  of  the 
battle  was  the  irruption  of  this  heavy  mass  through  Hill's  line. 
But  it  was  only  a  temporary,  triumph ;  Jackson's  second  line  was 
ordered  forward,  checked  the  enemy's  advance,  and  drove  him  with 
great  slaughter  from  the  woods  to  the  railroad,  only  ceasing  the 
pursuit  far  within  the  range  of  the  enemy's  artillery. 

The  enemy  appears  to  have  been  satisfied  with  this  trial  of 
Jackson,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  day  did  not  renew  the 
attack  upon  him,  limiting  their  demonstration  to  a  spiteful  cannon 
ade  on  his  lines.  The  chief  interest  of  the  field  transpired  upon 
the  left,  where  the  day  was  decisively  won.  In  the  afternoon, 
Jackson  learning  the  brilliant  fortune  on  other  parts  of  the  field, 
dispatched  an  order  that  "  he  was  going  to  advance  and  attack 
the  enemy  precisely  at  sunset,  and  Gen.  Stuart  was  desired  to  ad 
vance  his  artillery  and  fire  as  rapidly  as  possible,  taking  care  not 
to  injure  the  troops  as  they  attacked."  He  had  conceived  the  des 
perate  enterprise  of  driving  the  enemy  into  the  river.  With  his 
watch  in  his  hand,  he  counted  the  minutes  until  the  sun  touched 
the  horizon,  while  he  considered  the  terrible  risks  of  the  enterprise, 
the  double  embankments  of  the  river  road  before  him,  and  the  im 
mense  artillery  which  crowned  the  Stafford  hills  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river.  Just  as  he  moved  forward,  and  his  first  line  sprung 
to  the  deadly  work  before  it,  the  enemy  opened  all  his  artillery ; 
it  covered  Jackson's  whole  front;  with  a  quick  perception  and 
perfect  self-command  he  saw  the  risk  and  cost  of  the  endeavour, 
and  in  a  moment  relinquished  it.  It  was  enough  that  the  day  was 
won. 

Of  what  followed  the  brilliant  but  imperfect  victory  of  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Gen.  Jackson  writes  in  his  official  report:  "On  the 
15th  the  enemy  still  remained  in  our  front,  and,  in  the  evening  of 
that  day,  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce  requesting  a  cessation  of  hostilities 
between  his  left  and  our  right  wing,  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
his  wounded  from  the  field,  which,  under  previous  instructions 
from  the  Commanding  General,  was  granted.  Our  troops  patiently 
remained  in  position  on  that,  as  they  had  done  the  previous  day, 
eagerly  awaiting  another  attack  from  the  enemy ;  and  such  was  the 

14 


210  LIEUT.-GEN".   STONEWALL  JACKSOX. 

desire  to  occupy  the  front  line,  when  such  an  attack  should  be 
made,  that  the  division  of  Maj.-Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  sent  in  a  written 
request  to  be  permitted  to  remain  in  the  front  line  until  next  day. 
But  our  brave  troops  were  disappointed  in  the  expectation  of  another 
attack.  For  whilst  they  patiently  waited  during  the  night  of  the 
15th,  in  the  hope  of  another  encounter  on  the  following  day,  and 
of  visiting  upon  the  invaders  of  their  sacred  homes  and  firesides  a 
just  retribution  for  the  outrages  of  this  most  unprovoked  and  un 
christian  war,  the  enemy  hurriedly  and  silently,  during  that  night, 
made  good  his  retreat  by  recrossing  the  river." 

The  campaign  of  1863  opens  with  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville. 
In  April  of  that  year  the  two  armies  confronted  each  other  on  the 
banks  of  the  Eappahannock  from  a  point  above  its  confluence  with 
the  Eapidan  as  far  down  as  Port  Eoyal.  The  bulk  of  the  Confed 
erate  forces  remained,  however,  near  Fredericksburg.  Lee  had 
been  weakened  by  detachments;  he  had  not  more  than  45,000 
men;  and  when  Hooker,  the  new  Federal  commander,  with 
twice  his  numbers,  crossed  the  Eappahannock  with  the  design 
of  enveloping  him,  and  left  fronting  Fredericksburg  Sedgwick, 
with  a  force  nearly  matching  Lee's  whole  army  in  numbers,  the 
situation  was  never  more  desperate  for  the  Confederates.  In  the 
last  days  of  April,  Hooker  had  got  the  greater  portion  of  his  army 
across  the  Eappahannock,  and  was  moving  towards  Chancellors 
ville,  about  four  miles  south  of  the  point  of  the  confluence  of  the 
Eapidan.  The  divisions  of  Anderson  and  McLaws  were  marched 
westward  to  arrest  the  progress  of  Hooker,  while  Jackson  remained 
in  the  lines  occupied  by  him  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
watching  the  proceedings  of  Sedgwick  before  him.  On  the  29th 
April,  Lee,  determining  to  meet  Sedgwick  by  a  feint,  left  Early 's 
division  only  to  confront  him,  while  Jackson  stole  rapidly  away 
to  reinforce  Anderson  and  McLaws,  and  to  take  the  aggressive 
against  Hooker.  In  the  mists  of  the  morning  and  under  cover 
of  the  forest,  Jackson  passed  securely  out  of  view,  defying  the 
espionage  of  the  enemy's  balloons,  and  before  noon  was  with  Gen. 
Lee  on  Hooker's  front,  busy  in  disclosing  his  real  strength  and 
position. 

The  enemy  had  here  90,000  troops  intrenched  at  their 
leisure ;  his  front  was  well-nigh  impregnable ;  and  the  design  of 
assailing  him  from  the  east  or  the  south  was  speedily  abandoned. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  211 

Gen.  Jackson  eagerly  proposed  to  throw  his  command  entirely 
into  Hooker's  rear,  availing  himself  of  the  absence  of  the  Federal 
cavalry,  and  to  assail  him  from  the  west,  and-  in  concert  with 
Anderson  and  McLaws.  It  was  a  characteristic,  brilliant,  hazard 
ous  adventure ;  it  involved  a  second  detachment  from  Lee's  sadly 
diminished  army — Early  remaining  at  Fredericksburg  with  about 
seven  thousand  men ;  it  left  only  Anderson  and  McLaws  to  "  con 
tain  "  Hooker ;  and  yet  it  was  the  best  thing  to  be  done  under  all 
the  circumstances. 

The  plan  of  action  was  decided  in  a  council  held  at  night  in  a 
cluster  of  pine  trees,  and  at  the  foot  of  one  of  these  Jackson  slept, 
after  discussing  the  grand  adventure  of  the  morrow.  The  thought 
of  its  peril  might  have  kept  an  ordinary  commander  awake.  He 
had  undertaken  to  move,  without  being  discovered,  along  the 
entire  front  of  the  enemy,  and  in  close  proximity  to  his  lines ;  to 
make  his  way  by  unfrequented  roads,  and  through  dense  thickets 
to  his  flank  and  rear;  to  attack  the  large  force  in  the  intrench- 
ments  above  Chancellorsville,  and  to  take  the  chances  of  a  repulse, 
where,  with  22,000  men,  and  without  the  possibility  of  assistance 
from  Gen.  Lee,  he  would  have  been  at  the  enemy's  mercy. 
Everything  was  put  upon  the  issue  of  this  movement;  but  having 
once  calculated  it,  Jackson  was  perfectly  self-possessed,  and  a  more 
than  usual  confidence  is  said  to  have  shone  in  his  features. 

In  the  morning  of  the  2d  May,  Jackson  was  in  the  saddle.  He 
had  learned  the  absence  of  hostile  cavalry ;  the  friendly  screen  of 
forests  which  surrounded  Chancellorsville  had  been  described  to 
him.  Diverging  westward  from  the  Fredericksburg  plank-road, 
he  pursued  his  march  by  a  forest  path ;  passed  a  point  known  as 
"the  Furnace;"  there  struck  into  a  road  which  intersected  the 
Orange  plank-road,  on  which  the  enemy's  force  was  planted, 
regaining  which  to  the  northward,  he  would  be  in  a  position  to 
turn  Hooker's  left  flank.  But  it  was  impossible  to  make  the 
perilous  flank-march  across  the  whole  of  the  enemy's  front  with 
out  attracting  some  attention,  for  his  scouts  were  mounted  in  the 
tops  of  the  highest  trees,  and  the  screen  of  the  forest  was  not 
always  available.  As  the  column  of  Jackson  passed  over  a  hill 
near  "  the  Furnace,"  it  partially  disclosed  itself;  but  the  enemy, 
instead  of  taking  alarm,  was  seized  with  the  conceit  of  interpreting 
the  movement  as  a  retreat  towards  Eichmond  on  the  part  of  Lee. 


212  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

Sickles,  who  observed  the  movement,  struck  the  rear  of  the  coluirm, 
took  a  few  prisoners,  and  sent  an  elated  account  to  Hooker,  who 
dispatched  to  Sedgwick  at  Fredericksburg :  "  We  know  the  enemy 
is  flying r,  trying  to  save  Ms  trains ;  two  of  Sickles'  divisions  are 
among  them." 

The  enemy's  pleasant  delusion  was  to  be  broken  in  a  few  hours 
by  a  sudden  and  almost  mortal  blow.  At  three  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon,  Jackson  had  arrived  six  miles  west  of  Chancellorsville,  and 
upon  precisely  the  opposite  side  of  the  enemy  to  that  occupied  by 
Gen.  Lee.  Here  he  wrote  his  last  dispatch  to  the  Commanding  Gen 
eral :  "I  hope,  so  soon  as  practicable,  to  attack.  I  trust  that  an  ever 
kind  Providence  will  bless  us  with  success."  Two  hours  were  con 
sumed  in  preparations  for  the  attack  ;  orders  were  issued,  aides  and 
orderlies  galloped  to  and  fro,  and  between  five  and  six  o'clock, 
Jackson  advanced  his  force  in  three  parallel  lines,  Eodes  holding 
the  front  and  tearing  through  the  thickets  to  get  within  view  of 
the  enemy's  lines.  The  right  wing  of  Hooker's  army,  composed 
of  the  Eleventh  corps  under  Howard,  rested  on  the  plank-road, 
all  unsuspicious  of  danger.  As  Eodes'  men  burst  from  the  woods, 
uttering  loud  cheers,  attacking  the  alarmed  enemy  in  front  and 
flank,  it  appeared  that  scarcely  any  organized  resistance  was  offered 
to  the  assault.  Some  of  Howard's  troops  ran  from  the  suppers 
they  were  cooking ;  a  few  seized  their  arms,  and  endeavoured  to 
defend  themselves ;  but  quickly  the  whole  corps  was  in  rout,  the 
men  flying  in  the  wildest  confusion,  and  leaving  the  field  strewn 
with  their  guns  and  knapsacks. 

For  three  miles  the  Federals  were  swept  back  by  a  resistless 
charge,  and  panic-stricken  fugitives  fled  towards  the  fords  of  the 
Kappahannock.  In  the  dusk  of  nightfall  there  was  a  rushing 
whirlwind  of  men,  artillery,  and  wagons  sweeping  down  the  road, 
and  through  the  woods,  in  mad  retreat.  The  Confederates  pressed 
forward  through  the  barriers  of  the  forest,  entangled  now  and  then 
in  an  abattis  of  felled  trees,  their  lines  falling  into  disorder,  but 
their  victorious  shouts  still  resounding  in  the  woods.  A  descrip 
tion  of  Jackson  at  this  time  says :  "  The  only  order  given  by  him 
had  been  his  favourite  battle-cry,  c  Press  forward.'  This  was  his 
message  to  every  General,  and  his  answer  to  every  inquiry.  As 
he  uttered  it,  he  leaned  forward  upon  his  horse,  and  waved  his 
hand  as  though  endeavouring,  by  its  single  strength,  to  urge  for- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  213 

ward  his  whole  line.  Never  before  had  his  preoccupation  of  mind, 
and  his  insensibility  to  danger,  been  so  great.  It  was  evident  that 
he  regarded  this  as  his  greatest  victory." 

By  the  time,  however,  the  Confederates  had  reached  the  ridge 
overlooking  that  upon  which  Chancellorsville  is  situated,  about 
half  a  mile  distant,  they  were  in  very  great  confusion ;  the  divisions 
of  Eodes  and  Colston  had  been  mingled  almost  inextricably ;  the 
enemy  was  rapidly  bringing  up  artillery  to  stem  the  torrent  of  the 
pursuit.  It  was  now  past  seven  o'clock,  and  growing  dark. 
Jackson  had  already  seized  the  enemy's  breastworks,  had  taken  the 
whole  line  in  reverse,  and  had  pushed  forward  to  within  half  a  mile 
of  headquarters.  Here  it  became  necessary  to  desist  from  the 
attack,  in  order  to  re-form  the  commands ;  and  Jackson  now  pro 
ceeded  to  make  preparations  for  following  up  his  success  by  a  blow 
that  should  be  decisive.  His  design  now  was  to  swing  round  with 
his  left,  interpose  his  corps  between  Hooker's  army  and  United 
States  Ford,  and  capture  or  destroy  it,  or  be  himself  destroyed. * 
The  enemy  was  evidently  recovering  from  his  panic ;  hollow  mur 
murs  of  preparation  sounded  through  the  night ;  fifty  pieces  of 
artillery  were  concentrated  to  sweep  the  approaches  to  his  position 
at  the  first  rustle  in  the  forest  that  announced  a  new  advance  of  the 
Confederates ;  there  was  the  tramp  and  hum  of  men  moving  to 
their  allotted  positions ;  and  on  the  dark  lines,  gunners  stood  with 
lighted  port-fires  to  pour  swift  destruction  into  the  Confederate 
ranks.  A.  P.  Hill  was  now  ordered  to  move  with  his  division  to 
the  front,  and  Jackson  rode  forward  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's 
position. 

The  enemy  was  less  than  two  hundred  yards  in  front  of  his 
lines,  and  no  pickets  had  been  established.  Jackson  had  proceeded 
half  the  distance,  when  a  fire  of  musketry  on  his  front  warned  him 
of  the  enemy's  proximity.  He  turned  to  ride  hurriedly  back, 
plunging  his  horse  into  the  cover  of  the  woods.  He  had  got  within 
twenty  paces  of  his  lines,  accompanied  by  six  or  seven  riders,  when 
there  was  a  cry  of  "  cavalry,"  and  a  volley  of  musketry  for  the 

*  Some  days  before  his  death,  and  while  wounded,  Jackson,  speaking  of  the  attack 
he  had  made,  said  with  a  glow  of  martial  ardour:  "If  I  had  not  been  wounded,  I 
would  have  cut  the  enemy  off  from  the  road  to  United  States  Ford ;  we  would  have 
had  them  entirely  surrounded,  and  they  would  have  been  obliged  to  surrender  or  cut 
their  way  out — they  had  no  other  alternative." 


214  LIEUT.-GEN.    STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

moment  blinded  the  party,  their  horses  recoiling  in  panic,  some  of 
them  rushing  through  the  woods  unmanageable,  and  frantic  from 
terrour.  Several  of  the  party  fell  dead  upon  the  spot.  Jackson's 
right  hand  was  penetrated  by  a  ball,  his  left  fore-arm  lacerated  by 
another,  and  the  same  limb  broken  a  little  below  the  shoulder  by  a 
third,  which  not  only  crushed  the  bone,  but  severed  the  main 
artery.  But  he  maintained  his  seat  in  the  saddle,  quieted  his 
frantic  horse,  and  turning  to  Capt.  Wilbourne,  his  signal  officer, 
remarked  that  his  arm  was  broken,  and  requested  to  be  assisted  to 
the  ground.  As  he  was  being  lifted  from  the  saddle  he  fainted,  and 
his  feet  had  to  be  disengaged  from  the  stirrups.  To  remove  him 
from  the  spot  where  he  had  fallen  was  absolutely  necessary ;  the 
enemy  was  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  distant,  and  the  battle 
might  recommence  at  any  moment.  No  litter  or  ambulance  was 
at  hand,  and  Lieut.  Morrison,  his  aide,  exclaimed,  "  Let  us  take  the 
General  up  in  our  arms,  and  carry  him  off !  "  but  Jackson  recovered 
from  his  swoon,  and  though  very  faint  and  pale,  replied,  "No;  if 
yon  can  help  me  up,  I  can  walk."  Supported  by  the  shoulders,  he 
tottered  towards  the  road.  A  litter  was  now  procured,  but  it  had 
scarcely  begun  to  move,  when  one  of  the  bearers  was  shot  down, 
and  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  became  frightful.  The  enemy 
had  probably  perceived  some  cause  of  confusion  in  the  Confederate 
ranks,  or  suspected  that  another  attack  was  about  to  commence,  and 
now  swept  the  road  where  Jackson  lay  with  the  concentrated  fire 
of  their  heaviest  artillery.  The  bearers  of  the  litter,  and  all  Jack 
son's  attendants,  excepting  Major  Leigh,  and  Lieuts.  Smith  and 
Morrison,  fled  in  the  woods  on  either  hand  to  escape  the  fatal 
tempest.  It  was  a  weird  and  appalling  scene.  Wild  curves  of  fire 
shot  athwart  the  night  sky ;  there  were  broken  ranks  and  riderless 
horses  in  the  woods ;  and  in  the  interval  of  all  this  roar  and  confu 
sion  were  distinctly  heard  the  plaintive  notes  of  the  whippoorwills 
in  the  forest.  It  seemed  that  nothing  could  live  in  the  road,  where 
Jackson  lay  prostrate  with  his  feet  to  the  foe.  On  one  side  of 
the  sufferer  lay  Major  Leigh,  and  on  the  other  Lieut.  Smith.  The 
earth  was  torn  around  them ;  Minie-balls  flew  hissing  over  them ; 
as  the  iron  hail  fell  in  the  road,  they  could  hear  the  feet  of  Death 
pattering  around  them.  Jackson  endeavoured  to  rise,  when  Lieut. 
Smith  threw  his  arm  over  him,  and  held  him  to  the  ground,  saying, 
"Sir,  you  must  lie  still;  it  will  cost  you  your  life  if  you  rise." 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  215 

None  of  the  party  hoped  to  escape  unhurt  from  the  tempest  of  fire  ; 
and  it  appeared,  indeed,  as  if  the  spirit  of  the  great  commander 
was  to  go  out  in  that  great  diapason  of  battle,  which  rung  its 
solemn  charges  through  the  forest;  while  through  its  foliage 
escaped  the  startled  night-birds,  and  the  moonlit  sky  hung  peace 
fully  above  the  Wilderness. 

But  it  was  not  so  ordered.  Presently  the  fire  of  the  enemy 
veered  from  the  road,  and  the  devoted  officers  who  had  almost 
miraculously  escaped  death,  assisting  Jackson  to  rise,  struck  into 
the  woods,  the  General  dragging  himself  painfully  along  until  a 
litter  was  again  procured.  The  party  had  proceeded  but  a  short 
distance  when  one  of  the  litter-bearers  stumbled,  and  Jackson  fell 
upon  the  shoulder  where  the  bone  had  been  shattered.  The  pain 
must  have  been  .exquisite,  and  for  the  first  time  the  sufferer 
groaned,  and  most  piteously.  When  he  reached  the  field  hospital 
at  Wilderness  Eun,  he  was  almost  pulseless  ;  his  hands  were  cold, 
his  skin  clammy,  his  face  pale,  and  his  lips  compressed  and  blood 
less.  Stimulants  were  freely  applied,  and  the  next  morning  he  was 
free  from  pain,  and  his  physicians  were  hopeful  of  his  recovery. 

At  this  time  the  last  drama  of  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville 
was  being  enacted,  and  Lee  was  completing  the  victory  which 
Jackson  had  commenced  and  assured.  The  news  of  the  complete 
victory  was  brought  to  the  sufferer,  and  he  was  told  how  the  Stone 
wall  Brigade  had  joined  in  the  final  charge,  shouting,  u  Eemember 
Jackson ! "  and  how,  when  their  commander,  Paxton,  fell,  they 
rushed  forward,  unconscious  of  his  absence,  led,  as  it  were,  by  the 
name  which  formed  their  battle-cry.  He  was  deeply  affected  by 
the  incident.  He  said  :  "  The  men  of  that  brigade  will  be,  some 
day,  proud  to  say  to  their  children,  '  I  was  one  of  the  Stonewall 
Brigade ! ' '  Visitors  and  letters  crowded  upon  the  distinguished 
sufferer,  who  it  was  yet  hoped  would  recover.  Glen.  Lee  wrote : 
"I  have  just  received  your  note,  informing  me  that  you  were 
wounded.  I  cannot  express  my  regret  at  the  occurrence.  Could 
I  have  directed  events,  I  should  have  chosen  for  the  good  of  the 
country,  to  have  been  disabled  in  your  stead.  I  congratulate  you 
on  the  victory  which  is  due  to  your  skill  and  energy."  Upon  read 
ing  it,  Jackson  reverently  said:  "  Gen.  Lee  should  give  the  glory 
to  God." 

On  the  fifth  day  of  his  sufferings,  symptoms  of  pneumonia  were 


216  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

discovered,  and  when  the  week  passed,  his  condition  was  such  that 
his  wife,  whp  attended  him,  was  informed  that  his  recovery  was 
very  doubtful,  and  that  she  should  be  prepared  for  the  worst. 
The  prospect  of  death  produced  no  change  in  the  Christian  hero. 
When  informed  of  it  by  his  wife,  he  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and 
then  said :  "  It  will  be  infinite  gain  to  be  translated  to  heaven." 
He  advised  his  wife,  in  the  event  of  his  death,  to  return  to  her 
father's  house,  and  added,  "  You  have  a  kind  and  good  father,  but 
there  is  no  one  so  kind  and  good  as  your  Heavenly  Father."  He 
still  expressed  a  hope  of  his  recovery,  but  requested  her,  if  he 
should  die,  to  have  him  buried  in  Lexington,  in  the  Yalley  of  Yir- 
ginia.  His  exhaustion  increased  so  rapidly  that,  at  eleven  o'clock, 
Mrs.  Jackson  knelt  by  his  bed  and  told  him  that  before  the  sun 
went  down  he  would  be  with  his  Saviour.  He  replied,  "  Oh,  no  ! 
you  are  frightened,  my  child  ;  death  is  not  so  near ;  I  may  yet  get 
well."  She  fell  over  upon  the  bed,  weeping  bitterly,  and  told  him 
again  that  the  physicians  said  there  was  no  hope.  After  a  moment's 
pause  he  asked  her  to  call  Dr.  McGuire.  "  Doctor,  Anna  informs 
me  that  you  have  told  her  that  I  am  to  die  to-day ;  is  it  so  ?  " 
When  he  was  answered,  he  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  ceiling  and 
gazed  for  a  moment  or  two,  as  if  in  intense  thought,  then  replied, 
"  Yery  good,  very  good  ;  it  is  all  right." 

Col.  Pendleton  came  into  the  room  about  one  o'clock,  and  he 
asked  him,  "  Who  was  preaching  at  headquarters  to-day  ?  "  When 
told  that  the  whole  army  was  praying  for  him,  he  replied  :  "  Thank 
God !  they  are  very  kind."  He  said  :  "  It  is  the  Lord's  day ;  my 
wish  is  fulfilled.  I  have  always  desired  to  die  on  Sunday." 

That  delirium  which  appears  to  seize  upon  the  most  powerful 
organizations  in  the  moment  of  death,  began  to  affect  him.  His 
mind  began  to  fail  and  wander,  and  he  frequently  talked  as  if  in 
command  upon  the  field,  giving  orders  in  his  old  way  ;  then  the 
scene  shifted,  and  he  was  at  the  mess-table,  in  conversation  with 
members  of  his  staff;  now  with  his  wife  and  child  ;  now  at  pray 
ers  with  his  military  family.  Occasional  intervals  of  return  of  his 
mind  would  appear,  and  during  one  of  them  his  physician  offered 
him  some  brandy-and-water,  but  he  declined  it,  saying,  "  It  will 
only  delay  my  departure,  and  do  no  good  ;  I  want  to  preserve  my 
mind,  if  possible,  to  the  last."  About  half-past  one  he  was  told 
that  he  had  but  two  hours  to  live,  and  he  answered  again,  feebly 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  217 

but  firmly,  "  Very  good  ;  it  is  all  right."  A  few  moments  before  be 
died,  be  cried  out  in  bis  delirium,  "  Order  A.  P.  Hill  to  prepare  for 
action  !  pass  tbe  infantry  to  tbe  front  rapidly !  tell  Major  Hawks  " 
— then  stopped,  leaving  tbe  sentence  unfinished.  Presently  a  smile 
of  ineffable  sweetness  spread  itself  over  his  pale  face,  and  he  said 
quietly,  and  with  an  expression  as  if  of  relief,  "  Let  us  cross  over  the 
river,  and  rest  under  the  shade  of  the  trees  ;  "  and  then  without 
pain  or  the  least  struggle,  his  spirit  passed  from  earth  to  the  man 
sions  of  the  eternal  and  just. 

Gen.  Jackson's  death  was  officially  announced  to  the  army  in 
which  he  served  by  the  following  order,  which  was  issued  by  the 
Commanding  General : 

HEADQUARTERS,  ARMY  OF  NORTHERN  VIRGINIA,  May  11,  1863. 
With  deep  grief  the  Commanding-General  announces  to  the 
army  the  death  of  Lieutenant-General  T.  J.  Jackson,  who  expired 
on  the  10th  instant,  at  a  quarter-past  three  P.M.  The  daring,  skill, 
and  energy  of  this  great  and  good  soldier,  by  an  all- wise  Provi 
dence  are  now  lost  to  us.  But  while  we  mourn  his  death,  we  feel 
that  his  spirit  still  lives,  and  will  inspire  the  whole  army  with  his 
indomitable  courage  and  unshaken  confidence  in  God  as  our  hope 
and  strength.  Let  his  name  be  a  watchword  to  his  corps,  who 
have  followed  him  to  victory  on  so  many  fields.  Let  the  officers 
and  soldiers  imitate  his  invincible  determination  to  do  everything 
in  the  defense  of  our  beloved  country. 

K.  E.  LEE,  General. 

The  remains  were  carried  to  Eichmond,  which  clothed  herself 
in  mourning.  Had  a  visible  pall  overspread  the  city,  it  could  not 
have  expressed  grief  more  profound,  nor  sorrow  more  universal, 
than  that  which  filled  every  bosom  and  sat  upon  every  countenance. 
The  public  heart  was  full  of  grief  to  bursting.  The  special  train 
bearing  the  remains  advanced  into  the  city  through  an  avenue  which 
for  two  miles  was  thronged  with  multitudes  of  men  and  women.  It 
drove  slowly  up  into  the  ddpot,  the  bells  of  the  city  meanwhile 
sending  their  solemn  peals  over  the  city  and  into  thousands  of  throb 
bing  hearts.  The  coffin  was  removed  from  the  car  and  enshrouded 
with  the  flag  under  which  the  Christian  hero  fought  and  fell,  cov 
ered  with  spring  flowers  and  placed  upon  the  hearse  in  waiting. 


218  LIEUT. -GEN.    STONE  VF  ALL   JACKSON. 

The  cortege  moved  through  the  main  streets  of  the  city,  and  then 
returned  to  the  Capitol.  "When  the  hearse  reached  the  steps  of  the 
Capitol,  the  pall-bearers,  headed  by  Gen.  Longstreet,  bore  the 
corpse  into  the  hall  of  the  lower  house  of  the  Congress,  where  it 
was  placed  upon  a  species  of  altar,  draped  with  snowy  white,  be 
fore  the  Speaker's  chair.  The  coffin  was  still  enfolded  with  the 
white,  blue,  and  red,  of  the  Confederate  flag. 

Here  the  face  and  bust  of  the  dead  was  uncovered ;  and  the 
expectant  thousands  now  claimed  the  melancholy  satisfaction  of 
obtaining  the  last  look  of  the  beloved  commander.  It  was  esti 
mated  that  twenty  thousand  persons  filed  through  the  hall  to  view 
the  body  as  it  lay  in  state  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  In 
recognition  of  the  solemn  occasion  all  business  in  the  city  was 
suspended  during  the  day,  and  the  theatres  were  closed  at  night. 
The  next  morning  the  remains  were  placed  on  a  special  train  for 
Lexington,  in  charge  of  a  becoming  escort  of  officials  and  citizens, 
and  were  finally  deposited  there,  in  the  village  bury  ing-ground, 
with  nothing  but  a  green  mound  to  mark  the  place  of  final  rest. 

Of  the  last  tributes  of  a  people's  love  to  Jackson,  the  Eichmond 
Examiner  said  :  "  All  the  poor  honours  that  Virginia,  sorely  trou 
bled  and  pressed  hard,  could  afford  her  most  glorious  and  beloved 
son,  having  been  offered  to  his  mortal  part  in  this  capital,  the  fune 
ral  cortege  of  the  famous  Jackson  left  it  yesterday  morning,  on  the 
long  road  to  *  Lexington,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.'  It  was  the 
last  wish  of  the  dead  man  to  be  buried  there,  amid  the  scenes 
familiar  to  his  eyes  through  the  years  of  his  manhood,  obscure  and 
unrecorded,  but  perhaps  filled  with  recollections  to  him  not  less 
affecting  than  those  connected  with  the  brief  but  crowded  period 
passed  upon  a  grander  stage.  This  desire,  expressed  at  such  a 
time,  demanded  and  has  received  unhesitating  compliance.  Yet 
many  regret  that  his  remains  will  not  rest  in  another  spot.  Near 
this  city  is  a  hill  crowned  by  secular  oaks,  washed  by  the  waters 
of  the  river,  identified  with  what  is  great  in  the  State's  history 
from  the  days  of  Elizabeth  to  the  present  hour,  which  has  been 
well  selected  as  the  place  of  national  honour  for  the  illustrious  dead 
of  Virginia.  There  sleep  Monroe  and  Tyler.  We  have  neither  a 
Westminster  nor  a  Pantheon,  but  all  would  wish  to  see  the  best 
that  we  could  give  conferred  on  Jackson.  Hereafter,  Virginia 
will  build  him  a  stately  tomb,  and  strike  a  medal  to  secure  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  219 

memory  of  his  name  beyond  the  reach  of  accident,  if  accident 
were  possible.  But  it  is  not  possible  ;  nor  is  a  monument  neces 
sary  to  cause  the  story  of  this  man's  life  to  last  when  bronze  shall 
have  corroded  and  marble  crumbled." 


220  LIEUT.  GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

Review  of  Gen.  Jackson's  services  and  character. — True  nature  of  his  ambition. — The 
value  of  glory. — Religious  element  in  Gen.  Jackson's  character. — Peculiarity  of 
his  religious  habits. — Anecdotes. — Want  of  natural  amiability. — Harshness  of 
manner  towards  his  officers. — His  severe  idea  of  war. — Destructiveness. — His 
readiness  to  forgive. — A  touching  personal  incident. — His  self-possession  as  a  mark 
of  "  genius." — His  military  faculty  not  a  partial  one. — European  estimates  of  his 
career. — A  lesson  to  Northern  insolence  and  rancour. 

WE  have  said  Gen.  Jackson  was  a  born  soldier.  This  fur 
nishes  a  larger  and  more  thorough  insight  into  his  character  than 
any  other  observation.  "We  use  the  term  soldier,  not  merely  as 
denoting  an  aptitude  to  arms,  or  even  the  possession  of  the  military 
genius,  but  we  include  the  common  association  with  the  profession 
of  an  ardent  love  for  glory,  a  thirst  for  distinction,  a  peculiar  am 
bition,  that  values  a  name  in  history  above  the  coarser  gifts  of 
popularity  and  power.  An  ambition  so  pure  and  ideal  ran  percep 
tibly  through  the  whole  of  Jackson's  wonderful  career.  His  pas 
sion  for  renown  was  not  of  that  common  type  that  seeks  the 
tangible  gifts  of  power,  and  enjoys  the  evanescent  noises  of  popu 
larity.  He  had  not  that  order  of  mind  that  mistakes  "  a  dunce's 
puff  for  fame,"  and  the  penny-a-lines  of  the  newspaper  for  the  in 
scriptions  of  history.  His  was  an  ambition  that  valued  "  skilled 
commendation,"  and  was  not  entirely  insensible  to  the  praise  of 
his  contemporaries ;  but  which  mostly  and  chiefly  prized  the  name 
in  history — an  aspiration  after  the  ideal,  and  not  the  vulgar  hunt 
for  notoriety  and  its  gifts.  Such  an  ambition  is  consonant  with  the 
most  refined  spirit  of  Christianity ;  it  resides  in  the  depths  of  great 
minds ;  and  it  easily  escapes  observation,  because  those  moved  by 
it  are  generally  silent  men,  of  mysterious  air  and  mechanical  man 
ners,  living  within  themselves,  conscious  that  few  can  enter  into 
sympathy  with  them,  and  constantly  practising  the  art  of  impene 
trable  reserve.  The  world,  in  fact,  often  deceives  itself  in  this 
regard,  and  has  mistaken  many  prominent  actors  on  its  theatre  for 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  221 

emotionless  and  ascetic  men,  deaf  to  praise — the  mere  cold  figures 
in  a  round  of  duty — who  yet  have  been  inwardly  consumed  by  the 
fires  of  ambition,  and  have  made  daily  sacrifice  on  its  altars. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  slighting  philosophy  about  the 
emptiness  of  historic  fame ;  a  marked  tendency  in  a  superficial  and 
materialistic  school  of  morals  to  caricature  it  as  a  shadow,  and  ridi 
cule  it  as  the  object  of  a  human  life.  We  reject  this  philosophy 
with  infinite  contempt  and  irrepressible  disgust.  Nations  have 
fought  for  titles  to  fame  as  above  all  other  objects  of  contest,  and 
in  this  have  represented  but  the  aspirations  for  glory  in  the  breasts 
of  the  individuals  composing  the  society.  These  aspirations  are 
given  to  us  by  the  Creator ;  and  so  far  from  the  love  of  glory 
being  a  frailty,  it  may  be  declared  to  be  of  the  very  dignity  of  hu 
man  nature. 

The  writer  recollects  a  pretty  story  translated  from  the  French, 
which  was  published  as  a  lesson  for  the  times,  in  a  Eichmond 
newspaper  in  the  first  months  of  the  war.  A  young  man  uses 
some  shallow  and  plausible  phrases  about  glory  being  an  "empty 
sound,"  "  the  bubble  reputation,"  etc.  His  father,  a  worn  veteran, 
reproves  him ;  speaks  in  tender  and  reverential  language  of  the 
great  wars,  teaches  the  lesson  that  the  glory  of  a  nation,  that  all  the 
best  and  sentimental  parts  of  civilization,  proceed  from  its  soldiers ; 
and  declares  that  the  mutilations  and  scars  of  his  body  are  dear  as 
his  children ;  ornaments  of  his  age,  tokens  of  his  manhood,  letters 
of  his  nobility,  even  more  than  stars  and  crosses  of  diamonds  in 
the  eyes  of  his  countrymen.* 

*  The  same  journal  that  contained  this  early  lesson  of  the  war,  had  this  to  say  in 
summing  up  the  results  of  the  third  year  of  the  contest : 

"  But  this  year  is  not  without  glorious  consolations.  The  unaided  strength  and 
unbacked  courage  of  the  nation  redeemed  its  fortunes  from  the  dust,  plucked  up  its 
drowning  honour  by  the  locks,  and  tore  from  the  very  jaws  of  death  the  right  to  live 
forever.  History  will  hereafter  show  no  page  illuminated  with  more  enduring  glory 
than  those  which  record  tho  heroic  events  of  the  circle  of  months  which  end  with  this 
day.  In  these  months  of  a  forlorn  republic,  a  people  covered  with  the  opprobrium 
and  prejudice  of  the  world,  have  secured  a  place  in  the  Pantheon  of  remembered 
nations  far  above  the  most  famous.  Neither  the  story  of  Greece,  or  Rome,  or  France, 
or  England,  can  bear  a  fair  parallel  with  our  own  brief  but  most  eventful  narrative. 
Is  not  this  triumphant  crown  of  victory  worth  the  awful  price  ?  The  question  will 
be  answered  according  to  the  temperament  of  the  reader.  Many  think,  with  Sir  John, 
that  honour  cannot  cure  a  broken  leg,  and  that  all  the  national  glory  that  has  been 
won  in  battle  since  Greeks  fought  Trojans,  will  not  compensate  the  loss  of  a  beef  or 


222  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  precise  worth  of  martial  glory,  and 
however  it  may  be  measured  by  a  coarse  commercial  philosophy, 
it  is  certain  that  it  was  the  dominant  passion  of  Jackson's  life,  and 
equally  certain  that  it  detracted  nothing  from  the  beauty  and 
harmony  of  his  character,  and  made  him  none  the  less  a  man  or  a 
Christian.  The  spirit  that  courted  the  greatest  amount  of  danger 
in  the  Mexican  War  for  the  greatest  amount  of  glory,  showed 
the  same  tendency  in  the  higher  career  of  arms  from  Manassas  to 
Chancellors ville.  It  is  said,  that  when  Jackson  was  once  asked 
if  he  had  felt  no  trepidation  when  he  made  most  extraordinary 
exposures  of  his  person  in  the  battles  in  Mexico,  he  replied,  that 
the  only  anxiety  of  which  he  was  conscious  in  any  of  these  engage 
ments,  was  a  fear  lest  he  should  not  meet  danger  enough  to  make 
his  conduct  under  it  as  conspicuous  as  he  desired ;  and  as  the 
danger  grew  greater,  he  rejoiced  in  it  as  his  opportunity  for  dis 
tinction.  This  sentiment  of  the  true  soldier  survived  to  Jackson's 
last  moments,  however  emotions  of  piety  may  have  been  mingled 
with  the  ardour  and  joy  of  the  warriour. 

The  religious  element  in  Gen.  Jackson's  character  has  come  in 
for  an  undue  share  of  public  attention ;  and  indeed  one  of  his 
biographers  has  committed  the  mistake  of  taking  the  religion  of 
the  man  as  the  stand-point  of  the  entire  view,  forgetting  that  the 
interest  of  the  religious  life  is  merely  auxiliary  to  the  interest  which 
Stonewall  Jackson  has  excited  in  the  world  as  a  master  of  war. 
There  are  other  considerations  which  make  Jackson's  piety  of  very 
partial  interest.  It  is  true  that  he  was  an  enthusiast  in  religion, 
that  he  was  wonderfully  attentive  in  his  devotions,  and  that  prayer 
was  as  the  breath  of  his  nostrils.  To  one  of  his  friends  he  declared 
that  he  had  cultivated  the  habit  of  "praying  without  ceasing,"  and 
connecting  a  silent  testimony  of  devotion  with  every  familiar  act 
of  the  day.  "  Thus,"  he  said,  "  when  I  take  my  meals,  there  is 
the  grace.  When  I  take  a  draught  of  water,  I  always  pause,  as 

a  dollar.  But  the  young,  the  brave,  the  generous  will  everywhere  judge  that  the 
exercise  and  exhibition  in  this  year  of  the  noblest  virtues  has  been  more  than  worth 
the  misfortunes  which  have  marked  its  progress. 

"  Sound  the  clarion,  fill  the  fife ; 
To  a  sensual  world  proclaim, 
One  crowded  hour  of  glorious  life 
Is  worth  an  age  without  a  name !  " 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL   JACKSON.  223 

my  palate  receives  the  refreshment,  to  lift  up  my  heart  to  God  in 
thanks  and  prayer  for  the  water  of  life.  "Whenever  I  drop  a  letter 
in  the  box,  I  send  a  petition  along  with  it,  for  God's  blessing  upon 
its  mission,  and  upon  the  person  to  whom  it  is  sent.  When  I 
break  the  seal  of  a  letter  just  received,  I  stop  to  pray  to  God  that 
He  may  prepare  me  for  its  contents,  and  make  it  a  messenger  of 
good."  But  notwithstanding  the  extreme  fervour  of  Jackson's 
religion,  it  is  remarkable  that  he  kept  it  for  certain  places  and  com 
panies  ;  that  he  was  disposed  to  be  solitary  in  its  exercise ;  and  that 
he  was  singularly  innocent  of  that  Cromwellian  fanaticism  that 
mixes  religious  invocations  with  orders  and  utterances  on  a  battle 
field.  He  prayed  in  his  tent ;  he  delighted  in  long  talks  on  reli 
gion  with  the  many  clergymen  who  visited  him ;  he  poured  out 
the  joys  and  aspirations  of  his  faith  in  his  private  correspondence ; 
but  he  seldom  introduced  religion  into  the  ordinary  conversation 
of  his  military  life,  and  he  exhibited  this  side  of  his  character  in 
the  army  in  scarcely  anything  more  than  Sunday  services  in  his 
camp,  and  a  habitual  brief  line  in  all  his  official  reports  acknowl 
edging  the  Divine  favour.  He  was  very  attentive  to  these  out 
ward  observances ;  but  his  religious  habit  was  shy  and  solitary ; 
he  had  none  of  the  activity  of  the  priest ;  we  hear  but  little  of 
his  work  in  the  hospitals,  of  private  ministrations  by  the  death 
bed,  and  of  walks  and  exercises  of  active  charity.  In  his  military 
intercourse  he  was  the  military  commander ;  and  though  he  often 
visibly  prayed  on  the  battle-field,  it  was  in  invariable  silence,  and 
he  never  mixed  the  audible  exhortations  of  religion  with  the  clear 
and  ringing  notes  of  his  orders  for  the  charge.  Such  a  mixture 
we  think  is  always  of  questionable  taste,  and  sometimes  borders 
on  irreverence.  Thus  it  is  related  of  one  of  Jackson's  former  pas 
tors  who  had  a  military  education  and  commanded  his  artillery, 
that  in  one  of  the  early  battles  of  the  war,  before  delivering  the 
fire  of  his  batteries  upon  the  enemy,  he  exclaimed :  "  May  we 
kill  a  thousand  of  them,  and  may  God  have  mercy  on  their  souls !  " 
If  such  utterance  is  authentic,  we  think  there  is  something  im 
proper  and  distasteful  in  it. 

The  life  of  Jackson  is,  indeed,  so  copious  of  anecdote,  particu 
larly  with  reference  to  his  religious  habit,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
choose  from  the  mass  of  minor  narratives,  those  most  indicative  of 
the  character  of  the  man.  Among  his  curious  rules  of  Christian 


224  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

discipline  was  one  which  required,  whenever  the  usual  Sunday  ex 
ercises  were  omitted  in  his  command,  from  the  exigencies  of  the 
campaign,  that  some  other  day  of  the  week  should  be  set  apart  for 
religious  services,  to  be  performed  in  all  respects  as  on  the  Sabbath. 
One  of  these  occasions  occurred  in  the  forced  and  hurried  march 
from  McDowell,  so  necessary  a  preliminary  to  what  followed  of 
the  Yalley  campaign ;  and  the  next  Tuesday  was  appointed  for 
preaching  and  services  in  the  camp.  Capt.  Alfriend,  a  gallant 
young  Virginian,  in  Jackson's  command,  relates  that  in  the  morn 
ing  of  this  day.  he  was  met  some  distance  from  his  camp  by  the 
great  commander,  who  rode  towards  him,  unattended,  and  asked 
briefly  " if  there  was  preaching  going  on."  "I  do  not  know,"  re 
plied  Capt.  A.  "  Show  me  to  your  colonel's  headquarters,  sir," 
rejoined  Jackson.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  when  their  notice 
was  attracted  to  a  multitude  of  men  standing  in  the  open  air,  pay 
ing  respectful  attention  to  a  sermon  of  a  favourite  chaplain,  Mr. 
Mcllvain.  Seeing  this,  a  spectacle  so  gratifying  to  his  solicitude, 
Jackson  said,  with  a  smile  of  satisfaction,  "  Ah !  it's  all  right ;  " 
and  turning  to  his  young  companion  with  the  winning  and  half- 
playful  expression  he  sometimes  wore,  he  remarked,  "  And  now, 
Capt.  A.,  won't  you  promise  to  know  there  is  preaching  next  time 
by  going  yourself  to  hear  it."  The  manner  of  this  simple  remark 
was  so  touching  and  solicitous,  that  Capt.  Alfriend  declared  that 
never  thereafter,  in  the  course  of  a  long  and  stormy  experience  as 
a  soldier,  did  he  omit  an  occasion  to  attend  religious  services  in  his 
command.  He  describes  with  the  pathos  of  a  noble  heart  the  im 
pression  made  upon  him,  as  Jackson,  after  the  conversation  just 
related,  dismounted,  fastened  his  horse  to  a  neighbouring  tree,  and 
then  proceeded  to  the  gathering  around  the  preacher,  standing 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  his  own  men,  a  common  worshipper, 
claiming  the  common  privilege  of  hearing  the  word  of  God.  The 
day  had  been  showery,  and  just  as  the  benediction  was  pronounced 
there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  rain ;  but  despite  this,  as  the  solemn 
words  were  pronounced,  Jackson's  head  was  uncovered,  the  rug 
ged  shoulders  bowed  to  the  pitiless  storm,  and  in  that  attitude  of 
humility  the  figure  of  the  illustrious  General,  doing  common  rev 
erence  to  his  Maker  with  the  soldiers  of  his  command,  constituted 
a  picture  more  truly  sublime  than  when  he  stood  on  the  battle's' 
crest  and  challenged  all  that  men  could  do. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  225 

Among  all  the  Confederate  commanders  Jackson  was  most  re 
markable  for  his  courtesy  to  the  private  soldiers  of  his  command. 
He  never  failed  to  return  the  salute  of  the  humblest  man,  and  to 
touch  his  cap  with  uniform  precision.  Once  on  the  march  in 
the  Valley,  he  came  upon  a  private  separated  from  his  command, 
whose  face  had  been  horribly  disfigured  by  a  musket-ball  that  had 
traversed  it.  He  was  no  straggler,  but  was  evidently  doing  tiis 
best  on  the  march.  Jackson  rode  up  to  him  and  asked  the  name 
of  his  regiment.  The  man  replied.  "  Where  were  you  wounded  ?" 
was  the  next  question.  "  Yesterday,  at  Port  Republic,  General." 
Raising  his  cap,  and  with  an  air  that  thrilled  the  poor  soldier,  Jack 
son  said  :  "  I  thank  you  for  your  gallantry."  These  six  words 
were  a  scroll  of  fame  that  many  men  would  have  died  for. 

Gen.  Jackson,  despite  such  examples  of  courtesy  as  we  have 
just  related,  did  not  have  that  natural  amiability  which  was  the 
charm  of  Lee's  character ;  and  his  intercourse  with  his  officers  in 
matters  of  duty,  was  in  striking  contrast  to  the  generosity  of  the 
latter  towards  his  subordinates,  and  his  forbearance  of  censure 
almost  to  that  point  where  such  forbearance  ceases  to  be  a  virtue. 
In  everything  that  concerned  duty  Jackson  was  stern  and  exacting ; 
he  was  slow  to  admit  excuses ;  laborious  himself,  he  expected  of 
all  his  officers  prompt  and  precise  execution  of  whatever  work  was 
assigned  them.  The  man  who  was  so  gentle  in  his  intercourse  in 
times  of  peace,  who  was  so  mild  in  ordinary  companies,  was  the 
very  picture  of  severity  on  the  battle-field ;  he  appeared  then  to 
be  translated  into  another  being — a  passionate,  distinct,  harsh  com 
mander,  whose  sharp  and  strident  orders  were  as  inexorable  as 
messengers  of  fate.  He  was  naturally  of  a  very  high  temper ;  he 
was  irascible  and  domineering;  and  it  required  all  the  grace  of  his 
Christian  character  and  the  severest  discipline  of  his  religion  to  keep 
within  bounds  his  impulses  of  anger.  He  never  hesitated  to  cen 
sure  freely  the  conduct  of  the  officers  with  whom  he  was  associated. 
When  Gen.  Loring,  by  withdrawing  from  Romney,  defeated  Jack 
son's  early-plan  of  expelling  the  enemy  from  a  large  portion  of 
the  Valley  district,  and  relieving  some  six  or  seven  counties,  the 
latter  showed  an  almost  excessive  resentment  by  tendering  his  resig 
nation,  and  went  to  the  extent  of  declaring  that  Loring  ought  to  be 
cashiered.  At  another  period  of  his  campaign  in  the  Valley,  on 
Banks'  retreat  across  the  Potomac,  Ashby  came  under  the  displeas- 

15 


226  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

ure  of  his  commander,  and  was  charged  with  remissness  in  the 
pursuit ;  but  happily  Ashby  made  abundant  reparation  before  his 
death,  and  Gen.  Jackson  wrote  in  his  official  report  an  extraordi 
nary  tribute  to  the  fallen  cavalier. 

Having  no  sense  of  danger  himself,  or  at  least  holding  it  in  no 
estimation  by  the  side  of  his  duty  and  pride,  Gen.  Jackson  never 
could  bear  the  least  word  on  that  subject  from  any  of  his  officers. 
To  any  expostulation  of  peril,  his  manner  was  stern  and  terrible 
beyond  description.  At  Malvern  Hill,  which  was  rather  a  bloody 
combat  than  a  scientific  battle,  he  ordered  one  of  his  officers  to 
take  a  brigade  across  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  enemy's  works. 
The  officer  protested  that  it  was  impossible ;  that  his  command  could 
not  live  through  such  a  storm  of  fire.  Jackson  turned  to  him  a 
countenance  rigid  with  displeasure,  and  in  a  low  and  intense  tone 

said,  "  General ,  I  always  endeavour  to  take  care  of  my 

wounded  and  to  bury  my  dead ;  you  have  heard  my  order ;  obey 
it."  Even  in  his  last  appearance  on  the  field  of  battle — when  sup 
posed  to  be  dying  in  the  tangles  of  the  Wilderness — he  showed  his 
old  fierce  impatience  at  the  least  suggestion  of  retreat.  Hearing 
one  of  his  brigadiers  say  that  his  lines  were  so  badly  broken*  that 
he  would  have  to  fall  back,  he  raised  his  wounded  form,  and  with 
eyes  glittering  with  pain  and  anger,  said  sharply,  "  You  must  hold 
your  ground,  sir."  It  was  the  last  order  he  ever  gave  on  the  field 
of  battle. 

It  may  readily  be  inferred  from  Gen.  Jackson's  stern  character 
as  a  warriour,  and  his  intense  realization  of  the  struggle,  that  he 
was  a  stranger  to  all  weak  sentimentalism ;  that  he  hesitated  at 
none  of  the  harsh  necessities  of  war;  that  he  regarded  it  as  a  fierce 
competition  of  life  with  life ;  that  he  was  averse  to  much  of  the  osten 
tation  and  refinement  of  arms.  Not  that  he  was  destitute  of 
chivalry,  or  of  the  fine  emotions  of  magnanimity  to  the  conquered. 
On  the  contrary,  he  was  noted  for  his  generosity  to  prisoners,  his 
indisposition  to  exult  over  an  adversary,  and  the  moderate  state 
ment  of  his  victories.  But  his  idea  of  war  was  wounds,  death,  the 
shedding  of  blood.  He  appears  to  have  had  the  same  gloomy  con 
ception  as  Forrest,  the  brilliant  and  destructive  cavalry  chief  of  the 
West:  "his  men  fought  for  blood."  On  one  occasion,  when  he 
was  falling  back  from  Winchester,  three  Federal  cavalrymen  per 
formed  an  inexplicable  feat  of  daring  in  charging  through  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  227 

whole  length  of  one  of  his  brigades.  Two  of  them  were  shot  from 
their  horses.  Col.  Patton,  giving  the  details  of  the  incident  to 
Jackson,  said  he  would  have  prevented  the  troops  from  firing  on 
these  audacious  men  if  he  could  have  controlled  them ;  they  were 
brave  men  who  had  got  into  a  desperate  situation,  where  it  was  as 
easy  to  capture  them  as  to  kill  them.  Jackson's  reply  was  brief 
and  cold.  "  Shoot  them  all,"  he  said  ;  "  I  don't  want  them  to  be 
brave." 

These  were  not  the  utterances  of  a  hard  heart,  or  the  indica 
tion  of  a  cruel  disposition.  They  were  nothing  more  than  the 
expression  of  the  severe  and  supreme  idea  of  war.  Of  all  high 
Confederate  commanders,  Gen.  Jackson  appears  to  have  been  most 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  fierce  and  relentless  war.  He  realized 
fully  that  it  was  quite  vain  to  court  the  enemy  with  shows  of  mag 
nanimity,  and  that  the  only  way  to  deal  with  a  horde  of  invaders 
was  by  examples  of  terrour  and  lessons  of  blood.  Yet  no  one  was 
more  attentive  to  the  proper  courtesies  of  war,  and  in  no  breast 
bared  to  the  conflict  resided  a  finer  spirit  of  humanity.  Judgment 
with  him  took,  precedence  of  the  sensibilities,  and  the  commands  of 
necessity  were  broadly  translated  into  the  lessons  of  duty. 

It  may  naturally  be  supposed  that  with  Jackson's  disposition 
to  censure  the  officers  connected  with  his  command  and  the  exac 
tions  he  made  in  severe  discipline  and  hard  service  he  incurred 
many  personal  enmities  in  the  army,  and  suffered  not  a  little  from 
recriminations.  This  was  especially  so  before  he  mounted  to  the 
height  of  his  reputation,  and  fought  the  daring  and  luminous  cam 
paign  of  the  Yalley.  At  one  time  detractors  were  busy  with  his 
name,  and  his  reputation  trembled  between  that  of  the  great  man 
and  that  of  the  weak-brained  adventurer.  At  Port  Eepublic  he 
passed  the  crisis  of  greatness — that  nice  line  in  the  career  of  genius 
where  doubt  and  envy  cease  and  the  popular  admiration  be 
comes  irresistible.  But  whatever  personal  animosities  at  any  time 
attended  his  military  career,  the  great  commander  had  not  only 
the  sublime  Christian  power  to  forgive,  but  to  him  who  confessed 
his  errour,  he  was  at  once  a  tender  and  affectionate  friend. 

A  touching  relation  is  given  by  an  intimate  friend  of  one  of 
these  acts  of  reconciliation.  It  was  the  night  after  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  and  Jackson,  who  had  just  come  from  a  council 
of  war,  where  he  had  given  the  grim  and  laconic  advice  to  drive 


228  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON. 

the  crippled  enemy  into  'the  river,  and  consequently  expected  a 
renewal  of  the  contest  in  the  morning,  was  engaged  in  meditation 
and  prayer  in  his  tent,  as  was  his  invariable  custom,  whenever 
circumstances  allowed  it,  before  the  hour  of  battle.  About  mid 
night  the  sound  of  horses'  hoofs  was  heard,  a  messenger  from  Gen. 
Maxcy  Gregg  was  announced,  and  an  officer  appearing  at  the  open 
ing  of  the  tent  saluted  Jackson,  and  said :  "  Gen.  Gregg  is  dying, 
General,  and  sent  me  to  say  to  you  that  he  wrote  you  a  letter 
recently  in  which  he  used  expressions  he  is  now  sorry  for.  He 
says  that  he  meant  no  disrespect  by  that  letter,  and  was  only  doing 
what  he  considered  his  duty.  He  hopes  you  will  forgive  him." 
There  was  a  moment  of  silence,  as  when  a  noble  heart  is  touched 
by  inexpressible  emotions;  and  then  turning  to  the  messenger,  Jack 
son  said :  "  Tell  Gen.  Gregg  I  will  be  with  him  immediately."  In 
a  moment  his  horse  was  saddled  and  Jackson  rode  silently  out  in 
the  dark  and  bitter  night  on  his  errand  of  forgiveness  and  consola 
tion.  What  passed  between  the  two  officers — what  of  prayer  and 
comfort  was  spoken  in  the  solemn  farewell — is  not  known  to  mortals. 
The  spirits  of  both  have  met  since  and  forever  in  the  world  be 
yond  the  grave. 

Summing  the  exploits,  and  fairly  regarding  the  character  of 
Jackson,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  was  a  great  man  in  the  highest 
sense  of  those  words.  He  had  genius.  All  his  campaigns  showed 
one  remarkable  trait :  an  almost  infallible  insight  into  the  condi 
tion  and  temper  of  his  adversary.  He  was  never  successfully  sur 
prised  ;  he  was  never  routed  in  battle ;  he  never  had  a  train  or 
any  organized  portion  of  his  army  captured  by  the  enemy ;  he  was 
always  ready  to  fight ;  and  he  never  made  intrenchments.  There 
is  among  men  of  action  perhaps  no  more  striking  evidence  of  that 
subtile  quality  of  mind,  genius,  than  a  perfect  self-possession  in 
circumstances  which  surprise  and  alarm  ordinary  persons ;  for  it  is 
the  peculiarity  of  genius  to  act  with  intuition  and  rapidity,  to  make 
instant  combinations,  and  to  obtain  advantage  of  mere  intellect, 
by  planning  and  executing,  while  the  latter  has  taken  time  to 
meditate.  Jackson  was  supreme  in  his  self-possession;  never 
more  calm  and  complacent  than  when  beset  by  circumstances 
which  to  his  companions  in  arms  were  the  occasions  of  the  utmost 
trepidation.  When  his  little  army  was  nearly  cut  to  pieces  at 
Kernstown,  he  bivouacked  it,  the  night  after  the  battle,  close 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL  JACKSON.  229 

enough  to  the  lines  of  the  victour  to  hear  the  conversation  of  the 
Federal  soldiers  at  their  camp-fires,  and  went  to  sleep  in  a  fence- 
corner  with  as  much  unconcern  as  if  there  were  no  enemy  within 
a  hundred  miles.  At  Harper's  Ferry  a  courier  dashed  into  his 
presence  with  the  alarming  intelligence  that  McClellan's  whole 
army  was  within  a  few  miles  of  him.  The  news  was  more  than 
probable ;  it  would  have  been  literally  true  if  the  Federal  army 
had  not  been  delayed  in  the  mountain  passes  by  the  tenacious  and 
almost  superhuman  courage  of  a  small  Confederate  force.  Jackson 
received  the  report  perfectly  at  his  ease ;  with  such  calmness,  indeed, 
as  to  abash  the  messenger,  and  only  called  after  him,  as  he  was 
retiring,  to  know  "  whether  McClellan  had  a  drove  of  cattle  with 
him,"  as  if  anticipating  the  capture  of  so  much  subsistence  for  his 
almost  starving  army. 

A  certain  popular  opinion  has  gained  ground  that  Jackson's 
military  faculty  was  a  partial  one ;  that  he  was  splendid  in  execu 
tion  of  any  work  designated  for  him,  and  was  thus  an  important 
auxiliary  of  Lee,  but  that  he  was  but  little  competent  to  originate 
and  plan.  This  estimate  is  unjust,  and  has  no  foundation  what 
ever  in  fact.  Jackson  had  all  the  qualities  of  a  great  General,  and 
the  war  produced  no  military  genius  more  complete,  or  more 
diversified  in  its  accomplishments.  He  planned  as  brilliantly  as 
he  executed.  His  campaign  in  the  Valley  (although  the  general 
design  was  inspired  by  Johnston)  was  an  independent  one,  and  is 
remarkable  for  its  clear-cut  plan,  and  movements  as  precise  in 
their  adjustment  as  a  diagram  of  Euclid.  The  great  stroke  of  gen 
eralship  at  Chancellorsville — the  flank  attack  that  came  from  the 
Wilderness  as  a  blaze  of  lightning — originated  with  Jackson,  and 
not  with  Gen.  Lee.  It  was  proposed  by  the  former  in  a  council  of 
war,  and  was  but  a  repetition  of  those  sudden  and  mortal  blows, 
which,  dealt  in  the  crisis  of  the  contest,  had  made  all  his  victories, 
and  completed  the  circle  of  his  fame. 

The  death  of  Gen.  Jackson  was  an  irreparable  loss  to  the  Con 
federacy  ;  and  even  in  distant  communities  it  was  mourned  as 
the  extinction  of  one  of  the  great  men  of  the  world.  His  fame 
extended  to  the  most  cultivated  parts  of  Europe,  and  the  severe 
press  of  the  Old  World  freely  admitted  him  into  the  company  of 
the  greatest  characters  of  history.  The  London  Times  had  desig 
nated  him  as  the  "  Heaven-born  General "  of  the  Confederacy. 


230  LIEUT.-GEN.   STONEWALL   JACKSON. 

The  London  Herald  held  up  his  great  fame,  in  contrast  to  the 
barren  boastfulness  of  the  North,  and  said:  "The  Northern 
Kepublic  has  produced  no  heroes  of  the  stamp  of  Jackson.  One 
such  man  might  be  the  salvation  of  them  yet.  Blatant  dema 
gogues  at  home,  bragging  imbeciles  in  the  field,  afford  a  spectacle 
so  absurd,  yet  so  painful,  that  Europe  knows  not  whether  to  laugh 
or  weep  at  the  degradation  of  her  children.  The  Northerners 
want  a  man  to  do  a  man's  work.  The  only  great  men  of  the  war 
have  been  developed  in  the  South" 

At  a  public  meeting  held  in  England,  this  resolution  was  put 
on  record:  "That  we  have  heard  with  profound  regret  of  the 
death  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson,  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  North  America;  a  man  of  pure  and  upright  mind, 
devoted  as  a  citizen  to  his  duty,  cool  and  brave  as  a  soldier,  able  and 
energetic  as  a  leader,  of  whom  his  opponents  say  he  was  c  sincere 
and  true  and  valiant.'  "  "We  quote  this  language  not  only  for  its 
clear  sum  of  Jackson's  qualities,  but  for  its  peculiar  allusion  to  the 
testimony  of  that  enemy,  against  whom  the  dead  hero  had  con 
tended  in  honourable  arms.  The  tribute  was  taken  as  the  generous 
admission  of  an  antagonist ;  the  rancour  and  insolence  of  the  con 
queror  may  recall  it,  and  entitle  Jackson  "  the  rebel ; "  but  the 
world  will  think  the  greatest  victory  on  the  part  of  the  North,  the 
highest  gift  of  peace,  the  most  enduring  fruit  of  reconciliation, 
would  have  been  to  have  won  such  names  as  Jackson  and  Lee 
for  the  common  glory  of  America,  to  have  made  the  heroes  of  the 
South  the  heroes  of  the  nation,  and  to  have  woven  a  common 
ornament  of  whatever  was  brilliant  and  admirable  on  both  sides 
of  a  war  distressful  and  deplorable  in  every  respect  except  in 
its  examples  of  genius  and  heroism. 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T,  BEAUREGARD. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Early  life  of  P.  GT.  T.  Beauregard. — His  gallantry  and  promotions  in  the  Mexican  "War. — 
Life  in  Louisiana. — Appointment  in  the  Confederate  Army. — Defences  of  Charles 
ton. — Battle  of  Fort  Sumter. — Gen.  Beauregard  takes  command  in  Virginia. — His 
contempt  of  "  the  Yankees." — A  grotesque  letter. — Popular  sentiment  concerning 
the  war. — Explanation  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of  the  Union  party  in  the 
South. — G-en.  Beauregard's  declaration  of  the  purposes  of  the  war. — "  Beauty  and 
Booty." — A  Northern  journal  on  Butler  vs.  Beauregard. — Battle  of  Manassas. — 
Complimentary  letter  from  President  Davis. — The  popularity  of  Gen.  Beauregard 
alarms  the  vanity  of  the  President. — A  scandalous  quarrel. — Gen.  Beauregard's 
political  "card"  in  the  Richmond  newspapers. 

A  NORTHERN  periodical,  commenting  upon  the  most  active 
period  of  the  late  war,  remarked :  "No  one  who  reads  the  volumi 
nous  reports  of  Scott's  campaign  in  Mexico  can  fail  to  observe 
the  frequency  with  which  special  honourable  mention  is  made  of 
three  young  officers  of  engineers — Captain  K.  E.  Lee,  First-Lieu 
tenant  Beauregard,  and  brevet  Second-Lieutenant  G.  B.  McClellan. 
Lee  seems  to  have  been  the  special  favourite  of  the  veteran  General. 

The  careful  reader  of  the  whole  series  of  dispatches 

respecting  the  campaign  in  Mexico  will  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  three  men  who,  after  the  veteran  General,  displayed  the 
highest  military  talents,  were  the  three  young  officers  of  engineers : 
Lee,  Beauregard,  and  McClellan." 

The  second  of  this  trio  of  celebrities,  Peter  Gustavus  Toutant 
Beauregard,  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  Bernard,  Louisiana,  in 
May,  1818.  His  father  was  James  Toutant  Beauregard,  of  French 
descent,  and  his  mother,  Mary  Helen  Judith  de  Reggio,  a  lady  of 
Italian  descent. 

The  early  history  of  Louisiana  contains  the  names  of  his  ances 
tors.  Both  on  his  father's  and  mother's  sides  they  occupied  con- 


232          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

spicuous  positions  in  the  new  settlement  of  the  post  of  New 
Orleans. 

After  preliminary  studies  in  New  Orleans,  Beauregard's  parents 
sent  him  to  the  school  kept  by  the  brothers  Peugnet,  New  York 
city.  These  gentlemen  were  both  ex-captains  of  the  French  ser 
vice  :  one  a  graduate  of  the  Polytechnic  School,  the  other  of  the 
cavalry  school  at  Saumur. 

The  school  of  Peugnet  &  Brothers  was  well  known  at  the 
North  as  the  "  French  school,"  and  acquired  an  extensive  reputa 
tion  as  a  "  Commercial  and  Mathematical  School."  Young  Beau- 
regard  remained  there  a  few  years,  when,  in  1834,  he  was  appointed 
a  cadet  in  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point.  In  1838,  he 
graduated  second  in  his  class,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  According  to 
the  West  Point  regulations,  those  five  who  take  the  highest  honours 
are  entitled  to  the  selection  of  that  arm  of  the  service  for  which 
they  suppose  themselves  most  capable.  Beauregard  selected  the 
engineer  corps,  and  thus,  in  the  inception  of  his  real  life,  exhibited 
a  consciousness  of  his  peculiar  abilities,  which  the  future  so  splen 
didly  indorsed. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  Mexico,  in  1846,  after 
repeated  applications  to  the  Department  at  Washington,  he  was 
allowed  to  take  a  part  in  it.  He  served  through  the  war  as  a 
lieutenant  of  engineers;  he  fortified  Tampico,  and  was  twice 
breveted  for  gallant  conduct  and  meritorious  services:  once  for 
Contreras  and  Churubusco,  and  another  time  for  Chapultepec 
and  the  Garita  of  Belen. 

At  the  siege  of  Yera  Cruz  he  selected  the  sites  of  most  of  the 
batteries  which  reduced  that  city  after  a  siege  of  about  two 
weeks. 

At  the  attack  on  Chapultepec,  Lieut.  Beauregard  was  engineer 
officer  to  Gen.  Pillow,  commanding  the  attack.  During  the  assault, 
as  the  columns  were  awaiting  the  ladders,  etc.,  to  throw  into  and 
across  the  ditches  of  the  citadel,  Lieut.  Beauregard,  noticing  Lieut- 
Col.  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  of  the  voltigeur  regiment,  placing  his 
troops  in  position,  not  far  off,  and  encouraging  them  under  the 
tremendous  fire  of  the  garrison,  took  a  rifle  from  the  hands  of  one 
of  the  soldiers  near  him,  and  said  to  Johnston :  "  What  will  you 
bet  on  this  shot?  "  The  latter  answered :  "One  picayune,  payable 
in  the  city  of  Mexico."  Lieut.  Beauregard  aimed  deliberately,  and 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          233 

fired,  when  he  said,  "  I  have  won,  and  you  will  have  to  pay,"  which 
Johnston  did  a  few  days  afterwards. 

It  was  the  advice  of  Lieut.  Beauregard,  which,  in  opposition  to 
the  opinion  of  a  council  of  war,  decided  on  the  side  and  manner  in 
which  the  city  of  Mexico  should  be  attacked.  Ex-President  Pierce 
well  remembers,  that  at  that  council  he  asked  to  reconsider  his 
vote,  after  Lieut.  Beauregard  had  expressed  his  views  on  the 
subject;  which  example  was  followed  by  several  of  the  other 
opponents. 

On  his  return  from  Mexico,  Beauregard,  now  a  major  by 
brevet,  resumed  his  duties  in  the  engineer  service,  being  stationed 
at  New  Orleans.  He  was  also  intrusted  with  the  superintendence 
of  the  construction  of  the  New  Orleans  custom-house  and  marine 
hospital,  which  to  this  day  testify  to  his  efficiency  as  an  engineer 
and  architect.  The  Government  does  not  possess  in  any  locality 
more  suitable  or  more  handsome  monuments  of  its  magnificence. 

Selected  by  President  Buchanan,  inNovember§1860,  as  Super 
intendent  of  West  Point,  Beauregard  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
position  in  January,  1861,  with  the  rank  of  colonel ;  but  soon  after 
learning  of  the  secession  of  Louisiana,  he  resigned,  and  returned  to 
cast  his  lot  with  that  of  his  native  State. 

When  war  appeared  imminent,  the  evidences  of  talent  displayed 
by  Col.  Beauregard  could  not  be  overlooked  ;  and  after  offering  his 
services  to  the  Confederate  States  Government,  he  was  ordered  to 
take  command,  as  Brigadier-General  at  Charleston,  where  he  con 
structed  batteries  to  command  the  entrance  into  that  harbour,  and, 
if  necessary,  reduce  Fort  Sumter,  then  held  by  the  Federal  forces. 

One  remarkable  feature  connected  with  the  reduction  of  that 
fort  was  the  use  of  an  "  iron-clad  floating  battery."  From  this 
sprang  the  Merrimac  and  the  monitors,  and  consequences  influ 
encing  war  on  the  ocean  never  before  dreamed  of.  The  first  iron, 
riveted  battery  was  also  used  at  this  siege. 

Fort  Sumter  is  famous  and  interesting  as  the  opening  scene  of 
hostilities ;  and'  the  story  of  its  battle  is  essentially  connected  with 
an  act  of  treachery  on  the  part  of  the  Federal  Government.  When 
South  Carolina  seceded  from  the  Union,  December  20,  1860,  the 
event  was  celebrated  in  Charleston  by  a  grand  banquet ;  and  while 
festivity  prevailed,  and  an  unsuspicious  community  feasted  or  slept, 
Major  Anderson,  commanding  the  Federal  forces  in  the  harbour, 


234:  GENERAL  PETER  G.   T.   BEAUREGARD. 

abandoned  Fort  Moultrie  at  midnight,  spiked  the  guns,  and  con 
veyed  all  his  men  and  stores  to  Fort  Sumter.  This  treacherous  and 
menacing  act,  done  in  the  face  of  a  pledge  from  President  Buchanan 
that  the  existing  military  status  should  undergo  no  change  in  South 
Carolina,  greatly  incensed  the  State  authorities,  alarmed  the  whole 
South,  and  so  scandalized  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration,  that  Mr. 
Floyd  of  "Virginia,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Thompson  of  Mississippi, 
withdrew  from  his  cabinet  in  indignation  and  disgust. 

Soon  after  President  Lincoln's  inauguration,  commissioners  from 
the  Confederate  government,  just  established  at  Montgomery,  pro 
ceeded  to  Washington  to  urge  a  peaceable  separation,  and  to  nego 
tiate  for  the  transfer  of  government  property,  and,  in  particular, 
for  the  removal  of  the  Federal  garrisons  from  Forts  Pickens  and 
Sumter.  They  were  told  by  Mr.  Seward,  that  to  treat  with  them 
avowedly  and  officially  might  embarrass  the  administration  of  Mr. 
Lincoln ;  but  they  were  assured,  through  an  intermediate  party, 
that  all  would  yet  be  well,  that  the  military  status  of  the  South 
would  be  undisturbed,  and  that  Sumter  would  be  evacuated.  These 
assurances  proved  treacherous ;  they  were  only  a  trick  to  gain  time 
for  collecting  armaments,  and  preparing  measures  of  war  against 
the  South. 

On  the  8th  of  April,  1861,  an  expedition  started  from  New 
York  to  convey  "provisions  to  the  starving  garrison"  of  Sumter; 
but  it  consisted  of  eleven  vessels,  with  an  aggregate  of  285  guns, 
and  2,400  men.  It  was  evidently  designed  to  provoke  a  collision, 
and  it  speedily  had  that  effect. 

This  brief  story  of  Sumter  explains  the  artifice  by  which  the 
Federal  government,  having  deceived  the  South,  and  outraged  its 
confidence,  induced  it  at  last  to  take  the  initiatory  step  of  resistance, 
and  thus  gave  it  the  colour  of  commencing  the  war.  If  the  first 
shot  was  fired  by  the  South,  the  occasion  that  provoked  it  was 
given  by  the  North ;  and  so  on  the  side  of  the  latter  was  the  first 
military  aggression,  and  the  true  responsibility  for  the  war. 
Apprised  of  the  intentions  of  the  Federal  government,  and  ordered, 
by  a  dispatch  from  Montgomery,  to  demand  the  evacuation  of  Fort 
Sumter,  Gen.  Beauregard  communicated  with  Major  Anderson, 
offering  him  the  honourable  terms  of  transferring  his  garrison  to 
any  post  in  the  United  States  he  might  elect,  and  saluting  his  flag 
on  taking  it  down.  Anderson  refused  to  surrender ;  and  to  show 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          235 

to  the  last  his  desire  to  avoid  a  conflict  of  arms,  and  the  effusion 
of  blood,  Gen.  Beauregard  sent  him  a  second  proposal  in  the  follow 
ing  words : 

HEADQUARTERS  PROVISIONAL  'ARMY,  C.S.A., 
CHARLESTON,  April  11,  1861,  11  P.M. 

MAJOR  : — In  consequence  of  the  verbal  observations  made  by 
you  to  my  aides,  Messrs.  Chestnut  and  Lee,  in  relation  to  the  con 
dition  of  your  supplies,  and  that  you  would  in  a  few  days  be 
starved  out  if  our  guns  did  not  batter  you  to  pieces — or  words  to 
that  effect — and  desiring  no  useless  effusion  of  blood,  I  commu 
nicated  both  the  verbal  observation  and  your  written  answer  to  my 
communication  to  my  Government.  If  you  will  state  the  time  at 
which  you  will  evacuate  Fort  Sumter,  and  agree  that  in  the  mean 
time  you  will  not  use  your  guns  against  us,  unless  ours  shall  be 
employed  against  Fort  Sumter,  we  will  abstain  from  opening  fire 
upon  you.  Col.  Chestnut  and  Capt.  Lee  are  authorized  by  me  to 
enter  into  such  agreement  with  you.  You  are,  therefore,  requested 
to  communicate  to  them  an  open  answer. 

I  remain,  Major,  very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD, 

Major. -General  commanding. 

Anderson  replied  by  agreeing  to  evacuate  Fort  Surnter  on  the 
15th  April,  unless  he  should  receive,  prior  to  that  time,  controlling 
instructions  from  his  Government,  or  additional  supplies.  This 
stipulation  not  being  considered  satisfactory,  as  a  fleet  with  supplies 
and  reinforcements  was  known  to  be  off  the  harbour,  Gen.  Beaure 
gard  sent  an  intimation  at  3.30  A.M.,  on  April  12,  that  he  would 
open  fire  on  Fort  Sumter  in  one  hour's  time. 

The  fort  was  reduced  in  thirty-three  hours ;  the  Federal  fleet 
lying  at  anchor  in  the  distance  during  the  action,  and  never  firing 
a  gun.  Gen.  Beauregard  bore  testimony  to  the  gallant  conduct  of 
his  adversary,  agreed  that  the  garrison  might  take  passage  at  their 
convenience  for  New  York,  and  allowed  Anderson  to  salute  his 
flag  with  fifty  guns.  In  this,  the  first  battle  of  the  war,  Gen. 
Beauregard's  conduct  had  been  most  admirable. .  He  had  not  only 
obtained  a  great  success,  but  he  had  shown  so  much  caution  and 


236          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

moderation  in  the  preliminaries  of  the  contest,  such  noble  and 
just  desires  to  avert  it,  and  at  last,  had  given  such  exhibition  of 
chivalrous  qualities  in  his  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  that  he  was 
applauded  not  only  for  the  proof  of  his  military  abilities,  but  for 
the  true  and  elevated  representation  he  had  made  of  the  spirit  and 
dignity  of  the  new  government.  Called  for  by  the  unanimous 
voice  of  the  Southern  people,  he  was  now  ordered  to  take  com 
mand  of  the  main  portion  of  the  Confederate  army  in  Northern 
Virginia.  He  selected  Manassas  Junction  as  the  point  at  which  he 
would  receive  the  onset  of  the  Federal  host,  directed  by  Lieut- 
Gen.  Scott,  and  immediately  commanded  by  Gen.  McDowell.  The 
only  purely  volunteer  army  the  United  States  have  had  in  the  field, 
advanced  to  what  they  considered  a  plain  and  certain  route  to 
Richmond.*  At  the  end  of  May,  the  North  had  nearly  100,000 
men  under  arms,  distributed  as  follows : 

*  It  will  be  recollected  about  this  time  how  replete  the  Northern  newspapers 
were  with  wild  and  sensational  rumours,  in  all  of  which  the  terrible  Beauregard  and 
his  whereabouts  appear  to  have  been  the  chief  subjects  of  concern.  The  following 
squib  is  amusing  and  characteristic : 

THE  WHEREABOUTS  OF  GEN.   BEUAREQ-ARD. 
[By  telegraph  to  Vanity  Fair— after  manner  of  Daily  Papers.] 

HAVRE  DE  GRACE,  April  26. — Gen.  Beauregard  was  in  Richmond  at  twenty-three 
minutes  past  six  o'clock  yesterday,  and  will  attack  Washington  at  once. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April  26. — "We  learn,  on  undoubted  authority,  that  Gen.  Beaure 
gard  was  in  Alexandria  at  twenty-four  minutes  past  six  yesterday,  reconnoitring. 

BALTIMORE,  April  26. — Gen.  Beauregard  was  in  Norfolk  at  twenty-five  minutes 
after  six  yesterday,  and  took  a  gin  cocktail  with  several  of  the  first  families. 

HAVRE  DE  GRACE,  April  26. — I  learn  from  a  gentleman  just  from  Mobile,  that 
Gen.  Beauregard  is  on  his  way  North,  with  150,000  troops.  Gen.  Beauregard  is  six 
feet  high,  but  will  not  join  Blower's  "  Household  Guards."  Declines  advertising  in 
the  Household  Journal. 

ANNAPOLIS,  April  26.— Gen.  Beauregard  was  discovered  in  the  White  House  rear- 
yard  last  night  at  twenty-six  minutes  past  six,  armed  with  three  large  howitzers  and 
a  portable  sledstake.  He  went  away  after  reconnoitring  pretty  numerously. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April  26. — I  learn  on  excellent  authority  that  Gen.  Beauregard  was 
in  Charleston  at  twenty-two  minutes  past  six  yesterday,  and  had  no  intention  of 
leaving.  He  was  repairing  Fort  Sumter. 

The  people  of  Bangor,  Maine,  and  of  Cape  Cod,  Mass.,  report  that  Gen.  Beaure 
gard  has  lately  been  seen  prowling  around  those  places. 

I  learn  that  Gen.  Beauregard  is  within  five  miles  of  "Washington.      » 

The  report,  in  some  of  your  contemporaries,  that  Gen.  Beauregard  is  within  five 
miles  of  Washington,  is  utterly  without  foundation.  Sensation  dispatches  in  times 
like  these  cannot  be  too  strongly  deprecated. 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          237 

South  of  the  Potomac,  Brig.-Gen.  McDowell    .        .        .  21,000 

At  Washington,  Brig.-Gen.  Mansfield  ....  22,000 

Fortress  Monroe,  Maj.-Gen.  Butler 9,000 

West  Pennsylvania,  Maj.-Gen.  Keim   .         .        .     $  ,?  -  16,000 

Cincinnati  and  West,  Maj.-Gen.  McClellan      .     :;  f-:-      .  13,000 

Cairo  and  its  vicinity,  Brig.-Gen.  Prentiss     .     $$$;?.'     .  6,000 

Baltimore,  Brig.-Gen.  Cadwallader .         .        .         .        .  5,000 

Philadelphia,  Maj.-Gen.  Patterson        ....  3,000 

Total    .        .        .        .        ....     95,000 

Such  an  array  of  force  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  would, 
it  might  have  been  supposed,  have  assured  the  South  of  a  long  and 
difficult  period  of  hostilities,  and  affected  its  confidence  in  a  certain 
and  early  issue  of  independence.  But  it  is  curious  how  supreme  and 
unquestioning  was  this  confidence,  how  insolent  and  impatient  of 
contradiction.  As  an  illustration  of  this  over-confidence,  and  as  an 
exhibition  of  contempt  for  the  enemy,  we  may  place  here  a  letter 
of  Gen.  Beauregard,  dated  as  he  was  about  to  take  command  in 
Virginia : 

CHARLESTON,  May  27,  1861. 

MY  DEAR  : — I  sincerely  regret  leaving  Charleston, 

where  the  inhabitants  have  given  me  such  a  welcome  that  I  now 
consider  it  as  my  second  home. 

I  had  hoped  that  when  relieved  from  here  it  would  have  been 
to  go  to  Virginia,  in  command  of  the  gallant  Carolinians,  whose 
courage,  patience,  and  zeal  I  had  learned  to  appreciate  and  admire. 
But  it  seems  my  services  are  required  elsewhere,  and  thither  I  shall 
go,  not  with  joy,  but  with  the  firm  determination  to  do  more  than 
my  duty,  if  I  can,  and  to  leave  as  strong  a  mark  as  possible  on  the 
enemies  of  our  beloved  country,  should  they  pollute  its  soil  with 
their  dastardly  feet. 

But  rest  assured,  my  dear  sir,  that  whatever  happens  at  first, 
we  are  certain  to  triumph  at  fast,  even  if  we  had  for  arms  only  pitch 
forks  and  flint-lock  muskets,  for  every  bush  and  haystack  will  become 
an  ambush,  and  every  barn  a  fortress.  The  history  of  nations 
proves  that  a  gallant  and  free  people,  fighting  for  their  indepen 
dence  and  firesides,  are  invincible  against  even  disciplined  mercen- 


238          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

aries  at  a  few  dollars  per  month.  What  then  must  be  the  result  when 
its  enemies  are  little  more  than  an  armed  rabble,  gathered  together  hastily, 
on  a  false  pretence,  and  for  an  unholy  purpose,  ivith  an  octogenarian 
at  its  head  f  None  but  the  demented  can  doubt  the  issue. 

I  remain,  dear  General,  yours  sincerely, 

P.  Gr.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

This  letter  appears  grotesque  enough  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events.  But  injustice  to  Gen.  Beauregard,  and  in  explanation  of 
his  apparently  inflated  words,  it  must  be  declared  that  they  did 
nothing  more  than  reflect  what  was  then  the  judgment  of  the  almost 
universal  mind  of  the  South,  with  reference  to  the  sure  and  easy 
conclusion  of  the  war  in  its  victory  and  independence.  And  here 
we  have  the  opportunity  of  introducing  an  account  of  one  of  the 
most  curious  phenomena  of  the  war — the  sudden  and  entire  disap 
pearance  of  the  Union  party  in  the  South  on  the  declaration  of 
secession.  Immediately  before  this  event,  that  partjr  had  been 
numerous  and  formidable ;  it  had  a  compact  organization ;  it  con 
tained  many  men  who,  from  principle  and  affection,  were  strongly 
attached  to  the  Union,  and  who  were  incapable  of  changing  their 
opinions  at  the  mere  bidding  of  expediency.  And  yet  never  did 
a  political  party  more  quickly  and  entirely  vanish  from  the  scene 
after  an  untoward  election,  than  did  the  Unionists  of  the  South 
after  the  proclamation  of  secession.  The  explanation  of  this  extraor 
dinary  disappearance  is  to  be  found  not  so  much  in  the  easy  virtue 
of  political  parties,  as  in  the  especial  fact  of  a  foregone  conclusion, 
which  seemed  to  take  possession  of  the  whole  mind  of  the  South, 
that  the  impending  conflict  would  necessarily  result  in  its  favour, 
and  that  the  mere  declaration  of  secession  was  quite  as  decisive  of 
the  fate  of  the  Union  as  would  be  the  last  battle  of  the  war.  The 
Union  party  in  the  South  had  contended  for  the  Union  up  to  the 
question  of  secession,  and  that  decided,  it  considered  the  controversy 
practically  determined,  and  prepared  to  accommodate  itself  to  what 
it  regarded  as  the  inevitable  fact  of  assured  separation.  The  mass 
of  the  Southern  people,  both  Secessionists  and  Unionists,  appears 
at  this  time  never  to  have  admitted  even  the  possibility  of  an  over 
throw  of  the  Southern  arms,  and  defeat  of  the  Confederate  cause ; 
and  the  few  minds  that  did  entertain  such  an  event  were  so  few  as 
only  to  constitute  the  exception  which  proves  the  rule.  When  the 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          239 

Union  members  of  the  Virginia  Convention  sobbed  at  their  desks, 
and  exchanged  tearful  sympathies  as  the  vote  for  secession  was 
announced,  it  was  because  they  deemed  that  it  was  all  over,  and 
that  by  the  mere  will  of  the  South  the  dissolution  of  the  Union 
was  irrevocably  decreed.  It  is  astonishing  how  universal  and 
supreme  was  a  conviction  in  the  South,  which  subsequent  events 
were  so  signally  to  belie.  If  we  are  to  find  an  explanation  for  such 
a  delusion,  we  perhaps  need  go  no  further  than  that  popular  vanity 
which,  embracing  for  once  the  intelligent  with  the  vulgar,  appears 
to  be  the  common  sin  of  all  communities  in  America.  But  what 
ever  the  cause,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Southern  public  was  so 
generally  assured  of  the  termination  of  the  war  in  favour  of  a 
Southern  Confederacy,  that  the  Union  party  within  the  limits  of 
the  seceded  States  considered  that  the  role  of  controversy  was 
ended,  and  that  nothing  was  left  them  but  to  submit  to  the  fiat,  and 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  change.  Had  there  been  in  the 
early  periods  of  the  war  any  considerable  doubt  in  the  South  of  the 
issue  of  the  war,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  Union  party 
would  have  maintained  its  organization,  asserted  itself  much  sooner 
than  it  did,  and  seriously  disturbed  the  first  years  of  the  gov 
ernment. 

Gen.  Beauregard  signalized  his  taking  command  at  Manassas, 
by  a  proclamation  in  which  he  presumed  to  declare  the  real  pur 
poses  of  the  enemy  in  the  war.  He  declared:  "  A  reckless  and 
unprincipled  tyrant  has  invaded  your  soil.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
regardless  of  all  moral,  legal,  and  constitutional  restraints,  has 
thrown  his  Abolition  hosts  among  you,  who  are  murdering  and 
imprisoning  your  citizens,  confiscating  and  destroying  your  prop 
erty,  and  committing  other  acts  of  violence  and  outrage,  too  shock 
ing  and  revolting  to  humanity  to  be  enumerated.  All  rules  of 
civilized  warfare  are  abandoned,  and  they  proclaim  by  their  acts, 
if  not  on  their  banners,  that  their  war-cry  is  '  Beauty  and  Booty.' 
All  that  is  dear  to  man,  your  honour,  and  that  of  your  wives  and 
daughters,  your  fortunes  and  your  lives,  are  involved  in  this 
momentous  contest." 

"We  can  easily  remember  the  storm  of  denial  and  indignant 
protest  which  this  proclamation  produced  in  the  Northern  news 
papers.  The  idea  of  there  being  any  anti-slavery  intention  in  the 
war  was  denounced  as  ridiculous ;  and  when,  a  few  months  later, 


240          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Gen.  Beauregard,  in  his  persistent  notion  that  the  war  was  intended 
to  free  the  negroes,  recommended  the  enemy  to  be  officially 
styled  "  Abolitionists  "  instead  of  "  Federals,"  the  New  York  Times 
hooted  him  as  an  idiot.  The  commentary  of  the  Baltimore  Ameri 
can  is  refreshing  now.  That  paper  wrote :  "  We  cannot  avoid 
contrasting  with  the  proclamation  of  Beauregard  the  offer  of  Gen. 
Butler  to  put  down  '  servile  insurrections '  in  his  first  landing  at 
Annapolis,  and  the  subsequent  address  of  Gen.  Patterson  to  the 
Pennsylvania  troops,  that  it  might  be  their  duty  to  '  suppress  ser 
vile  insurrections.'  Can  the  people  of  Virginia  be  imposed  upon 
by  such  productions  as  this  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  ?  Can  any  in 
telligent  community  in  the  South  be  thus  cheated  into  madness  ? 
Surely  if  they  can  be,  they  are  to  be  pitied ;  and  we  have  only  to 
say  that  so  poor  a  compliment,  paid  by  any  high  functionary  to  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  of  Maryland,  would  receive  their  scorn 
and  reprobation." 

This  commentary  is  strange  enough  in  view  of  the  sequel  of  the 
war ;  but  certainly  the  most  curious  and  amusing  part  of  it  is  that 
which  compares,  on  the  score  of  humane  and  chivalrous  sentiment, 
Gen.  Beauregard  with  the  future  "  tyrant  of  New  Orleans."  Never 
was  prognostic  more  completely  verified  than  that  of  Gen.  Beau- 
regard.  He  had  shown  a  better  judgment  here  than  in  predicting 
the  ultimate  success  of  the  South.  He  appears,  indeed,  to  have  been 
the  earliest  of  the  Confederate  leaders  who  saw  the  essential  and 
ultimate  design  of  the  war,  and  recognized  in  it  a  spirit  of  spolia 
tion  and  revenge,  when  protestations  were  most  numerous  and 
vehement  of  the  kind  intentions  of  the  Federal  authorities,  and  the 
government  at  Washington  was  making  the  largest  show  of  con 
ciliation.  Even  some  of  his  countrymen  thought  him  violent  in 
his  denunciations  of  the  enemy,  when  he  was  simply  in  advance 
of  the  popular  mind,  in  his  intelligent  estimation  of  the  Federal 
designs  upon  the  South.  But  we  return  from  these  anticipations 
of  the  war  to  follow  the  progress  of  events. 

On  the  20th  July,  the  army  under  Gen.  Beauregard's  command 
on  the  line  of  Bull  Eun,  numbered  nearly  28,000  men  and  49 
guns.  A  small  portion  only  consisted  of  cavalry.  This  force 
included  a  brigade  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Holmes,  brought 
forward  from  Acquia  Creek,  a  regiment  termed  Hampton's  Legion, 
and  about  6,000  men  and  20  guns  of  the  army  of  the  Shenandoah, 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          241 

which  had  all  been  telegraphed  for  by  Gen.  Beauregard  when 
he  heard  of  the  actual  advance  of  the  enemy.  The  numerical 
strength  of  the  Federal  army  which  marched  from  the  lines 
around  Alexandria,  Arlington  Heights,  and  Washington,  was 
more  than  fifty  thousand  men.  Such  were  the  forces  confronted 
on  the  first  important  field  of  the  war.  ^It 

The  battle  of  Manassas  was  perhaps  on  the  side  of  the  Confed 
erates  the  least  scientific  battle  of  the  war.  Gen.  Beauregard  had 
intended  to  move  by  his  right  and  centre  on  the  enemy's  flank  and 
rear ;  but  his  orders  miscarried,  his  plans  of  action  were  wholly 
disarranged,  and  he  found  himself  at  last  with  his  left  flank  turned 
and  compelled  to  fight  a  battle  at  right  angles  with  the  defensive 
line  of  Bull  Run.  The  ardour  of  the  troops  rather  than  any  merit 
of  generalship  gained  the  day  for  the  Confederates,  and  that,  too, 
only  after  they  had  been  twice  driven  to  the  most  desperate  ex 
tremity.  Once,  when  on  the  key -point  of  the  field,  the  plateau 
near  the  Henry  House,  it  appeared  that  the  enemy  would  have 
enveloped  the  Confederates  on  both  flanks,  and  Beauregard  had 
only  6,500  men  to  withstand  the  onset  of  20,000  infantry,  he  ad 
dressed  his  troops  in  some  thrilling  and  memorable  words.  "  I 
sought,"  says  the  General,  "  to  infuse  into  the  hearts  of  my  officers 
and  men  the  confidence  and  determined  spirit  of  resistance  to  this 
wicked  invasion  of  the  homes  of  a  free  people,  which  I  felt.  I  in 
formed  them  that  reinforcements  would  rapidly  come  to  their  sup 
port,  and  we  must  at  all  hazards  hold  our  posts  until  reinforced.  I 
reminded  them  that  we  fought  for  our  homes,  our  firesides,  and  for 
the  independence  of  our  country.  I  urged  them  to  the  resolution 
of  victory  or  death  on  the  field.  These  sentiments  were  loudly, 
eagerly  cheered  wheresoever  proclaimed,  and  then  I  felt  assured  of 
the  unconquerable  spirit  of  that  army  which  would  enable  us  to 
wrench  victory  from  the  host  then  threatening  us  with  destruction." 

When  the  plateau  was  won,  and  the  crisis  of  the  day  had 
arrived,  Gen.  Beauregard  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his  reserves, 
and  ordered  the  line  to  advance.  This  was  about  2.30  P.M.,  and 
the  reinforcements  of  Kirby  Smith  arrived  during  the  movement. 
They  took  position  on  the  left  of  the  advancing  line,  and  the  grand 
advance  was  made,  which  swept  the  enemy  from  the  field,  and  put 
him  in  unexampled  route.  Gen.  Beauregard's  horse  was  killed 
under  him  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell,  but  he  escaped  unhurt. 

16 


242          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

A  remarkable  fact  regarding  the  battle  of  Manassas  was  the 
comparatively  small  portion  of  the  troops  actually  engaged  on  both 
sides.  With  the  Confederates  this  was  partially  owing  to  a  mis 
carriage  of  the  orders  sent  to  Holmes  and  Ewell,  and  is  thus 
adverted  to  in  Gen.  Beauregard's  orders  : — "  In  connection  with 
the  unfortunate  casualties  of  the  day — that  is,  the  miscarriage  of 
the  orders  sent  by  courier  to  Gens.  Holmes  and  Ewell  to  attack  the 
enemy  in  flank  and  reverse  at  Centre ville,  through  which  the  tri 
umph  of  our  arms  was  prevented  from  being  still  more  decisive — 
I  regard  it  in  place  to  say,  a  divisional  organization,  with  officers 
in  command  of  divisions,  with  appropriate  ranks,  as  in  European 
services,  would  greatly  reduce  the  risks  of  such  mishaps,  and 
would  advantageously  simplify  the  communications  of  a  General 
in  command  of  a  field  with  his  troops."  The  fact  is,  that  there 
was  a  want  of  organization  in  both  armies ;  the  battle  was  fought 
in  a  fragmentary  way,  and  the  victory  of  the  Confederate!  is 
more  to  be  ascribed  to  their  naked  valour,  the  physical  fact  of 
fighting,  than  anything  else.* 

*  The  events  of  the  war  were  generally  celebrated  on  the  Southern  side  in  very 
execrable  verse.  An  exception  to  the  silly  and  tawdry  poetry  of  the  war  is  the  fol 
lowing  lines  of  Mr.  John  R.  Thompson  (of  Richmond),  on  Manassas,  an  admirable 
union  of  burlesque  and  keen  satire.  They  obtained,  we  believe,  the  imprint  of  the 
English  Punch ;  anyhow,  they  are  excellent : 

ON  TO  RICHMOND. 
AFTER  SOITTHBY'S  "MARCH  TO  MOSCOW." 

Major-General  Scott, 

An  order  had  got, 

To  push  on  the  column  to  Richmond ; 

For  loudly  went  forth, 

From  all  parts  of  the  North, 
The  cry  that  an  end  of  the  war  must  be  made 
In  tune  for  the  regular  yearly  Fall  Trade. 
Mr.  Greeley  spoke  freely  about  the  delay, 
The  Yankees,  "  to  hum,"  were  all  hot  for  the  fray. 

The  chivalrous  Grow 

Declared  they  were  slow, 

And  therefore  the  order 

To  march  from  the  border, 

And  make  an  excursion  to  Richmond. 

Major-General  Scott, 
Most  likely,  was  not 


GENERAL  PETER   G.   T.   BEAUREGARD.  243 

But  such  criticisms  of  Manassas  belong  to  the  scientific  history 
of  the  war,  and  scarcely  come  within  the  limits  of  a  popular  bio 
graphy  of  its  hero.  The  South  was  elated  with  the  victory  with- 

Very  loth  to  obey  this  instruction,  I  wot, 

In  his  private  opinion, 

The  Ancient  Dominion 
Deserved  to  be  pillaged — her  sons  to  be  shot, 

And  the  reason  is  easily  noted : 

Though  this  part  of  the  earth, 

Had  given  him  birth, 

And  medals  and  swords, 

Inscribed  with  fine  words, 

It  never  for  Winfield  had  voted. 
Besides,  you  must  know,  that  our  first  of  commanders 
Had  sworn  quite  as  hard  as  the  army  in  Flanders, 
With  his  finest  of  Armies  and  proudest  of  Navies, 
To  wreak  his  old  grudge  against  Jefferson  Davis. 
Then  "  Forward,  the  column  1 "  he  said  to  McDowell, 

And  the  Zouaves,  with  a  shout, 

Most  fiercely  cried  out: 

"  To  Eichmond  or  h— 11,"  (I  omit  here  the  vowel,) 
And  Winfield,  he  ordered  his  carriage  and  four, 
A  dashing  turn-out,  to  be  brought  to  the  door 
For  a  pleasant  excursion  to  Richmond. 

Major-General  Scott 

Had  there  on  the  spot 

A  splendid  array 

To  plunder  and  slay ; 

In  the  camp  he  might  boast 

Such  a  numerous  host, 

As  he  never  had  yet 

In  the  battle-field  set. 

Every  class  and  condition  of  Northern  society 
Were  in  for  the  trip,  a  most  varied  variety ; 
In  the  camp  he  might  hear  every  lingo  in  vogue, 
"  The  sweet  German  accent,  the  rich  Irish  brogue," 

The  beautiful  boy, 
From  the  banks  of  the  Shannon, 

Was  there  to  employ 

His  excellent  cannon, 
And  besides  the  long  files  of  dragoons  and  artillery, 

The  Zouaves  and  Hussars, 

All  the  children  of  Mars, 

There  were  barbers  and  cooks, 

And  writers  of  books — 
The  chef  de  cuisine,  with  his  French  bills  of  fare, 


244          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

i 

out  reference  to  questions  of  skill;  the  popular  mind  had  not  yet 
become  critical  of  generalship,  and  the  newspapers  had  not  yet 
caught  the  technical  language  of  the  battle-field ;  and  on  the  affla- 

And  the  artists  to  dress  the  young  officers'  hair 
And  the  scribblers  all  ready  at  once  to  prepare 

An  eloquent  story 

Of  conquest  and  glory ; 

And  servants  with  numberless  baskets  of  Sillery. 
Though  Wilson,  the  Senator,  followed  the  train 
At  a  distance  quite  safe  to  "  conduct  the  champagne; " 
While  the  fields  were  so  green,  and  the  sky  was  so  blue, 
There  was  certainly  nothing  more  pleasant  to  do 
On  this  pleasant  excursion  to  Richmond. 

In  Congress  the  talk,  as  I  said,  was  of  action 
To  crush  out  instanter  the  traitorous  faction. 

In  the  press  and  the  mess, 

They  would  hear  nothing  less, 

Than  to  make  the  advance,  spite  of  rhyme  or  of  reason, 
And  at  once  put  an  end  to  the  insolent  treason. 

There  was  Greeley 

And  Ely, 

The  blood-thirsty  Grow, 

And  Hickman,  the  rowdy,  (not  Hickman,  the  beau,) 
And  that  terrible  Baker, 
Who  would  seize  on  the  South— every  acre, 
And  Webb,  who  would  drive  us  all  into  the  Gulf,  or 
Some  nameless  locality  smelling  of  sulphur. 

And  with  all  this  bold  crew 

Nothing  would  do, 

While  the  fields  were  so  green,  and  the  sky  was  so  blue, 
But  to  march  on  directly  to  Richmond. 

jt^f^a-OiJb-f-vfJr'I 

Then  the  gallant  McDowell 

Drove  madly  the  rowel 
Of  spur  that  had  never  been  "won"  by  him, 

In  the  flank  of  his  steed, 

To  accomplish  a  deed, 
Such  as  never  before  had  been  done  by  him : 

And  the  battery,  called  Sherman's, 
Was  wheeled  into  line, 

While  the  beer-drinking  Germans, 
From  Neckar  and  Rhine, 

With  Minie  and  Yager, 

Came  on  with  a  swagger, 

Full  of  fury  and  lager. 
(The  day  and  the  pageant  were  equally  fine), 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          245 

tus  of  victory  Beauregard  at  once  ascended  to  the  first  reputation 
of  the  war.  His  promotion  was  made  on  the  field  of  Manassas, 
and  was  announced  in  the  following  note : 

Oh!  the  fields  were  so  green,  and  the  sky  was  so  blue, 
Indeed  'twas  a  spectacle  pleasant  to  view, 

As  the  column  pushed  onward  to  Richmond. 

Ere  the  march  was  begun, 

In  a  spirit  of  fun, 

General  Scott,  in  a  speech, 

Said  his  army  should  teach 
The  Southrons  the  lesson  the  laws  to  obey ; 
And  just  before  dusk,  of  the  third  or  fourth  day, 
Should  joyfully  march  into  Richmond. 

He  spoke  of  their  drill, 

Of  their  courage  and  skill, 

And  declared  that  the  ladies  of  Richmond  would  rave 
O'er  such  matchless  perfection,  and  gracefully  wave 
In  rapture  their  delicate  kerchiefs  in  air,      \  " 
At  their  morning  parades  on  the  Capitol  Square. 

But  alack  1  and  alas ! 

Mark  what  soon  came  to  pass, 
When  this  army,  in  spite  of  his  flatteries, 

Amid  war's  loudest  thunder, 

Must  stupidly  blunder 
Upon  those  accursed  "  masked  batteries ;  " 

There  Beauregard  came, 

Like  a  tempest  of  flame, 

To  consume  them  in  wrath, 

On  their  perilous  path : 
And  Johnston  bore  down  in  a  whirlwind  to  sweep 

Their  ranks  from  the  field, 

Where  their  doom  had  been  sealed, 
As  the  storm  rushes  over  the  face  of  the  deep : 
While  swift  on  the  centre  our  President  prest, 

And  the  foe  might  descry, 

In  the  glance  of  his  eye, 
The  light  that  once  blazed  upon  Diomed's  crest. 

McDowell !  McDowell !  weep,  weep  for  the  day, 
When  the  Southrons  ye  met  in  their  battle  array; 
To  your  confident  host,  with  its  bullets  and  steel, 
'Twas  worse  than  Culloden  to  luckless  Lochiel! 
^     Oh  1  the  generals  were  green,  and  old  Scott  is  now  blue, 
And  a  terrible  business,  McDowell,  to  you 

Was  that  pleasant  excursion  to  Richmond. 


246          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

MANASSAS,  VA.,  July  21,  1861. 

SIR  : — Appreciating  your  services  in  the  battle  of  Manassas, 
and  on  several  other  occasions  during  the  existing  war,  as  afford 
ing  the  highest  evidence  of  your  skill  as  a  commander,  your  gal 
lantry  as  a  soldier,  and  your  zeal  as  a  patriot,  you  are  promoted  to 
be  General  in  the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  and, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Congress,  will  be  duly  commissioned  accord 
ingly.  Yours,  etc., 

JEFF.  DAVIS. 

Gen.  P.  G.  T.  BEAUKEGARD,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

From  the  testimony  of  this  note  it  would  appear  that  at  this 
time  the  relations  between  President  Davis  and  Gen.  Beauregard 
were  of  the  most  amicable  kind,  and  mutually  pleasing.  But  if 
such  were  their  relations  on  the  field  of  Manassas,  they  were  not 
long  to  continue  so.  This  victory  brought  to  Gen.  Beauregard 
such  an  accession  of  popularity  as  to  alarm  the  vanity  of  the  Presi 
dent,  who  was  impatient  of  rivals  in  the  popular  admiration,  and 
in  the  early  periods  of  the  war  had  discovered  a  conceit  to  be  the 
central  military  figure  as  well  as  the  political  chief  of  the  war. 
This  comprehensive  concert  was  visible  throughout  the  entire 
administration  of  Mr.  Davis ;  it  was  especially  shown  in  his  anxiety 
to  catch  the  attention  of  the  world  as  planner  and  originator  of 
military  campaigns,  and  it  carried  him  to  the  lengths  of  a  pragmat 
ical  interference  with  most  of  his  Generals  in  the  field,  The  truth  is 
that  Mr.  Davis  had  that  unfortunate  mind  of  the  ruler  which  repulses 
from  its  councils  men  of  spirit  and  ability,  delights  to  surround 
itself  with  mediocrity  as  a  safeguard  to  its  vanity,  and  proceeds 
on  the  supposition  that  the  feeble  will  prove  the  most  obedient. 
He  was  alarmed  by  exhibitions  of  fame  in  which  he  did  not  share, 
and  the  approach  of  men  of  merit  and  of  spirit  always  gave  him 
an  uneasy  notion  of  rivalry.  Gen.  Beauregard  was  the  first  to 
provoke  the  unhappy  disposition  by  the  sudden  ascent  of  his  fame 
after  the  battle  of  Manassas.  That  battle  was  naturally  followed 
by  popular  endearments  of  its  hero ;  the  reputation  of  Beauregard 
was  at  once  seized  upon  by  those  alert  politicians  who  nominate 
Presidents  several  years  in  advance,  and  no  sooner  find  a  favourite 
of  the  people  than  they  hasten  to  name  him  for  the  honours  of 
party ;  and  he  was  accused  by  the  President  of  a  political  move- 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          247 

ment  against  his  Administration,  in  which  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  he  was  not  only  innocently  complicated  but  unconscious 
of  any  design  injurious  to  Mr.  Davis'  vanity  or  ambition.  The 
pause  of  active  war  that  followed  Manassas  seems  to  have  given 
unusual  opportunity  for  a  political  controversy.  Whatever  the 
merits  of  that  controversy,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  from  this 
time  there  commenced  to  be  evident  that  jealous}'  or  dislike  on  the 
part  of  the  Administration  towards  Gen.  Beauregard,  which  through 
the  war  tended  to  cripple  his  energies  and  neutralize  his  best  plans 
of  campaign. 

The  first  open  occasion  of  controversy  between  Gen.  Beaure 
gard  and  the  President  appears  to  have  been  with  reference  to 
certain  passages  in  the  famous  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Ma 
nassas,  in  which  Mr.  Davis  conceived  that  the  General  had  travelled 
out  of  the  record  to  cast  an  imputation  upon  the  defensive  military 
policy  then  upheld  at  Kichmond,  to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  the 
people.  For  some  time  he  would  not  allow  the  report  to  be  printed, 
and  with  a  sensitive  alarm  denounced  it  as  an  attempt  to  make 
favour  with  the  public  at  his  expense.  The  subject  was  even  taken 
up  in  the  Congress  at  Kichmond,  during  a  secret  session  ;  the  Pres 
ident  having  sent  Beauregard's  report  to  that  body,  accompanied 
by  comments  of  his  own  on  some  of  its  preliminary  passages. 
The  order  eventually  taken  by  Congress,  however,  was  to  have  the 
document  published,  after  expunging  the  portion  referred  to,  and 
the  President's  comments  thereon.  What  was  the  sentiment  of 
Gen.  Beauregard  in  the  controversy  may  be  judged  from  the  fol 
lowing  letter,  printed  in  a  Richmond  newspaper : 

CENTREYILLE,  WITHIN  HEARING  OP  THE         ) 
ENEMY'S  GUNS,  Sunday,  Nov.  3,  1861.  J 

To  Editors  Richmond  Whig: 

GENTLENMEN  :  My  attention  has  just  been  called  to  an  un 
fortunate  controversy  now  going  on  relative  to  the  publication  of 
a  synopsis  of  my  report  of  the  battle  of  Manassas.  None  can 
regret  more  than  I  do  this,  from  a  knowledge  that,  by  authority, 
the  President  is  the  sole  judge  of  when,  and  what  part  of  the  com 
manding  officers  report  shall  be  made  public.  I,  individually,  do 
not  object  to  delaying  its  publication  as  long  as  the  War  Depart 
ment  thinks  proper  and  necessary  for  the  success  of  our  cause. 


248          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Meanwhile,  I  entreat  my  friends  not  to  trouble  themselves  about 
refuting  the  slanders  and  calumnies  aimed  against  me.  Alcibi- 
ades,  on  a  certain  occasion,  resorted  to  an  extraordinary  method  to 
occupy  the  minds  of  his  traducers — let,  then,  that  synopsis  answer 
the  same  purpose  for  me  in  this  instance.  If  certain  minds  can 
not  understand  the  difference  between  patriotism,  the  highest  civic 
virtue,  and  office-seeking,  the  lowest  civic  occupation,  I  pity  them 
from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  I  prefer  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  my  countrymen  to  the  admiration  and  envy 
of  the  world.  I  hope,  for  the  sake  of  our  cause  and  country, 
to  be  able,  with  the  assistance  of  kind  Providence,  to  answer 
my  calumniators  with  new  victories  over  our  national  enemies ; 
but  I  have  nothing  to  ask  of  the  country,  Government,  or  any 
friends,  except  to  afford  me  all  the  aid  they  can  in  the  great  strug 
gle  we  are  now  engaged  upon.  I  am  not  either  a  candidate,  nor  do  I 
desire  to  be  a  candidate,  for  any  civil  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people  or 
Executive.  The  aim  of  my  ambition,  after  having  cast  my  mite  in 
the  defence  of  our  sacred  cause,  and  assisted,  to  the  best  of  my 
ability,  in  securing  our  rights  and  independence  as  a  nation,  is  to 
retire  to  private  life,  my  means  then  permitting,  never  again  to 
leave  my  home,  unless  to  fight  anew  the  battles  of  my  country. 
Kespectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

The  statements  of  this  letter  were  undoubtedly  just.  But  it 
must  be  confessed  that  its  publication  was  ill-advised ;  that  there 
was  a  theatrical  circumstance  and  tone  about  it  that  displeased 
many  people ;  and  that  its  effect  was  to  aggravate  a  quarrel  which 
was  in  all  respects  deplorable,  and  which  did  much  to  scandalize 
the  Confederacy. 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.  249 

f.    f*1   Ai  '  Wvwv 


CHAPTEK  XXL 

Gen.  Beauregard  transferred  to  command  in  West  Tennessee. — His  order  about  "  the 
bells." — He  concentrates  the  Confederate  forces  at  Corinth. — Battle  of  Shiloh. — A 
"  lost  opportunity." — Retreat  to  Tupelo. — He  obtains  a  sick  furlough. — President 
Davis  deprives  him  of  his  command. — Official  persecution  of  Gen.  Beauregard. — 
Violent  declarations  of  the  President. — Gen.  Beauregard  in  retirement. — A  private 
letter  on  the  war. 

•  arero  is&oiifc  ^nuf^oiqqs  ^"i  ™w  fi^nafif 
' » 

IN  January,  1862,  Gen.  Beauregard  was  ordered  to  West  Ten 
nessee.  After  the  evacuation  of  Columbus,  he  was  employed  in  for 
tifying  Island  No.  10,  which  was  captured  four  days  after  he  left 
there ;  urged  as  he  was,  by  the  rapid  and  serious  movements  of 
the  Federal  troops  on  the  Tennessee  Eiver,  to  take  command  of  the 
forces  to  oppose  the  enemy's  progress  in  that  direction. 

It  was  about  this  time  Gen.  Beauregard  issued  his  famous  order 
about  bells  to  be  moulded  into  cannon — an  incident  that  furnished 
a  good  deal  of  poetry  in  the  war.  The  following  was  his  appeal 
to  "  the  planters  of  the  Mississippi  Yalley :  " 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI, 
JACKSON,  TENN.,  March  8,  1862. 

More  than  once  a  people  fighting  with  an  enemy  less  ruthless 
than  yours ;  for  imperilled  rights  not  more  dear  and  sacred  than 
yours ;  for  homes  and  a  land  not  more  worthy  of  resolute  and  uncon 
querable  men  than  yours;  and  for  interests  of  far  less  magnitude 
than  you  have  now  at  stake,  have  not  hesitated  to  melt  and  mould 
into  cannon  the  precious  bells  surmounting  their  houses  of  God, 
which  had  called  generations  to  prayer.  The  priesthood  have  ever 
sanctioned  and  consecrated  the  conversion,  in  the  hour  of  their  na 
tion's  need,  as  one  holy  and  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God. 

We  want  cannon  as  greatly  as  any  people  who  ever,  as  history 
tells  you,  melted  their  church-bells  to  supply  them ;  and  I,  your 
General,  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  army  embodied  of 
your  sons,  your  kinsmen  and  your  neighbours,  do  now  call  on  you 
to  send  your  plantation-bells  to  the  nearest  railroad  depot,  subject 


250  GENERAL  PETER  G.   T.   BEAUREGARD. 

to  my  order,  to  be  melted  into  cannon  for  the  defence  of  your 
plantations. 

Who  will  not  cheerfully  and  promptly  send  me  his  bells  under 
such  circumstances  ? 

Be  of  good  cheer ;  but  time  is  precious.* 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD, 

General  commanding. 

The  serious  train  of  Confederate  disasters  in  the  West  that, 
commencing  with  Fort  Donelson,  had  opened  the  Mississippi  and 
its  tributaries,  and  carried  the  war  to  the  Southern  bank  of  the 
Tennessee,  was  now  approaching  another  crisis.  At  the  sugges 
tion  of  Gen.  Beauregard,  troops  were  concentrated  at  Corinth, 
Mississippi.  Imbued  with  a  high  sense  of  the  cardinal  principle 
in  war — concentration — a  principle  illustrated  by  the  military  his 
tory  of  all  wars,  Gen.  Beauregard  sought  to  swell  his  inadequate 
force  in  all  possible  ways.  He  called  on  Gens.  Bragg  and  Lovell 
for  their  disposable  troops.  Lovell  had  already,  under  orders  of 
Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston,  detached  for  Corinth  a  fine  brigade  under 
Gen.  Kuggles,  with  certain  other  troops,  in  all  quite  5,000  men, 
choice  troops  of  all  arms.  Gen.  Bragg  referred  the  matter  to  the 
War  Department,  by  whom  positive  orders  were  declined,  and  the 
responsibility  was  left  to  him.  He  determined  to  withdraw  his 
main  force  from  Pensacola  and  Mobile,  and  join  Gen.  Beauregard, 
which  he  did  in  person  at  Jackson,  Tennessee,  about  the  1st 
March,  1862. 

Gen.  Van  Dorn,  also,  was  strenuously  urged  by  Gen.  Beaure 
gard  to  transfer  his  whole  command  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  was  already  in  motion  to  form  the  junction  before  the 
battle  of  Shiloh. 

The  Governors  of  Louisiana,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  Ten 
nessee,  had  also  been  called  on  by  Gen.  Beauregard  for  5,000 
men  respectively,  or  as  many  as  could  be  sent  to  him. 

Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  whose  army  was  now  falling 
back  along  the  Nashville  and  Chattanooga  railroad,  was  requested 

*  The  witty  Louisville  Journal  had  the  following  commentary : 
"  The  rebels  can  well  afford  to  give  up  all  their  church-bells,  cow-bells,  and  dinner- 
bells  to  Beauregard,  for  they  never  go  to  church  now,  their  cows  have  been  all  taken 
by  foraging  parties,  and  they  have  no  dinners  to  be  summoned  to.' 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          251 

by  Gen.  Beauregard  to  send  fro  ward  to  Corinth  one  or  two  of  his 
brigades.  That  judicious  commander  sent  a  brigade  at  once,  and 
announced  his  determination  to  make  a  junction,  with  his  whole 
force,  at  Corinth,  which,  in  the  main,  was  effected  by  the  last  of 
March,  1862. 

The  Confederate  army  here  now  consisted  of — 

1.  Gen.  Folk's  army  corps  (infantry  and  artillery),   V        .     9,136 

2.  Gen.  Bragg's  army  corps,  consisting  of  his  original  com 

mand  from  Pensacola  and  Mobile,  and  Lovell's  quota, 
with  the  new  levies  from  Louisiana  (infantry  and 
artillery), 13,589 

3.  The  Army  of  Kentucky,  now  subdivided  into  Hardee's 

army  corps  and  reserve  division,  under  Breckenridge, 
(infantry  and  artillery), 13,228 

35,953 

4.  Untrained  cavalry,  distributed  with  the  three  corps,      .     4,382 

Effectives  of  all  arms, 40,335 

With  this  force  it  was  determined  to  advance  upon  Grant's 
army,  which  had  obtained  a  position  near  Pittsburg,  and,  if  possi 
ble,  overwhelm  it  before  it  could  be  reinforced  by  Buell,  who  was 
advancing  for  that  purpose  by  rapid  marches  from  Nashville,  by 
the  way  of  Columbus.  The  plans  of  the  battle  were  drawn  up 
entirely  by  Gen.  Beauregard  and  approved  by  Gen.  Johnston.  The 
action  lasted  two  days,  the  6th  and  7th  April.  Gen.  Beauregard, 
who  wrote  his  official  reports  with  great  animation,  has  given  so 
graphic  a  description  of  the  conflict,  that  we  readily  copy  portions 
of  it  in  the  general  narrative.  He  says  :  "  Thirty  minutes  after  5 
o'clock  A.M.,  our  lines  and  columns  were  in  motion,  all  animated 
evidently  by  a  promising  spirit.  The  first  line  was  engaged  at 
once,  but  advanced  steadily,  followed  in  due  order,  with  equal 
resolution  and  steadiness,  by  the  other  lines,  which  were  brought 
up  successively  into  action,  with  rare  skill,  judgment,  and  gallantry, 
by  the  several  corps  commanders,  as  the  enemy  made  a  stand,  and 
with  his  masses  rallied  for  a  struggle  for  his  encampments.  Like 
an  Alpine  avalanche  our  troops  moved  forward,  despite  the  deter 
mined  resistance  of  the  enemy,  until  six  o'clock  P.M.,  when  we 
were  in  possession  of  all  his  encampments  between  Owl  and  Lick 


252          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

creeks,  but  one.  Nearly  all  of  his  artillery  was  taken,  about  thirty 
flags,  colours,  and  standards,  over  three  thousand  prisoners,  including 
a  division  commander  (Gen.  Prentiss)  and  several  brigade  command 
ers,  thousands  of  small-arms,  an  immense  supply  of  subsistence,  for 
age,  and  munitions  of  war,  and  a  large  amount  of  means  of  trans 
portation — all  the  substantial  fruits  of  a  complete  victory.  *  *  * 

"  It  was  after  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  when  the  enemy's  last 
position  was  carried,  and  his  forces  finally  broke  and  sought  ref 
uge  behind  a  commanding  eminence,  covering  the  Pittsburg  Land 
ing,  not  more  than  half  a  mile  distant,  and  under  the  guns  of  the 
gunboats,  which  opened  on  our  eager  columns  a  fierce  and  annoy 
ing  fire  with  shot  and  shell  of  the  heaviest  description." 

It  was  here  that  Gen.  Beauregard  unfortunately  closed  the  battle 
for  the  day,  and  lost,  we  must  confess,  the  most  brilliant  opportu 
nity  of  his  military  life.  The  shattered  forces  of  the  enemy  were 
within  a  circuit  of  less  than  a  mile  around  Pittsburg  Landing. 
There  Was  time  to  complete  the  victory ;  one  effort  more,  and  the 
routed,  dispirited,  and  disorganized  mass  would  have  been  driven 
into  the  river.  It  was  known  by  Gen.  Beauregard  that  Buell  was 
in  close  vicinity,  and  that  in  a  short  time  his  army  would  reinforce 
that  of  Grant.  But  the  last  supreme  effort  to  destroy  Grant,  and 
render  the  march  of  Buell  futile,  was  not  made.  Gen.  Beauregard, 
influenced  by  the  disorganized  condition  of  his  troops,  whom  he 
describes  as  jaded,  but  eager  to  gather  the  spoils  of  the  field  already 
won,  refrained  from  attacking,  and  sent  orders  to  the  brigades, 
which  were  actually  preparing  in  the  darkness  of  the  evening  for 
one  last  effort,  to  withdraw. 

Night  accomplished  the  junction  of  Buell's  forces  with  Grant, 
and  decided  Beauregard's  lost  opportunity.  The  next  day  is  thus 
described  in  Gen.  Beauregard's  official  report :  "  About  six  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  7th  April,  a  hot  fire  of  musketry  and  artil 
lery  opened  from  the  enemy's  quarter  on  our  advanced  line,  assured 
me  of  the  junction  of  his  forces,  and  soon  the  battle  raged  with  a 
fury  which  satisfied  me  I  was  attacked  by  a  largely  superiour  force 
*  *  *  *  Again  and  again  our  troops  were  brought  to  the  charge, 
invariably  to  win  the  position  at  issue,  invariably  to  drive  back 
their  foe.  But  hour  by  hour,  thus  opposed  to  an  enemy  constantly 
reinforced,  our  ranks  were  perceptibly  thinned  under  the  unceasing, 
withering  fire  of  the  enemy;  and  by  twelve  meridian,  eighteen 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.   BEAUREGARD.  253 

hours  of  hard  fighting  had  sensibly  exhausted  a  large  number,  my 
last  reserves  had  necessarily  been  disposed  of,  and  the  enemy 
was  evidently  receiving  fresh  reinforcements  after  each  repulse- 
Accordingly,  about  1  P.M.,  I  determined  to  withdraw  from  so 
unequal  a  conflict,  securing  such  of  the  results  of  the  victory  of  the 
day  before  as  was  then  practicable."  On  two  different  occasions 
of  this  day  Gen.  Beauregard  led  the  troops  flag  in  hand,  and  by  his 
conspicuous  display  of  devoted  courage  arrested  the  tide  of  battle, 
and  enabled  his  hard-pressed  army  at  last  to  withdraw  in  perfect 
order  from  the  field. 

In  the  battle  of  Shiloh, Beauregard 's  forces  consisted  of  33,000, 
against  87,000  under  Grant  and  Buell.  His  losses  in  killed  and 
wounded  amounted  to  thirty-three  and  a-third  per  cent. — a  most 
astounding  loss  for  new  troops  and  raw  volunteers.  The  evening 
of  the  7th  April  found  him  back  behind  the  rifle-pits  of  Corinth; 
and  there  he  prepared  to  defy  the  immense  army  collected  to  crush 
him.  Gen.  Beauregard  was  never  disposed  to  acknowledge  the 
second  day  of  Shiloh  as  a  defeat.  He  declares  that  he  retired  to 
Corinth  uin  pursuance  of  his  original  design  to  make  that  the 
strategic  point  of  his  campaign ; "  and  that  he  left  the  field  of 
Shiloh  on  the  second  day  "  only  after  eight  hours'  successful  battle 
with  a  superiour  army  of  fresh  troops,  whom  we  had  repulsed  in 
every  attack  upon  our  lines ;  so  repulsed  and  crippled,  indeed,  as 
to  leave  it  unable  to  take  the  field  for  the  campaign  for  which  it 
was  collected  and  equipped  at  such  enormous  expense  and  with 
such  profusion  of  all  the  appliances  of  war." 

His  subsequent  retreat  from  Corinth  to  Tupelo,  about  the  end 
of  May,  1862,  was  looked  upon  by  European  officers  as  a  mas 
terly  performance,  considering  the  quality  of  his  troops,  and  the 
trifling  loss  attendant  upon  such  a  movement,  confronted  by  so 
large  a  force — there  being  about  125,000  of  the  enemy  against 
35,000  Confederates. 

About  this  time  the  health  of  Gen.  Beauregard  was  so  much 
broken  that  his  physicians  insisted  upon  a  period  of  rest  and 
recreation ;  and  having  obtained  a  sick  furlough,  he  left  for 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  where  he  arrived  on  the  17th  June, 
accompanied  only  by  his  personal  staff.  Opportunity  was  taken, 
at  Eichmond  of  this  sick  furlough  to  give  the  command  of  the 
army  at  Corinth  permanently  to  Gen.  Bragg,  to  deprive  Beaure- 


254  GENERAL  PETER  G.   T.   BEAUREGARD. 

gard  of  his  well-deserved  post,  and  to  attempt  to  consign  him  to 
a  term  of  obscurity,  if  not  of  disgrace.  This  unworthy  device  at 
Eichmond  was  characteristic  of  the  little  circles  and  conspiracies 
in  which  the  government  there  was  conducted.  It  was  plain  that 
Mr.  Davis,  instead  of  wisely  forgetting  the  personal  differences 
which  had  grown  out  of  the  battle  of  Manassas,  had  nursed  his 
animosity  against  Gen.  Beauregard,  and  now  aimed  a  revengeful 
blow  in  what  he  thought  an  opportune  moment. 

There  is  nothing  more  repulsive  in  the  personal  history  of 
President  Davis'  administration  than  his  persistent  persecution  of 
this  distinguished  soldier.  The  severe  justice  of  history  must 
pronounce  it  mean  and  malignant.  We  are  aware  that  there  is  a 
party  in  the  South  which  constantly  deprecates  any  personal  criti 
cism  of  the  ex-President  of  the  Confederacy,  forgetting  that  Mr. 
Davis  was  of  all  public  men  himself  the  most  profuse  of  personal 
recriminations,  a  merciless,  inexorable  adversary,  and  that,  in  a 
recent  publication  (his  "  Prison  Life  "),  he  is  shown  to  continue  his 
own  style  of  personal  allusion  to  those  associated  with  him  in  the 
late  war.  When  we  write  history  we  are  compelled  to  state  facts, 
no  matter  who  is  hurt  by  the  declaration.  The  fact  of  President 
Davis'  animosity  to  Gen.  Beauregard  was  notorious  at  all  times  of 
the  war.  When  he  took  from  him  the  command  of  the  army  at 
Corinth,  and  a  committee  of  Congressmen  at  Richmond  earnestly 
sought  his  reinstatement,  the  President  passionately  replied  that 
he  would  not  consent  to  such  a  measure,  though  the  whole  world 
should  urge  him  to  it.*  When  at  last  public  sentiment  wrung 
from  Mr.  Davis  a  command  of  the  coast  defences  for  Gen.  Beaure- 

*  Notes  of  an  interview  with  the  President  relative  to  transferring  back  General  Beauregard 
to  the  command  of  Department  No.  2. 

RICHMOND,  September  13,  1862. 

General  Sparrow  and  myself  this  day  called  on  the  President  and  delivered  to  him 
a  petition  signed  by  about  fifty  members  and  Senators  from  the  "Western  and  South 
western  States,  in  which  the  restoration  of  Beauregard  to  the  command  of  the  army, 
now  under  Bragg,  was  solicited,  it  being  stated  in  the  petition  that  it  was  known  that 
Bragg  would  welcome  the  restoration  of  Beauregard.  *****  The  President 
remarked,  that  so  far  as  giving  Beauregard  command  of  Bragg's  army  is  concerned, 
that  was  out  of  the  question.  Bragg  had  arranged  all  his  plans,  and  had  co-intelli 
gence  with  the  Department,  with  Kirby  Smith,  and  Humphrey  Marshall,  and  to  put  a 
new  commander  at  the  head  of  the  army  would  be  so  prejudicial  to  the  public  inter 
ests,  he  would  not  do  it  if  the  whole  world  united  in  the  petition.  ****** 

(Signed)    THS.  J.  SEMMES. 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          255 

gard,  it  was  not  only  reluctantly  bestowed,  but  only  when  the  clam 
our  of  the  people  for  a  favourite  commander  had  alarmed  him, 
or  could  be  no  longer  tolerated.  And  when  Gen.  Beauregard  did 
take  the  new  command,  it  was  to  find  constant  disfavour  and  sus 
picion  at  Richmond  ;  to  protest  against  his  requisitions  being  un 
filled,  and  his  deprivation  of  troops ;  and  to  have  his  remonstrances 
disregarded,  filed  in  obscure  bureaux,  or  indorsed  with  fretful 
notes  of  inquiry  or  exclamation.  A  bureau  officer  in  the  "War 
Department  testifies  :  "  Every  letter  Gen.  Beauregard  sends  to  the 
Department  is  sure  to  put  twenty  clerks  at  work  in  the  effort  to 
pick  flaws  in  his  accuracy  of  statement." 

In  the  interval  of  ill-health,  and  at  a  time  when  a  cruel  and 
infamous  report  was  circulated  in  Richmond  that  Gen.  Beauregard 
was  losing  his  powers,  and  that  his  sickness  verged  on  insanity, 
he  wrote  the  following  remarkable  letter,  intended  to  be  private. 
As  a  just  and  striking  commentary  on  the  growing  spirit  of  the 
war,  and  on  many  of  the  mistaken  and  short-sighted  views  then 
prevalent  at  Richmond,  it  will  interest  the  reader : 

BLADEN,  ALABAMA,  Aug.  3,  1862. 

MY  DEAR  GENERAL  : — I  regret  much  to  hear  of being 

wounded.  I  hope  he  will  soon  be  able  to  face  the  Abolitionists. 
In  this  contest  we  must  triumph  or  perish ;  and  the  sooner  we 
make  up  our  minds  to  it  the  better.  "We  now  understand  the 
hypocritical  cry  of  "  Union  and  the  Constitution,"  which  means, 
and  always  did  mean,  "spoliation  and  murder." 

We  will  yet  have  to  come  to  proclaiming  this  war  "  a  war  to 
the  knife,"  when  no  quarter  will  be  asked  or  granted.  I  believe 
it  is  the  only  thing  which  can  prevent  recruiting  at  the  North. 
As  to  ourselves,  I  think  that  very  few  will  not  admit  that  death  is 
preferable  to  dishonour  and  ruin. 

Our  great  misfortune  is,  that  we  have  always  relied  on  foreign 
intervention  "and  peace  in  sixty  days."  No  nation  will  ever 
intervene  until  it  is  seen  that  we  can  maintain  alone  our  indepen 
dence  ;  that  is,  until  we  can  no  longer  require  assistance.  England 
is  afraid  to  admit  that  she  cannot  do  without  our  cotton,  for  then 
she  would  virtually  be  in  our  power.  France  is  unwilling  to  inter 
fere,  for  fear  of  the  treachery  of  the  latter.  She  always  remem 
bers  her  as  "  la  per  fide  Albion" 


256          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

But  if  France  concludes  to  take  Mexico,  she  will  require  the 
alliance  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  to  protect  her  from  Northern 
aggression.  Nations  as  well  as  individuals  always  consult  their 
own  interests  in  any  alliance  they  may  form.  Hence,  our  best 
reliance  must  be  in  our  "  stout  hearts  and  strong  arms." 

I  have  been  very  unwell  for  several  months,  but  could  not  rest 
until  now.  I  hope  shortly  to  return  to  duty,  with  renewed  health 
and  vigour.  I  know  not  yet  to  what  point  I  shall  be  ordered.  I 
hope  to  do  something  shortly  by  taking  the  offensive  with  a  well- 
organized  army.  However,  "  Vhomme  propose  et  Dieu  dispose;" 
hence,  I  shall  go  with  alacrity  wherever  I  am  ordered. 

With  kind  regards,  etc.,  I  remain,  yours  sincerely, 

P.  GL  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Gen.  "WM.  E.  MARTIN,  Pocotaligo,  S.  0. 


if)  by  IT.'. 

•     • 

>9jfas  od  lliw  Tohunp  01 
tov^ig  0fK>  rfouiw  ^airfl  yj-t 

fw  V7c,VvT^r  iprft   J.fl/ft   T    ^tif- 


[01  RYJ;WI£  ovjtiii  aw 


.       . 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.   BEAUREGARD.  257 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Gen.  Beauregard  in  command  at  Charleston. — Military  importance  of  "  the  City  of 
Secession." — Gen.  Beauregard's  appeal  to  the  patriotism  of  the  Carolinians. — Naval 
attack  on  Charleston,  1863  — Gen.  Beauregard's  department  stripped  of  troops. — 
Unavailing  remonstrance  to  President  Davis. — Gen.  Gillmore's  attempt  on  Charles 
ton. — Its  impotent  conclusion. — Fame  of  Gen.  Beauregard  as  an  engineer. — He 
receives  the  thanks  of  Congress. — Returns  to  Virginia  hi  1864. — "Battle  of  the 
Falchion  and  the  Buzzard." — Gen.  Beauregard's  plan  of  campaign  before  the  bat 
tle  of  Drewry's  Bluff. — Remarkable  interview  with  President  Davis. — Connection 
of  Gen.  Beauregard  with  Hood's  campaign. — He  advises  the  evacuation  of  Rich 
mond. — Merits  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  military  career. — Description  of  his  person 
and  habits. 

IN  September,  1862,  we  find  Gen.  Beauregard  taking  command 
of  the  defences  of  Charleston,  which  were  pronounced  by  his  prede 
cessor — Gen.  Pemberton — no  longer  tenable.  The  place,  however, 
had  as  yet  been  but  slightly  molested  by  the  enemy;  and  the 
friends  of  Gen.  Beauregard  were  rather  disposed  to  resent  the 
appointment  to  a  position,  apparently  so  unimportant,  and  in  any 
event  so  little  likely  to  be  adorned  with  victory,  of  one  who  had 
already  distinguished  himself  in  as  high  places  as  the  Confederate 
army  could  then  afford.  But  in  this  respect,  Gen.  Beauregard  was 
"  fortune's  favourite ; "  and  in  looking  back  upon  his  memorable 
defence  of  the  "  City  of  Secession,"  we  must  declare  that  no  other 
position  during  the  war  could  have  presented  like  opportunities  to 
display  what  was  undoubtedly  Gen.  Beauregard's  speciality — his 
engineering  genius.  He  himself  appears  to  have  been  well  satisfied 
with  the  appointment  to  Charleston,  and  to  have  anticipated  there 
the  tremendous  conflict  of  valour  and  skill  which  ensued. 

There  was  a  mixed  reason,  indeed,  for  a  powerful  Federal  demon 
stration  on  Charleston.  It  was  the  city  most  meriting,  in  the 
Federal  eye,  the  condign  punishment  due  to  the  nursery  of  treason 
and  rebellion.  Military  forecast,  too,  had  already  observed  in 
Charleston  a  point  bound  to  grow  into  importance  as  the  war  pro 
gressed.  The  requirements  to  the  vitality  of  the  body  politic  of 
the  Confederacy  made  necessary  a  constant  communication  between 

17 


258          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Virginia  and  the  more  Southern  States  of  the  cis-Mississippi,  both 
for  concert  of  action  among  the  troops,  and  the  furnishing  of  sup 
plies  to  the  Virginia  army.  Thus  the  danger  that  threatened  the 
long  line  of  railroad  that  traversed  Tennessee  parallel  to  the  Federal 
line  of  occupation,  and  therefore  vulnerable  at  all  its  points,  made 
the  defence  of  the  other  line  through  South  Carolina,  and  which 
approached  so  near  to  Charleston,  at  Branch ville,  an  object  of  the 
most  vital  interest.  This  line  of  railroad  was  the  artery  that  fur 
nished  life  to  the  troops  fed  from  the  granaries  of  south  Georgia, 
and  its  ultimate  destruction  in  Sherman's  march  did,  as  we  may 
hereafter  see,  touch  the  vitals  of  the  Confederacy. 

In  view  of  the  dangers  impending  on  the  sea-coast,  and  particu 
larly  in  Charleston — which,  in  fact,  inadequately  supplied  with 
troops,  was  open  to  assault  in  no  less  than  five  different  directions 
— Gen.  Beauregard  issued  the  following  proclamation : 

HEADQUARTERS,  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  } 
GEORGIA  AND  FLORIDA,  February  18,  1863.       ) 

It  has  become  my  solemn  duty  to  inform  the  authorities  and 
citizens  of  Charleston  and  Savannah,  that  the  movements  of  the 
enemy's  fleet  indicate  an  early  land  and  naval  attack  on  one  or 
both  cities,  and  to  urge  that  persons  unable  to  take  an  active  part 
in  the  struggle  shall  retire. 

It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  temporary  separation  of  some  of 
you  from  your  homes  will  be  made  without  alarm  or  undue  haste, 
thus  showing  that  the  only  feeling  which  animates  you  in  this  hour 
of  supreme  trial  is  the  right  of  being  able  to  participate  in  the  de 
fence  of  your  homes,  your  altars,  and  the  graves  of  your  kindred. 

Carolinians  and  Georgians !  the  hour  is  at  hand  to  prove  your 
country's  cause.  Let  all  able-bodied  men,  from  the  sea-board  to 
the  mountains,  rush  to  arms.  Be  not  too  exacting  in  the  choice 
of  weapons.  Pikes  and  scythes  will  do  for  exterminating  your 
enemies,  spades  and  shovels  for  protecting  your  firesides.  To  arms, 
fellow-citizens  !  Come  to  share  with  us  our  danger,  our  brilliant 
success,  our  glorious  death.* 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD,   Gen.  commanding. 

*  To  this  appeal  there  was  but  little  substantial  response  in  men  and  material. 
And  yet  curiously  enough  in  Charleston  "the  spirit  of  the  women  "—a  phrase  which 
by  the  way  appears  to  have  had  but  little  real  value  in  the  war  (sentiment  to  the 
contrary),  and  was  too  often  used  to  denote  a  silly  nervous  transport  that  quickly 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          259 

The  most  serious  naval  demonstration  of  the  enemy  was  made 
upon  Charleston,  after  an  engagement  had  occurred  at  Pocotaligo, 
in  which  Gen.  Beauregard  was  successful ;  and,  after  the  attack 
made  by  Capt.  Ingraham  on  the  blockading  squadron,  in  which 
the  Mercedita,  a  Federal  steamer,  was  disabled.  On  the  7th  of 
April,  1863,  the  long-expected  trial  between  the  enemy's  iron 
clads  and  the  forts  of  Charleston  Harbour  came  on ;  and  from  a 
distance  of  from  nine  to  twelve  hundred  yards  the  Ironsides  and 
monitors  opened  fire  on  the  front  of  Sumter,  and  delivered  a  shock 
as  of  ten  thousand  battering-rams,  impelled  by  the  arms  of  Titans. 
The  fort  stood  firm,  replying  with  the  angry  flashes  of.  its  guns ; 
a  complete  triumph  was  obtained  for  the  Confederates;  and  the 
next  morning  was  seen  a  turret  and  smoke-stack  of  the  Keokuk, 
the  only  visible  reminder  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  vessels  of 
the  enemy's  armada. 

An  interval  for  other  preparations  elapsed,  and  the  next  at 
tempt  upon  Charleston  followed  under  Gen.  Gillmore.  We  have 
already  hinted  at  the  desperate  condition  of  the  city  when  Gen. 
Beauregard  took  command.  His  engineering  skill  had  to  be  taxed 
to  the  utmost ;  old  batteries  had  to  be  altered  and  repaired ;  new 
sites  had  to  be  selected  for  other  constructions.  James  and  Sulli 
van's  Islands  were  thoroughly  protected ;  but  Morris  Island  was 
imperfectly  defended  from  want  of  labour  and  necessary  materials. 
Other  causes  of  alarm  and  embarrassment  arose ;  for  a  disposition 
was  shown  at  Eichmond  to  diminish  Gen.  Beauregard's  resources, 
and  to  strip  his  district  of  troops  to  reinforce  Pemberton,  at  Yicks- 
burg.  In  vain  Gen.  Beauregard  protested  against  this  disfavour 
to  him  and  risk  to  the  country.  On  the  16th  May,  he  wrote  to 
Eichmond,  complaining  in  desperate  terms  of  the  movement  of  so 
many  of  his  troops  to  Mississippi ;  5,000  on  the  5th,  and  more  than 

expired — was  so  high  and  extravagant  that  it  burst  all  bounds  of  sex,  and  literally 
offered  recruits  from  its  own  ranks.  A  short  while  before  the  proclamation  referred 
to,  the  women  of  Charleston  passed  the  following  extraordinary  resolution,  which, 
prettily  as  it  is  written,  we  must  own  has  something  of  a  comical  aspect  now : 

"  In  the  daughters  of  Carolina  there  are  kindred  spirits  to  the  '  Maid  of  Saragossa.' 
If  the  time  for  us  to  act  has  come,  we  are  ready.  "We  ask  for  the  best  method  of 
action — whether  to  be  formed  into  companies  and  regiments,  or  to  wait  and  fill  the  places 
of  our  beloved  soldiers  who  fall  I  Save  our  country,  our  Southern  sunny  homes,  from 
Yankee  thraldom,  men  and  fathers.  Your  daughters  hush  their  timid  fearings,  and 
would  die  for  their  country's  freedom." 


260          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

5,000  on  the  10th  instant.  He  made  an  exhibit  of  the  forces  re 
maining  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia — about  4,000  infantry, 
5,000  cavalry,  and  6,000  artillery— some  15,000  in  all.  He  said 
the  enemy  was  still  on  the  coast,  in  the  rivers,  and  on  the  islands, 
and  might  easily  cut  his  communications  with  Savannah ;  and  that 
they  had  sufficient  numbers  to  take  Charleston,  in  all  probability, 
without  passing  the  forts.  To  all  these  representations  President 
Davis  was  deaf ;  and  Gen.  Beauregard  was  left  with  an  inadequate 
force,  and  in  the  most  unequal  circumstances,  to  make  one  of 
the  most  desperate  defences  of  the  war,  to  win  a  victory  where 
there  was.  least  reason  to  expect  it,  and  to  achieve,  despite  the  con 
finements  of  an  envious  Administration  at  Eichmond,  the  most 
glorious  success  of  his  life. 

The  first  effort  of  the  enemy  was  directed  to  getting  possession  of 
the  islands,  on  which  to  plant  batteries  controlling  the  city  and  har 
bour,  under  whose  protection  the  gunboats  were  to  advance  to  the 
capture  of  the  city.  An  unsuccessful  effort  was  made  to  carry  Fort 
Wagner  by  storm,  after  effecting  a  landing  on  Morris  Island ;  the  trial 
was  renewed  on  the  18th  August,  1863,  and  followed  by  a  terrific 
night  attack,  which  resulted  in  a  loss  of  over  1,500  Federal  troops. 
The  fort  was  not  evacuated  until  the  6th  of  September,  having  been 
held  all  this  time  under  Beauregard's  orders,  while  he  hastened  to 
complete  other  works,  whose  effect  completely  neutralized  all  bene 
fits  the  Federals  had  expected  to  enjoy  in  the  occupation  of  Morris 
Island.  The  retention  of  this  island  by  Gen.  Beauregard  for  the 
space  of  two  months,  and  with  a  force  of  about  1,200  men  against 
about  twelve  thousand,  was  one  of  the  most  heroic  and  critical 
incidents  of  the  struggle;  the  delay  enabling  him  to  construct 
interiour  works  for  the  defence  of  Charleston.  In  the  interval,  on 
the  21st  August,  Gillmore  had  demanded  the  evacuation  of  Forts 
Wagner  and  Sumter,  threatening  the  destruction  of  Charleston  if 
the  demand  was  not  complied  with,  and  the  following  night  the 
bombardment  of  Charleston  proper  commmenced.  Gen.  Gillmore, 
having  dispatched  to  the  authorities  at  Washington  that  "Fort 
Sumter  was  a  shapeless,  harmless  mass  of  ruins,"  but  one  idea 
prevailed — that  Charleston  was  already  reduced.  A  summons  to 
Fort  Sumter,  Maj.  Stephen  Elliot  commanding,  on  the  part  of 
Admiral  Dahlgren,  not  being  acceded  to,  an  attack  under  Com 
mander  Stevens,  was  directed  against  it  at  midnight  of  the  8th 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          261 

of  September.  It  was  completely  frustrated ;  and  the  "  mass  of 
ruins  "  frowned  defiantly  in  greater  strength  than  in  the  days  of  the 
comeliest  symmetry  of  this  historic  fort.  It  decided  the  safety  of 
Charleston,  and  stood  the  faithful  guardian  of  the  city,  and  the 
defiant  herald  of  Beauregard's  engineering  fame.* 

The  defence  of  Charleston  constitutes  undoubtedly  the  hap 
piest  and  most  brilliant  page  in  the  life  of  Gen.  Beauregard.  It 
was  his  most  successful  service  in  the  war,  and  gave  him  his 
greatest  name  in  the  world's  estimation.  Of  this  defence  it  has 
been  said  :  "It  developed  and  called  forth  such  engineering  skill, 
that  to-day  the  world  discusses  the  merits  of  the  two  who  have 
distanced  all  others  in  engineering  science — Beauregard  and  Tod- 
leben,  of  Kussia — and  hesitates  to  award  to  either  the  palm." 

The  thanks  of  the  Confederate  Congress  rendered  to  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  for  his  services  at  Charleston  were  conveyed  in  resolutions 
of  more  than  usual  import.  It  was  unanimously  voted  that  he  had 
accomplished  an  unparalleled  and  glorious  work  ;  and  the  following 
resolution  assured  him  in  uncommon  terms  of  the  appreciation  of 
his  countrymen : 

*  It  is  partly  amusing  now  to  look  back  upon  the  confidence  with,  which  the 
North  had  anticipated  the  fall  of  Charleston,  or  delighted  itself  with  visions  of  the 
hateful  city  being  devoured  by  the  "  infernal  fires  "  of  Gillmore's  new  and  wonderful 
ordnance.  The  event  so  surely  hoped  for  was  gaily  commented  on  in  the  journals,  and 
furnished  a  fund  of  caricature  for  the  pictorials,  which  were  already  drawing  on  their 
imaginations  for  the  final  scenes  of  the  rebellion.  A  gentleman  who  visited  Gen. 
Beauregard  during  the  siege  of  Charleston,  says :  "  A  caricature  hi  a  New  York  illus 
trated  -paper,  wherein  President  Davis  and  Gen.  Beauregard  were  depicted  shoeless 
and  in  rags,  contemplating  a  pair  of  boots,  which  the  latter  suggested  had  better  be 
eaten,  excited  considerable  amusement  when  shown  to  him  and  a  party,  at  an  excel 
lent  dinner  one  day." 

In  another  of  the  pictorials  was  a  brutal  and  devilish  device — a  picture  represent 
ing  Gen.  Beauregard  watering  his  horse  in  hell  It  was  engraved  after  one  of  the 
numerous  Federal  reports  of  the  death  of  the  hero  whom  the  North  seemed  to  hate 
above  all  others  in  the  Confederacy. 

To  this  fund  of  the  enemy's  amusement  in  the  siege  of  Charleston,  we  shall  only 
add  the  following : 

BEAOREGABD  AND  GILLMORE. 

At  midnight,  in  his  blackguard  tent, 
"  Old  Beau  "  was  dreaming  of  the  hour 
When  Gillmore,  like  a  suppliant  bent, 
Should  tremble  at  his  power ; 


262          GENERAL  PETEK  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

"Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  Congress  are  eminently  due,  and 
are  hereby  cordially  tendered  to  Gen.  P.  G.  T.  Beauregard  and  the 
officers  and  men  of  his  command,  for  their  gallantry  and  successful 
defence  of.  the  city  of  Charleston,  S.  C. — a  defence  which,  for  the 
skill,  heroism,  and  tenacity  displayed  by  the  defenders  during  an 
attack  scarcely  paralled  in  warfare,  whether  we  consider  the  per 
sistent  efforts  of  the  enemy,  or  his  boundless  resources  in  the  most 
improved  and  formidable  artillery  and  the  most  powerful  engines 
of  war  hitherto  known,  is  justly  entitled  to  be  pronounced  'glo 
rious  '  by  impartial  history  and  an  admiring  country." 

Charleston  having  proved  impregnable,  public  opinion  forced 
the  Administration  to  employ  Gen.  Beauregard  on  another  field  of 
usefulness.  It  created  a  new  command  for  him  which  extended 
from  Virginia  to  Florida ;  a  command  vast  indeed,  in  extent,  but 
almost  without  the  presence  of  an  army  or  an  enemy,  and  afford 
ing  but  scant  and  unimportant  operations.  From  this  command 
Gen.  Beauregard  was  summoned  to  take  part  in  the  great  campaign 
of  1864,  in  Virginia. 

Notwithstanding  the  warnings  of  Gen.  Beauregard,  the  ap 
proaches  to  Eichmond  and  Petersburg  were  left  unprotected  ;  and 
Gen.  Butler  landed  at  Bermuda  Hundred  with  about  35,000  men. 
By  a  telegraphic  dispatch  Gen.  Beauregard,  who  was  then  at  Wel- 

In  dreams,  through  camp  and  street  he  bore 
The  trophies  of  a  conqueror. 

He  sported  Gillmore's  gold-laced  hat — 
His  red-topped  boots,  his  gray  cravat, 
As  wild  his  fancy  as  a  bat, 

Or  "any  other  bird." 
An  hour  passed  on — "  Old  Beau"  awoke, 
Half  strangled  by  a  villainous  smoke, 
Enough  the  very  devil  to  choke, 
"While  all  around  the  "stink-pots"  broke 
And  blinded  him  with  smoke. 
He  cursed  the  villainous  compound, 
While  stunk  the  pole-cats  far  around ; 
Then  roared  with  wild,  demoniac  shriek : 
"Lord!  what  a  stink!  the  Greek!  the  Greek  I 
Put  out  this  villainous  Greek  fire  ! 
Or  in  the  last  red  ditch  expire. 
'Tis  sweet  to  draw  one's  dying  breath 
For  one's  dear  land,  as  Horace  saith, 
But  dreadful  to  be  stunk  to  death." — Nashville  Union. 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          263 

don,  North  Carolina,  was  ordered  immediately  to  arrest  the  pro 
gress  of  Butler.  With  what  troops  he  could  collect  around  Peters 
burg,  he  repulsed  the  attack  and  saved  the  city. 

Establishing  his  headquarters  at  Drewry's  Bluff,  G-en.  Beaure- 
gard  hastily  organized  an  army  out  of  the  heterogeneous  materials. 
Inflamed  with  the  knowledge  that  he  had  in  his  front  the  man  who 
had  inflicted  such  cruelties  and  such  indignities  on  his  much-loved 
home,  he  matured  a  plan  of  battle  in  an  instant,  struck  Butler  in 
the  front,  and  achieved  a  brilliant  victory.  The  Eichmond  Exam 
iner  entitled  it  "  the  battle  of  the  falchion  and  the  buzzard."  With 
15,000  men,  Gen.  Beauregard  defeated  Butler  and  30,000  men  of 
his  army ;  drove  them  back  in  disorder  to  Bermuda  Hundred ; 
and  it  is  said  that  if  one  of  his  Generals — Whiting — had  carried 
out  the  plan  of  attack,  but  few  of  Butler's  men  would  have  reach 
ed  the  place  of  shelter.  As  it  was,  "  the  Army  of  the  James  " 
was  neutralized,  and  remained  "  an  army  of  observation."  Four 
teen  hundred  prisoners  were  taken  and  five  pieces  of  artillery  ;  and 
Butler  was  hemmed  by  the  Confederate  lines,  which  were  since, 
from  time  to  time,  advanced  after  every  skirmish,  until  they  com 
pletely  covered  the  Southern  communications  of  the  capital,  thus 
securing  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  attack.  The  hesitation 
of  the  Confederate  left  wing,  and  the  premature  halt  of  the  Peters 
burg  column,  saved  the  enemy  from  greater  disaster,  and  took  place, 
as  Gen.  Beauregard  officially  reported,  "  before  obstacles,  in  nei 
ther  case  sufficient  to  have  deterred  from  the  execution  of  the 
movements  prescribed." 

Drewry's  Bluff  was  a  valuable  victory.  But  just  before  this 
action,  Gen.  Beauregard  had  proposed  something  much  grander 
and  more  decisive  in  the  Virginia  campaign.  He  had  represented 
to  the  authorities  at  Eichmond  that  with  the  force  at  his  command 
he  could  scarcely  do  more  than  obtain  the  colour  of  victory ;  and 
lie  had  proposed,  if  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  men  were  furnished 
him  from  Gen.  Lee's  lines,  to  assemble  a  force  that  would  crush 
Butler,  and,  annihilating  him,  instead  of  merely  driving  him  back, 
would  then  be  in  instant  readiness  to  move  upon  Grant's  flank, 
while  Gen.  Lee  made  an  attack  in  front,  and  to  finish  the  campaign 
by  a  grand  stroke  of  arms.  The  plan  of  action  was  communicated 
to  Gen.  Bragg,  at  the  time  exercising  a  species  of  general  command, 
and  acting  as  "  military  adviser  "  of  President  Davis.  It  impressed 


264:          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Bragg  so  deeply  that  he  persuaded  the  President  to  visit  the  head 
quarters  of  Gen.  Beauregard,  and  to  receive  his  views  in  person. 
Mr.  Davis  made  the  concession  of  this  unusual  interview. 

In  order  that  there  might  be  no  imperfect  or  interested  version 
of  his  plan,  Gen.  Beauregard  had  made  the  following  precise  mem 
orandum  of  it : — 

HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  K  C.  AND  S.  VA., 

DREWRY'S  BLUFF,  May  14,  1864. 

General  Braxton  Bragg,  Commanding- General: 

GENERAL  : — Considering  the  vital  importance  of  the  issue  in 
volved,  and  resting  upon  the  success  of  the  plan  suggested  to  you 
this  morning,  I  have  deemed  it  desirable  and  appropriate  that 
its  substance  should  be  briefly  communicated  in  writing,  as 
follows : — 

Gen.  Lee's  army  at  Guinea  Station,  and  my  command  at  this 
place,  are  on  nearly  a  right  line  passing  through  Kichmond.,  Grant's 
army  being  on  the  left  flank,  and  Butler's  on  the  right ;  our  lines 
are  thus  interiour. 

Butler's  aim  is  unquestionably  to  invest  and  turn  Drewry's  Bluff, 
threatening  and  holding  the  Petersburg  and  Danville  Eailroads, 
opening  the  obstructions  in  the  river  at  Fort  Drewry  for  the  passage 
of  war- vessels,  necessitating  then  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Lee  to  the 
lines  about  Kichmond.  With  the  railroads  held  by  the  enemy, 
Grant  in  front  and  Butler  in  rear  of  the  works  around  Richmond, 
the  capital  would  be  practically  invested,  and  the  issue  may  well 
be  dreaded. 

The  plan  suggested  is,  that  Gen.  Lee  should  fall  back  to  the 
defensive  lines  of  the  Chickahominy,  even  to  the  intermediate  lines 
of  Richmond,  sending  temporarily  to  this  place  15,000  men  of  his 
troops;  immediately  upon  that  accession  to  my  present  force,  I 
would  take  the  offensive,  and  attack  Butler  vigorously.  Such  a 
move,  properly  made,  would  throw  me  directly  upon  Butler's  com 
munications,  and  (as  he  now  stands)  on  his  right  flank,  well  towards 
the  rear ;  General  Whiting  should  also  move  simultaneously.  But 
ler  must  then  be  necessarily  crushed  or  captured,  and  all  the  stores 
of  that  army  would  fall  into  our  hands ;  an  amount  probably  that 
would  make  an  interruption  into  our  communications,  for  a  period 
of  a  few  days,  a  matter  of  no  serious  inconvenience. 


GENERAL   PETER  G.  T.   BEAUREGARD.  265 

The  proposed  attack  should  be  accomplished  in  two  days  at 
furthest,  after  receiving  my  reinforcements ;  this  done,  I  would 
move  with  10,000  more  men  to  the  assistance  of  Gen.  Lee  than  I 
received  from  him,  and  Grant's  fate  would  not  long  remain 
doubtful. 

The  destruction  of  Grant's  forces  would  open  the  way  for  the 
recovery  of  most  of  our  lost  territory,  as  already  submitted  to  you 
in  general  terms. 

Respectfully,  etc., 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Gen.  Beauregard  had  j  udged  that  with  the  reinforcement  named 
in  this  memorandum  he  could  surprise  the  army  of  Butler,  destroy 
it,  and  then,  with  Gen.  Lee's  cooperation,  overthrow  Grant,  and 
march  quickly  on  Washington,  which  was  defenceless.  It  was  a 
surprise  elevated  to  a  decisive  battle ;  it  failed  entirely  from  lack 
of  promptitude  in  the  execution.  The  persistence  of  Beauregard 
in  desiring  a  reinforcement  compelled  President  Davis  to  visit  him, 
to  listen  to  his  plan.  That  was  one  day  lost  already.  Mr.  Davis 
was  immovable;  he  did  not  want  to  give  the  15,000  men;  he 
refused.  "Remember,"  said  Beauregard  to  him,  "that  we  are 
now  playing  the  last  act  of  our  drama,  on  which  the  curtain  will 
soon  fall ;  let  the  play  at  least  end  gloriously  for  us  !  Kemember, 
also,  that  I  am  certain  of  success,  for  I  have  staked  everything  in 
this  last  grand  effort — my  life  and  my  reputation."  One  must 
know  the  modesty,  recall  the  courage  and  military  genius  of  Beau- 
regard  to  understand  that  when  he  said  "  I  am  certain  of  success," 
it  was  because  he  was  certain  of  it.  President  Davis  was  moved ; 
but  his  obstinacy  continued ;  he  refused  the  reinforcement.  The 
result  was  the  lingering  and  fatal  campaign  of  1864.  Months  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  Gen.  Beauregard,  repeating  to  a  friend  his 
plan  of  action,  adhered  to  the  belief  that  it  would  have  broken  to 
pieces  the  enemy's  combination  against  Richmond ;  and,  with  the 
light  of  conviction  in  his  eyes,  he  said :  "  Yes,  I  was  certain  of 
success." 

On  the  3d  October,  1864,  Gen.  Beauregard  was  assigned  to 
the  nominal  command  of  two  military  departments  and  the  troops 
therein,  known  as  the  Department  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  and 
the  Department  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  and  East  Louisiana.  He 


266          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

immediately  proceeded  to  the  West,  joined  Hood's  army,  and  then 
issued  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  people  to  come  forward,  with 
renewed  efforts,  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the  South. 

In  this,  his  last  field  of  service,  Gen.  Beauregard  was  unfortun 
ate;  his  name  was  connected  with  Hood's  great  disaster,  and  he 
shared  some  of  the  responsibility  of  that  ill-starred  campaign  that 
brought  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy  to  the  last  extremity. 
This  responsibility  is  not  clearly  defined ;  for  in  President  Davis7 
singular  fondness  for  equivocal  military  commands,  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard's  position  was  not  so  much  that  of  a  General  in  the  field,  as  a 
sort  of  military  director,  having  no  power  to  take  direct  controul 
of  either  Hood's  or  Taylor's  armies.  "Whether  or  not  he  might 
have  assumed  to  countermand  Hood's  unfortunate  campaign  into 
Middle  Tennessee,  it  is  certain  that  he  declined  doing  so  when,  on 
arriving  at  Augusta,  Ga.,  on  the  6th  December,  he  found  that 
Sherman  had  275  miles  the  start,  and  the  roads  were  impracticable 
in  Northern  Georgia  and  Alabama.  But  he  telegraphed  the 
Governors  of  Alabama,  Georgia,  and  other  States,  to  concentrate 
troops  rapidly  in  Sherman's  front,  ordered  a  brigade  of  cavalry 
from  Hood  to  Wheeler,  and  supposed  some  30,000  men  could  be 
collected  to  oppose  Sherman's  march,  and  destroy  him.  The 
result  shows  that  he  was  mistaken ;  that  the  volunteer  assistance 
he  had  hoped  for  could  not  be  aroused  in  the  demoralized  state  of 
the  country ;  that  the  inadequate  forces  in  the  enemy's  front  could 
not  arrest  that  march  to  the  sea,  which  was  ultimately  decisive 
of  the  fate  of  Savannah  and  Charleston,  and  was  at  last  only  in 
effectually  impeded  in  the  forests  of  North  Carolina. 

Whilst  acting  in  this  State  under  the  command  of  Johnston, 
Gen.  Beauregard  proposed  a  plan  of  campaign  to  foil  Sherman,  by 
concentrating  all  the  disposable  Confederate  forces  at  Fayetteville, 
and  making  a  decisive  battle  there.  The  advice  was  in  accord  with 
Gen.  Johnston's  favourite  and  masterly  policy  of  "  concentration ;  " 
but  the  junction  of  Schofield  with  Sherman  gave  the  enemy  such 
overwhelming  odds  as  to  put  a  single  decisive  battle  out  of  the 
question.  In  this  last  emergency,  Gen.  Beauregard  advised  the 
immediate  evacuation  of  Kichmond,  and  wrote  to  Gen.  Johnston : 
"  I  can  see  no  other  means  of  preventing  the  complete  attainment 
of  the  main  object  of  Sherman's  campaign  than  by  the  prompt 
evacuation  of  our  lines  at  Petersburg,  and  the  occupation  of  those 


GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD.          267 

prepared  for  such  an  emergency  around  Richmond,  and  bj  detach 
ing  25,000  men  to  unite  with  the  force  already  in  North  Carolina, 
and  give  immediate  battle  to  Sherman,  which  could  be  done  with 
almost  certain  decisive  success.  After  which  the  whole  army  should 
be  hastened  back  to  Virginia  to  raise  the  siege  of  Richmond."  How 
such  a  movement  would  have  resulted,  is  left  entirely  to  the  im 
agination;  and  whether  it  was  practicable,  at  the  time  of  its 
recommendation,  is  a  subject  of  additional  doubt. 

The  surrender  of  the  different  armies  of  the  Confederacy  in 
April,  1865,  brought  back  Gen.  Beauregard,  who  was  then  with 
Gen.  Johnston  at  Greensboro,  North  Carolina,  to  his  native  State. 
It  appeared  now  to  be  the  concurrent  decision  of  the  great  leaders 
of  the  Southern  armies,  finding  little  room  for  themselves  in  the 
political  world,  to  retire  from  the  arena  of  public  life,  and  devote 
those  abilities  which  shone  so  brightly  on  the  battle-field,  and  so 
steadily  in  the  council  chamber,  to  educational  or  commercial  pur 
suits.  Actuated  by  this  sentiment,  Gen.  Beauregard  has  sought 
a  new  business,  and  is,  at  present,  President  of  the  New  Orleans, 
Jackson,  and  Great  Northern  Railroad  Company,  attending  faith 
fully  and  cheerfully  to  his  new  duties  and  responsibilities.  Recently 
he  went  on  a  purely  commercial  tour  to  Europe,  where  he  was 
received  with  great  courtesy  and  distinction  by  all  classes  in 
England  and  France.* 

*  One  of  the  journals  of  Paris  contained  an  interesting  notice  of  Gen.  Beauregard, 
while  in  that  capital,  his  person,  career,  etc.,  from  which  we  extract  the  following 
brief  notices : — 

"  I  have  rarely  experienced,  in  taking  the  hand  of  a  soldier,  the  pleasure  which 
I  felt  on  pressing  that  of  Gen.  Beauregard,  at  the  time  when  the  Grand  Hotel  had 
the  pleasure  for  two  days  of  numbering  him  among  the  illustrious  guests  which 
it  entertained.  *  *  *  *  The  question  here  is  neither  one  of  politics,  nor  of  war,  nor 
yet  of  the  American  question — North  or  South.  It  is  a  question  only  of  one  of  tho 
most  sympathetic  physiognomies ;  of  one  of  those  illustrations  which  we  cannot  let 
pass  through  Paris,  without  giving  the  profile,  at  least,  to  our  readers. 

"First  of  all  we  do  not  forget  that  Gen.  Gustave  Toutant  de  Beauregard  is  of  a 
family  originating  with  De  la  Rochelle.  Besides,  the  fact  of  his  name  being  French  (as 
well  as  his  character  and  mind,  which  are  of  our  country)  has  not  the  less  contributed 
to  draw  a  very  sympathetic  attention  towards  him  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  during 
the  continuation  of  the  American  war.  He  was  one  of  that  trio  of  men,  respected  and 
admired  in  Europe,  even  by  their  enemies,  and  in  whose  hands  was  held  the  military 
destiny  of  the  Confederacy.  The  other  two,  as  is  known,  were  Jackson — surnamed 
while  under  fire  '  Stonewall ' — and  Gen.  Lee. 

"Beauregard  is  still  young;  he  was  born  in  Louisiana,  in  1818.    Physically  he 


268          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

Remarking  on  the  merits  of  Gen.  Beauregard's  military  life,  a 
Southern  journal  has  offered  a  criticism  so  acute  and  just,  that  we 
adopt  it  in  the  language  of  the  accomplished  writer :  "  In  one 
quality  of  a  great  General  he  was  without  compeer.  We  mean 
in  the  indescribable  magnetic  influence  which  a  few  men  appear  to 
have  wielded  over  large  masses.  Wellington  did  not  possess  it, 
nor  Marlborough,  nor  indeed  we  believe  did  Gen.  Lee.  Their 
troops  had  great,  indeed  unbounded  confidence  in  them,  but  it 
seems  to  have  been  confidence  which  grew  out  of  trial  and  ripened 

scarcely  appears  as  old  as  he  really  is,  notwithstanding  the  fatigues  of  a  war  where 
the  responsibilities  to  be  borne  were  as  weighty  as  the  dangers  to  be  faced  were 
great.  He  is  above  the  medium  height,  slender,  has  an  elegant  deportment,  is  very 
gentlemanly,  and  has  a  decidedly  French  figure.  His  complexion  is  bronzed  by  ex 
posure  in  the  southern  latitudes  of  America;  his  nose  is  long  and  shapely;  his  eye 
large  and  piercing ;  his  look  commanding.  He  wears  a  short  moustache,  partially 
gray,  and  also  a  small  imperial  His  extreme  modesty,  his  gentleness  of  tone,  and 
his  simplicity  of  manner,  cannot  entirely  conceal  the  soldier ! 

##**##***#*#* 

"  I  have  said  that  Gen.  Beauregard  was  French  in  character  and  mind ;  it  seemed 
impossible  for  him  in  his  American  guise  to  forget  his  original  country.  One  of  his 
aides,  Col.  Lamar,  told  me  that  on  his  return  to  the  General,  after  a  voyage  to  France, 
he  (Col.  L.)  had  related  to  him  the  words  of  sympathy  expressed  in  his  honour  in  the 
ranks  of  our  army,  and  that  the  General  had  wept  for  joy.  One  day  on  the  heights  of 
Charleston,  Gen.  Beauregard  was  pensively  gazing  towards  the  sea.  '  You  are  think 
ing  of  France,  General  I '  said  Col.  Lamar  to  him.  '  Yes,  I  am  thinking  of  France.  Ah ! 
if  she  knew  for  what  a  cause  we  fought,  she  would  come  to  our  assistance  1  For  she 
believes  that  I  am  fighting  for  the  maintenance  of  slavery,  whilst  I  would  willingly 
see  in  our  ranks  all  the  blacks  of  the  South,  defending  with  us  the  liberty  of  our 
territory.' 

"  This  opinion,  decidedly  against  the  support  of  slavery,  was  confirmed  by  the 
General  to  me,  and  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  was  he  who  in  connection  with 
Gen.  Lee,  proposed  arming  the  blacks.  Too  late  a  measure  I 

************* 

"  "When  I  said  that  his  name  and  his  person  inspired  a  lively  sympathy,  I  found 
the  proof  of  it  in  the  crowd  which  filled  the  hall  leading  to  the  modest  parlour  occu 
pied  by  the  General  at  the  Grand  Hotel.  Such  demonstrations,  entirely  novel  to  him, 
surprised  and  troubled  him. 

"One  final  illustration,  which  shows  that  at  no  point  certain  passions  cease  in  the 
heart  of  man.  This  morning,  as  I  communicated  to  Gen.  Beauregard  the  dispatches 
which  had  arrived  from  Italy,  said  he,  '  Ah  I  the  Italians  are  very  happy  in  having 
still  something  to  fight  for.' 

•'  I  saw  by  a  sigh,  and  by  a  movement  of  the  head,  that  he  was  very  willing  to 
add,  '  If  they  only  wanted  me  in  their  ranks ! ' 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  know,  that  by  his  mother,  Gen.  Beauregard  has  Tuscan  blood 
in  his  veins. 


GENERAL  PETEK  G.  T.  BEAUKEGARD.          269 

through  success.  But  Beauregard  was  beloved  of  every  army  he 
commanded  from  the  day  he  assumed  the  baton,  and  we  are  confident 
that  to  the  last  day  of  its  organization,  the  grand  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  would  have  greeted  his  presence  among  them  with 
shouts  of  joy  and  demonstrations  of  wild  affection,  which  no  other 
living  man  could  elicit.  Napoleon  possessed  this  quality  in  a  strik 
ing  degree ;  Stonewall  Jackson  possessed  it  to  a  great  extent. 
Amongst  the  Federal  generals  we  think  Gen.  Sherman  exhibited 
more  evidence  of  it  than  any  other,  unless  perhaps  Gen.  McClellan. 
But  for  Beauregard,  whether  he  commanded  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tennessee,  in  the  dreary  sand-hills  of  Corinth,  in  the  much  bom 
barded  city  of  the  sea,  or  in  the  well  defended  lines  which  looked 
on  classic  Potomac,  his  troops  ever  showed  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 
the  most  ardent  affection." 

Among  the  Confederate  Generals,  the  Richmond  Examiner  des 
ignated  Gen.  Beauregard  by  the  Latin  title  of  " Felix"  not  in  the 
common  school  translation  of  happy  or  fortunate  man,  but  in  its 
true  classical  meaning,  as  denoting  that  rare  and  well-tempered 
combination  of  qualities  that  conciliates  fortune,  makes  easy  and 
graceful  conquests  of  life,  wins  men,  and  obtains  equal  measures  of 
human  ambition  in  power  and  in  love.  In  this  sense  the  desig 
nation  was  characteristic,  and  a  neat  use  of  the  Latin  language. 

The  person  of  Gen.  Beauregard  is  familiar  to  the  public  in  pho 
tographs,  which  generally  do  justice  to  strongly  marked  features, 
and  especially  to  an  expression  so  settled  as  that  which  the  face  of 
the  General  wears.  It  is  indeed  the  fixed  and  precise  expression  of 
the  military  man,  with  a  figure  small,  but  the  beau-ideal  of  a  per 
fect  soldier.  He  is  five  feet  seven  and  a  half  inches  high,  weighs 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds ;  is  well  proportioned,  com 
pactly  put  up,  and  is  erect  and  quick  in  his  movements.  Those  who 
know  him  well  declare  that  he  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  active 
men  of  his  weight  in  the  country.  His  eyes  are  dark  brown, 
nearly  black.  His  hair  was  of  the  same  colour,  but  is  now  gray. 
His  health  was  not  generally  good  since  the  second  year  of  the 
war.  It  was  so  bad  towards  the  end  of  the  siege  of  Charleston  as 
almost  to  unfit  him  for  duty ;  but  his  great  energy  and  persever 
ance  enabled  him  to  remain  in  command  until  the  surrender  at 
Greensboro.  In  manners  Gen.  Beauregard  is  kind  and  generous 
to  those  around  him ;  but  he  is  uncompromising  where  a  duty  has 


270          GENERAL  PETER  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD. 

to  be  performed  by  himself  or  others.  "We  have  already  observed 
that  he  ruled  his  armies  more  through  the  affection  and  enthusiasm 
his  presence  created,  than  by  the  severities  of  military  discipline. 
But  he  always  exacted  implicit  obedience  from  those  whom  he 
commanded,  and  he  was  the  first  to  show  the  example  of  that  obe 
dience  to  those  whom  the  country  had  placed  in  a  position  to  com 
mand  him.  His  staff  was  so  attached  to  him  that  although  to  be 
a  member  of  it  was  to  relinquish  all  hopes  of  promotion  (on  ac 
count  of  the  animosity  of  President  Davis),  yet  all  through  the  four 
years7  war,  not  one  officer  voluntarily  retired  from  it.  He  was  well 
served  by  all  immediately  around  him,  for  he  was  served  from  love. 
In  his  habits  he  was  a  model  for  the  school  of  abstemiousness,  re 
jecting  all  stimulants,  drinking  neither  tea  nor  coffee,  and  an  ex 
ception  in  the  Southern  army,  to  the  extent  that  he  used  tobacco 
in  no  shape  whatever. 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Kemarkable  career  of  Albert  Sidney  Johnston. — He  eludes  the  Federal  authorities  in 
California. — Declares  for  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  "  annexes  "  Arizona. — 
In  command  of  the  Western  armies. — Picture  of  a  hero. — Proclamation  on  the 
occupation  of  Kentucky. — Foolish  exaltation  of  Southern  hopes. — True  situ 
ation  of  Gen.  Johnston. — His  noble  silence  in  the  face  of  clamour. — Letter  on  the 
fall  of  Fort  Donelson. — A  glance  at  the  Western  map  of  the  war. — The  Confed 
erate  line  broken  and  the  campaign  transferred  to  the  southern  bank  of  the  Ten 
nessee  river. — Battle  of  Shiloh. — Gen.  Johnston  riding  on  to  victory. — His  death- 
wound. — Lamentations  in  the  South. — Tributes  to  his  memory. — A  classic  in 
scription. 

IN  the  annals  of  America,  anteriour  to  the  war,  the  name  of 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston  belonged  both  to  history  and  romance, 
and  shared  equally  the  page  of  great  national  events  and  that  of 
remarkable  personal  adventure.  His  life  had  been  passed  not  only 
in  camps,  but  in  exploring  the  wilderness,  in  founding  new  homes, 
in  pursuing  the  excitements  of  new  countries,  and  running  there 
the  career  from  the  humble  individual  to  the  high  state  official, 
commanding  honours  won  by  spirit  and  perseverance. 

He  was  born  in  Mason  County,  Kentucky,  in  1803,  and  ob 
tained  a  literary  education  at  Transylvania  University  in  that 
State.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1826,  standing  eight  in  his 
class ;  was  commissioned  as  lieutenant  of  infantry,  served  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war  with  distinction,  resigned,  and  settled  in  Texas 
in  1836. 

At  this  time  Texas  was  struggling  for  her  independence,  and  the 
battle  of  San  Jacinto  had  been  fought.  Johnston,  who  appears  to 
have  emigrated  here  with  the  ambitious  resolution  to  make  his  mark 
in  a  new  country,  seized  the  first  opportunity  of  action,  and  entered 
the  Texan  army  as  a  private  soldier,  enlisting  in  the  division  of 
Gen.  Rusk.  His  merit  soon  raised  him  from  the  ranks,  and  he  was 


272  GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

ultimately  appointed  senior  Brigadier- General,  and  succeeded  Gen. 
Houston  in  the  command  of  the  Texan  army.  This  promotion 
was  not  without  the  accident  of  jealousy,  and  became  the  occasion 
of  a  duel  with  Gen.  Houston,  in  which  Johnston  was  wounded. 

In  1836,  Johnston  was  appointed  Texan  Secretary  of  War,  and 
in  1839  organized  an  expedition  against  the  hostile  Cherokees, 
in  which  he  routed  them  completely  in  a  battle  on  the  river  Neches. 
He  warmly  advocated  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United 
States,  and  after  this  union  was  effected  he  took  part  in  the  Mexi 
can  "War. 

Here  his  services  were  distinguished,  especially  at  the  siege  of 
Monterey,  where  he  had  three  horses  shot  under  him,  and  obtained 
the  especial  thanks  of  Gen.  Butler,  to  whom  he  was  acting  as  aide 
and  inspector-general.  In  October,  1849,  he  was  appointed  pay 
master  by  President  Taylor,  with  the  rank  of  major,  and,  upon 
the  passage  of  the  act  of  Congress  authorizing  the  raising  of  ad 
ditional  regiments  in  the  army,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Second  Cavalry.  In  the  latter  part  of  1857,  he  received  the  com 
mand  of  the  United  States  forces  sent  to  coerce  the  Mormons  into 
obedience  to  the  Federal  authority,  and  conducted  the  expedition 
in  safety  to  Great  Salt  Lake  City,  after  enduring  great  suffering  in 
the  mountains. 

The  commencement  of  the  war  found  him  in  command  of  the 
department  of  the  Pacific;  and  having  determined  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  Confederacy,  he  resigned  his  position  in  the  army  of 
the  United  States,  and  made  instant  preparations  to  elude  the 
watch  set  upon  him,  and  make  his  way  to  the  Atlantic  sea-board. 
With  a  few  companions,  he  chose  the  overland  route,  by  the  way 
of  Arizona.  The  little  party,  consisting  of  twenty -three  citizens  of 
California,  and  seven  officers  lately  resigned  from  the  Federal  ser 
vice,  mounted  on  mules,  arrived  at  Mesilla  on  the  21st  July,  1861. 
Here  Gen.  Johnston  found  the  Federal  authority  in  the  Territory 
substantially  destroyed,  and  perceiving  that  nearly  all  the  people 
were  Southern  in  origin  and  sympathies,  he  took  counsel  with  their 
leaders  and  determined  to  declare  Arizona  a  territory  of  the 
Confederate  States.  On  the  1st  August,  1861,  Col.  Baylor,  as 
military  commandant,  issued  his  proclamation,  erecting  a  terri 
torial  government,  with  executive  and  judicial  officers,  and  declar 
ing  the  territory,  until  otherwise  decreed,  to  consist  of  all  of  New 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  273 

Mexico  south  of  the  thirty-fourth  parallel  of  latitude,  within  which 
limits  the  local  laws  then  in  force  should  continue  until  changed 
by  act  of  the  Confederate  Congress. 

Having  completed,  as  he  hoped,  an  act  aggrandizing  the  new 
government  to  whose  service  he  was  hastening,  Gen.  Johnston 
resumed  his  journey,  and  passing  through  New  Orleans,  reached 
Richmond  on  the  2d  September.  Here  he  was  visited  by  many 
who  knew  and  admired  him.  The  fame  of  his  military  abilities 
was  popular  and  had  preceded  him ;  his  thoughtful  and  intellectual 
face  and  commanding  person  obtained  for  him  at  once  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  all  who  saw  him ;  and  his  arrival  at  Richmond 
was  an  occasion  of  jubilation,  in  which  the  people  saw  an  addition 
to  the  Confederate  roll  of  distinguished  generalship,  and  delighted 
themselves  with  the  prospect  of  a  new  effulgence  of  their  arms 
in  districts  which  had  not  yet  yielded  much  of  Southern  glory. 
The  new  commander  was  commissioned  a  full  General,  and  was 
promptly  appointed,  by  President  Davis,  to  the  command  of  the 
Department  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and,  without  delay, 
repaired  to  the  scene  of  his  duties. 

In  an  army  of  volunteers  the  personal  appearance  of  the  com 
mander  is  an  important  element  in  obtaining  the  admiration  and 
confidence  of  the  troops ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  military  life,  this  cir 
cumstance  appears  to  be  of  much  more  consequence  in  the  people's 
eyes  than  in  other  professions  and  careers.  In  this  regard,  Gen. 
A.  S.  Johnston  was  fortunate,  and  filled  all  that  the  popular 
imagination  could  require  in  the  picture  of  a  hero.  He  was  more 
than  six  feet  high,  of  a  large  and  sinewy  frame,  in  the  vigour  of 
manhood,  about  sixty  years  of  age.  His  countenance  was  grave, 
dignified  and  commanding,  indicating  serious  thought,  but  without 
a  sign  of  austerity  upon  it.  His  features  were  strongly  marked, 
showing  the  Scottish  lineage,  and  denoted  great  resolution  and 
composure  of  character.  His  complexion,  naturally  fair,  was,  from 
exposure,  a  deep  brown.  His  manner  was  courteous,  but  rather 
grave  and  silent.  The  whole  expression  was  at  once  grand  and 
pleasing;  and  it  was  often  said  of  him,  that  he  looked  like  one 
"  born  to  command."  No  man  had  ever  more  devoted,  enthusiastic 
friends,  serving  him  from  affection,  ceaseless  in  praising  him,  hold 
ing  it  an  honour  to  be  by  his  side,  and  ready  to  die  for  him  in  any 
cause.  It  is  only  a  strong  nature  that  wins  such  friends. 

18 


274:  GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

On  assuming  command  and  establishing  himself  at  Bowling- 
Green,  Gen.  Johnston  issued  the  following  proclamation,  explain 
ing  the  much  vexed  question  of  the  occupation  of  Kentucky  by 
Confederate  forces : 

"  WHEREAS,  the  armed  occupation  of  a  part  of  Kentucky  by  the 
United  States,  and  the  preparations  which  manifest  the  intention 
of  their  Government  to  invade  the  Confederate  States  through  that 
territory,  have  imposed  it  on  these  last,  as  a  necessity  of  self-de 
fence,  to  enter  that  State  and  meet  the  invasion  upon  the  best  line 
for  military  operations ;  and,  whereas,  it  is  proper  that  the  motives 
of  the  Government  of  the  Confederate  States  in  taking  this  step 
should  be  fully  known  to  the  world ;  now,  therefore,  I,  Albert  S. 
Johnston,  General  and  Commander  of  the  Western  Department  of 
the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  do  proclaim  that 
these  States  have  thus  marched  their  troops  into  Kentucky  with  no 
hostile  intention  towards  its  people,  nor  do  they  desire  or  seek  to 
control  their  choice  in  regard  to  their  union  with  either  of  the  con 
federacies,  or  to  subjugate  their  State,  or  hold  its  soil  against 
their  wishes.  On  the  contrary,  they  deem  it  to  be  the  right  of  the 
people  of  Kentucky  to  determine  their  own  position  in  regard  to 
the  belligerents.  It  is  for  them  to  say  whether  they  will  join 
either  the  Confederacy,  or  maintain  a  separate  existence  as  an  inde 
pendent  sovereign  State.  The  armed  occupation  of  their  soil,  both 
as  to  its  extent  and  duration,  will,  therefore,  be  strictly  limited  to 
the  exigencies  of  self-defence  on  the  part  of  the  Confederate  States. 
These  States  intend  to  conform  to  all  the  requirements  of  public 
law  and  international  amity  as  between  themselves  and  Kentucky, 
and,  accordingly,  I  hereby  command  all  who  are  subject  to  my 
orders  to  pay  entire  respect  to  the  rights  of  property  and  the  legal 
authorities  within  that  State,  so  far  as  the  same  may  be  compatible 
with  the  necessities  of  self-defence.  If  it  be  the  desire  of  the 
people  of  Kentucky  to  maintain  a  strict  and  impartial  neutrality, 
then  the  effort  to  drive  out  the  lawless  intruders,  who  seek  to  make 
their  State  the  theatre  of  war,  will  aid  them  in  the  attainment  of 
their  wishes.  If,  as  it  may  not  be  unreasonable  to  suppose,  these 
people  desire  to  unite  their  fortunes  with  the  Confederate  States,  to 
whom  they  are  already  bound  by  so  many  ties  of  interest,  then  the 
appearance  and  aid  of  Confederate  troops  will  assist  them  to  make 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON,  275 

an  opportunity  for  the  free  and  unbiased  expression  of  tbeir  will 
upon  the  subject.  But  if  it  be  true,  which  is  not  to  be  presumed, 
that  a  majority  of  those  people  desire  to  adhere  to  the  United 
States,  and  become  parties  to  the  war,  then  none  can  doubt  the 
right  of  the  other  belligerent  to  meet  that  war  whenever  and 
wherever  it  may  be  waged.  But,  harbouring  no  such  suspicion,  I 
now  declare,  in  the  name  of  the  Government  which  I  serve,  that 
its  army  will  be  withdrawn  from  Kentucky  so  soon  as  there  shall 
be  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  existence  and  execution  of  a  like  in 
tention  on  the  part  of  the  United  States. 

By  order  of  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 

A.  S.  JOHNSTON, 

General,  commanding  the  Western  Department  of  the  Army 
of  the  Confederate  States  of  America. 

It  was  easy  to  see  that  a  collision  of  arms  must  soon  occur  in 
Gen.  Johnston's  department ;  and  the  popular  expectation  of  great 
victories  there  would  have  been  very  much  dampened,  had  the 
people  known  the  real  situation  of  affairs.  He  had  but  little  over 
twenty  thousand  troops,  when  it  was  generally  supposed  that  he 
commanded  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  and  would  soon 
be  marching  to  Cincinnati,  and  fulfilling  the  cherished  popular 
hope  of  an  invasion  of  Northern  territory.  This  exaltation  of 
Southern  hope  was  foolish  and  characteristic;  and  Gen.  Johnston 
knew  well  enough,  while  he  could  not  communicate  his  information 
to  the  public,  and  moderate  the  vulgar  expectation,  that  his  con 
dition  was  desperate  in  the  extreme,  and  that  the  enemy  had  the 
most  formidable  advantages,  not  only  in  numbers  and  resources, 
but  in  superiour  organization  and  drill.  Buell  was  not  far  from  him, 
in  a  position  of  immense  strength,  with  an  army  said  to  be  50,000 
strong.  In  his  rear  was  the  Cumberland  River,  liable  to  rise  at  any 
moment,  and  to  admit  the  largest  class  steamers  as  high  as  Nashville. 
Then  there  was  the  Tennessee,  traversing  the  entire  State,  and 
capable  of  passing  gunboats  to  Alabama ;  while,  at  the  mouth  of 
both  these  rivers,  at  Paducah  and  Smithfield,  the  enemy  was  col 
lecting  an  enormous  force,  both  naval  and  military.  The  army 
with  which  Gen.  Johnston  had  to  encounter  these  immense  prepara 
tions,  was  both  inadequate  and  raw.  In  October,  he  wrote  to  the 
War  Department :  "  We  have  received  but  little  accession  to  our 


276  GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

ranks  since  the  Confederate  forces  crossed  the  line — in  fact,  no  such 
enthusiastic  demonstration  as  to  justify  any  movements  not  war 
ranted  by  our  ability  to  maintain  our  own  communications."  He 
repeatedly  called  upon  the  government  for  reinforcements.  He 
made  a  call  upon  several  States  of  the  Southwest,  including  Ten 
nessee,  for  large  numbers  of  troops.  The  call  was  revoked  at  the 
instance  of  the  authorities  in  Richmond,  who  declined  to  furnish 
twelve  months'  volunteers  with  arms;  and  here  was  another 
instance  of  petty  objections  at  Richmond,  in  an  exigency  that  surely 
required  action,  without  reference  to  those  forms  and  routine  in 
which  the  government  chose,  to  the  last,  to  administer  its  military 
service. 

Gen.  Johnston  was  forced  to  silence  before  the  public.  He 
could  not  acquaint  them  with  the  true  situation,  and  fence  his 
reputation,  in  case  of  disaster,  by  discovering  how  small  his  force 
was,  and  explaining  how  he  was  baffled  by  Mr.  Judah  P.  Benja 
min,  the  Secretary  of  War  at  Richmond.  It  was  a  case  of  severe 
self-abnegation.  The  commander  suffered  daily  from  the  hasty 
and  uninformed  criticisms  of  the  newspaper  press.  He  was  twitted 
with  his  former  reputation ;  he  was  declared  incompetent ;  and  the 
constant  interrogatory  in  the  journals  was,  how  long  was  a  slow  and 
unsympathetic  commander  to  delay  to  pluck  the  victory  which  a 
brave  and  sufficient  army  panted  to  obtain. 

The  truth  was  revealed  with  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson.  It  was 
then  known  that  Gen.  Johnston  had  given  the  better  half  of  his  army 
to  defend  that  place,  and  that  when  surrendered  to  overwhelming 
odds  (Gens.  Floyd  and  Pillow  escaping)  he  was  left  with  not  more 
than  twelve  thousand  men,  to  make  the  retreat  from  Nashville, 
which  this  event  had  made  imperative.  To  President  Davis  he 
wrote :  "  In  my  first  report  I  remained  silent "  (i.  e.  with  reference 
to  the  embarrassments  which  surrounded  him  in  his  attempts  to 
avert  or  remedy  the  disaster  of  Fort  Donelson).  "  This  silence 
you  were  kind  enough  to  attribute  to  my  generosity.  I  will  not 
lay  claim  to  the  motive  to  excuse  my  course.  I  observed  silence, 
as  it  seemed  to  me  the  best  way  to  serve  the  cause  and  the  country. 
The  facts  were  not  fully  known ;  discontent  prevailed,  and  criticism 
or  condemnation  was  more  likely  to  augment  than  to  cure  the  evil. 
I  refrained,  well  knowing  that  heavy  censures  would  fall  upon  me, 
but  convinced  that  it  was  better  to  endure  them  for  the  present, 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  277 

and  defer  to  a  more  propitious  time,  an  investigation  of  the  con 
duct  of  the  Generals,  for,  in  the  meantime,  their  services  are  re 
quired,  and  their  influences  useful.  For  these  reasons,  Gens.  Floyd 
and  Pillow  were  assigned  to  duty,  for  I  still  felt  confidence  in  their 
gallantry,  their  energy,  and  their  devotion  to  the  Confederacy. 
The  test  of  merit,  in  my  profession,  with  the  people,  is  success.  It 
is  a  hard  rule,  but  1  think  it  right.  If  I  join  this  corps  to  the  forces 
of  Gen.  Beauregard  (I  confess  a  hazardous  experiment),  then  those 
who  are  now  exclaiming  against  me  will  be  without  an  argument." 

The  experiment  was  eventually  made.  On  leaving  Nashville 
Gen.  Johnston  fell  back  to  Murfreesboro.  There  he  managed  to 
collect  an  army  able  to  offer  battle ;  but  the  weather  was  so  inclem 
ent,  and  the  floods  in  the  river  such  as  to  wash  the  bridges  away, 
that  nothing  effective  could  be  accomplished.  He  therefore 
marched  on,  and  crossed  the  Tennessee  at  Decatur,  in  Alabama, 
early  in  March,  1862,  and  soon  afterwards  a  portion  of  his  army 
joined  the  command  of  Beauregard  and  Bragg,  the  whole  force 
being  drawn  in  around  Corinth. 

So  far  the  events  of  the  campaign  west  of  the  Alleghanies — 
the  capture  of  Fort  Henry,  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson,  the  evacua 
tion  of  Columbus — had  been  of  the  most  disastrous  and  serious 
consequence  to  the  Confederate  cause.  It  will  be  well  here  to  look 
to  the  map  to  obtain  an  intelligent  view  of  the  only  campaign  of 
Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston,  closing  with  the  untimely  death  of  the  com 
mander.  The  events  referred  to  opened  to  the  enemy  no  less  than 
three  water  avenues — the  Mississippi,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Cum 
berland  rivers,  gave  him  bases  of  operations  on  the  banks  of  these 
rivers,  and  left  the  Confederates  no  practicable  line  of  operations  in 
all  West  and  Middle  Tennessee.  The  newspaper  press  of  the  Con 
federacy,  which  was  never  candid  with  the  public,  and  delighted 
to  misrepresent  and  insult  all  the  successes  of  the  enemy,  attempted 
for  some  time  to  make  light  of  the  loss  of  the  forts,  and  told  it  as  a 
story  of  a  capture  of  hastily  constructed  earthworks,  mounting  a 
few  cannon — a  paltry  and  unworthy  price  for  a  great  army  and  fleet 
to  rejoice  over.  But  this  view  shut  out  the  strategic  importance 
of  these  points,  and  was  to  the  last  degree  superficial.  The  gravity 
of  the  events  was  that  it  had  broken  the  Confederate  line  in  the 
West,  and  transferred  the  campaign  to  the  southern  bank  of  the 
Tennessee ;  the  Confederate  army  being  forced  now  to  take  a  posi- 


278  GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

tion  at  Corinth,  to  defend  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  to  command 
the  railroads  diverging  thence  eastward  and  southward. 

But  here  Gen.  Johnston  was  inspired  with  a  new  hope,  and 
found  a  favourable  conjuncture  for  a  great  battle,  in  which  he 
might  recover  from  his  disasters,  and  repair  his  reputation  so 
unjustly  and  cruelly  injured  by  the  carping  critics  of  the  news 
papers.  He  had  said  to  his  friends,  that  he  was  confident  of 
retrieving  his  fortunes  at  no  distant  day.  The  opportunity  for 
action  had  now  come ;  Grant's  army,  brought  down  the  Tennessee 
Eiver,  was  already  in  his  front,  while  Buell  was  marching  on  the 
same  point  by  land ;  and  Gen.  Johnston  proposed  to  attack  before 
the  junction  of  the  two  forces. 

On  the  eve  of  the  great  battle  of  Shiloh,  he  made  the  following 
glowing  and  confident  address  to  his  troops : 

"Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi: 

"  I  have  put  you  in  motion  to  offer  battle  to  the  invaders  of  your 
country.  With  the  resolution  and  disciplined  valour  becoming 
men,  fighting  as  you  are,  for  all  worth  living  or  dying  for,  you  can 
but  march  to  a  decisive  victory  over  the  agrarian  mercenaries  sent 
to  subjugate  and  despoil  you  of  your  liberties,  property  and  honour. 
Eemember  the  precious  stake  involved ;  remember  the  dependence 
of  your  mothers,  your  wives,  your  sisters,  and  your  children  on 
the  result;  remember  the  fair,  broad,  abounding  land,  the  happy 
homes  and  ties  that  would  be  desolated  by  your  defeat.  The  eyes 
and  the  hopes  of  eight  millions  of  people  rest  upon  you ;  you  are 
expected  to  show  yourself  worthy  of  your  race  and  lineage — 
worthy  of  the  women  of  the  South,  whose  noble  devotion  in  this 
war  has  never  been  exceeded  at  any  time.  With  such  incentives  to 
brave  deeds,  and  with  the  trust  that  God  is  with  us,  your  Generals 
will  lead  you  confidently  to  the  combat,  assured  of  success." 

In  the  early  morning  of  the  6th  April,  the  enemy  was  attacked 
about  twenty  miles  from  Corinth,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Ten 
nessee  Kiver.  A  small  log-cabin,  termed  Shiloh  Church,  gave  its 
name  to  the  battle.  The  first  line  of  the  Confederates,  commanded 
by  Hardee,  was  soon  engaged,  struck  the  left  of  Sherman's  line,  and 
threw  it  into  wild  confusion.  Until  the  enemy  had  been  driven 
to  his  camps,  Hardee's  corps  only  had  been  engaged ;  and  while 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  279 

the  masses  of  Federal  infantry  desperately  strove  to  make  a  stand 
here,  the  line  of  Confederates  was  for  a  moment  checked  and  dis 
mayed.  At  this  time  Gen.  Johnston  rode  forward  with  Gen. 
Breckinridge,  and  seizing  a  musket,  presented  it  at  a  charge- 
bayonet,  and  called  on  the  men  to  follow.  In  the  scene  his  grand 
figure  seemed  to  expand  to  gigantic  poportions ;  he  was  mastered 
by  excitement,  and  in  his  eagerness,  forgetting  formal  orders,  he 
beckoned  his  men  on  to  the  charge.  The  gallant  Kentuckians 
were  the  first  to  follow — Tennesseeans,  Mississippians  and  Arkan- 
sans  caught  the  heroic  contagion ;  and  now  the  line  moved  steadily 
forward  at  double-quick,  and  then,  with  a  wild  rush,  receiving  the 
deadly  iron  blast  as  it  swept  along  the  slopes,  and  pouring  over 
the  batteries,  they  scattered  the  heavy  masses  of  the  infantry  in  the 
wildest  confusion.  This  was  the  mightiest  effort  of  physical  force 
and  courage  of  the  day.  As  soon  as  Gen.  Johnston  perceived  the 
success  of  his  appeal,  and  that  his  men  had  caught  the  spirit  which 
he  had  sought  to  infuse  into  them,  and  were  moving  forward  with 
the  requisite  vigour  and  resolution,  he  rode  from  the  front,  and 
returned  to  his  original  commanding  position,  a  little  in  the  rear 
and  on  the  right,  and  waited  the  result  of  the  assault. 

At  half-past  ten  o'clock,  the  whole  of  the  first  line  of  the 
Federal  army  was  in  utter  rout  and  confusion.  Gen.  Johnston, 
magnificently  mounted,  rode  now  in  advance,  his  thoughts  only  on 
the  great  victory  he  was  about  achieving.  As  he  pressed  rapidly  for 
ward,  one  of  his  aides,  perceiving  blood  on  his  clothes,  anxiously 
asked  if  he  was  wounded.  He  replied,  "  Only  a  scratch ;"  adding, 
in  entire  unconsciousness  of  self,  with  his  eyes  on  his  troops :  "  Was 
not  that  splendidly  done!  glorious  fellows!  we  have  got  them 
now !  "  Another  moment  he  reeled  in  the  saddle  and  was  lifted 
down  a  dying  man.  His  boot  being  pulled  off,  it  was  discovered 
to  be  full  of  blood,  and  that  the  purple  current  was  still  flowing 
rapidly  from  a  small  wound  under  the  knee.  It  was  indeed  a 
small  wound  to  produce  death  in  a  hale  and  vigourous  man.  But 
an  artery  had  been  severed,  and  what  he  had  thought  a  scratch 
proved  a  mortal  hurt.  The  body  was  borne  from  the  fire  into  a 
ravine ;  stimulants  were  applied ;  but  the  commander  was  already 
dead ;  and  as  anxious,  grief-stricken  voices  sought  to  arouse  him, 
there  was  no  sign  of  recognition  on  the  grave  countenance,  peace 
fully  and  grandly  composed  in  death. 


280  GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 

The  day's  work  was  done ;  but  the  victory  that  it  promised  was 
not  achieved.  There  is  reason  to  suppose  that  if  Gen.  Johnston 
had  not  been  stopped  by  the  untimely  messenger  of  death,  the 
reverse  of  the  second  day  of  Shiloh  would  not  have  been  experi 
enced,  and  that  with  the  setting  of  the  sun,  Grant  would  have  been 
crushed,  before  Buell's  reinforcements  could  have  saved  him.  It 
is  said  that  as  his  victorious  lines  were  sweeping  the  field,  Gen. 
Johnston,  unconscious  of  his  wound,  remarked  to  one  of  his  staff: 
"  We  will  water  our  horses  in  the  Tennessee  Kiver  to-night."  His 
army  fell  short  of  the  victory  that  the  commander  would  have 
grasped ;  but  even  apart  from  regret  for  that,  never  had  a  death 
before  been  so  deeply  lamented  in  all  parts  of  the  South  as  that  of 
Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston.  The  people  remembered  his  virtues,  and 
recalled  his  noble  countenance;  they  considered  how  cruelly  he 
had  been  abused  by  the  newspapers,  and  how  in  the  first  part  of 
his  campaign,  although  President  Davis  was  personally  well  dis 
posed  towards  him — indeed,  an  ardent  friend — he  had  been  sacrificed 
by  meddlesome  authorities  in  the  War  Department ;  they  resented 
all  former  injustice  done  him;  they  dwelt  on  the  dramatic  circum- 
sta'nce  of  his  death ;  and  they  remembered  that  he  had  fallen  on 
the  pathway  to  a  great  victory,  which  God  did  not  spare  him  to 
complete. 

The  public  honours  paid  to  his  memory  were  exceedingly  ap 
propriate  and  tender.  His  death  was  commemorated  in  a  special 
message  of  President  Davis  to  Congress.  He  wrote : 

"  But  an  all-wise  Creator  has  been  pleased,  while  vouchsafing 
to  us  His  countenance  in  battle,  to  afflict  us  with  a  severe  dispen 
sation,  to  which  we  must  bow  in  humble  submission.  The  last 
long,  lingering  hope  has  disappeared,  and  it  is  but  too  true,  that 
Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston  is  no  more.  My  long  and  close 
friendship  with  this  departed  chieftain  and  patriot,  forbid  me  to 
trust  myself  in  giving  vent  to  the  feelings  which  this  intelligence 
has  evoked.  Without  doing  injustice  to  the  living,  it  may  safely 
be  said  that  our  loss  is  irreparable.  Among  the  shining  hosts  of 
the  great  and  good  who  now  cluster  around  the  banner  of  our 
country,  there  exists  no  purer  spirit,  no  more  heroic  soul,  than  that 
of  the  illustrious  man  whose  death  I  join  you  in  lamenting.  In 
his  death  he  has  illustrated  the  character  for  which,  through  life, 
he  was  conspicuous — that  of  singleness  of  purpose  and  devotion 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  281 

to  duty  with  his  whole  energies.  Bent  on  obtaining  the  victory 
which  he  deemed  essential  to  his  country's  cause,  he  rode  on  to  the 
accomplishment  of  his  object,  forgetful  of  self,  while  his  very  life- 
blood  was  fast  ebbing  away.  His  last  breath  cheered  his  comrades 
on  to  victory.  The  last  sound  he  heard  was  their  shout  of  victory. 
His  last  thought  was  his  country,  and  long  and  deeply  will  his 
country  mourn  his  loss." 

In  the  army  his  death  was  announced  in  the  following  general 
orders  : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  MISSISSIPPI,  ) 
CORINTH,  Miss.,  April  10,  1862.      f 

SOLDIERS  : — Your  late  Commander-in-Chief,  Gen.  A.  S.  John 
ston,  is  dead ;  a  fearless  soldier,  a  sagacious  captain,  a  reproachless 
man  has  fallen.  One  who,  in  his  devotion  to  our  cause,  shrank 
from  no  sacrifice  ;  one  who,  animated  by  a  sense  of  duty,  and  sus 
tained  by  a  sublime  courage,  challenged  danger,  and  perished  gal 
lantly  for  his  country,  while  leading  forward  his  brave  columns  to 
victory.  His  signal  example  of  heroism  and  patriotism,  if  imi 
tated,  would  make  his  army  invincible.  A  grateful  country 
will  mourn  his  loss,  revere  his  name,  and  cherish  his  many 
virtues. 

P.  G.  T.  BEAUREGARD,  General  commanding. 

The  body  was  taken  to  New  Orleans,  and  was  finally  interred 
there  with  an  august  ceremony,  a  military  and  civic  procession  fol 
lowing  it  to  the  last  resting-place  in  what  is  known  as  the  St.  Louis 
Cemetery.  As  the  body  reposed  in  state,  before  the  burial,  thou 
sands  visited  it ;  many  shed  tears  of  true  grief ;  the  gentle  hands 
and  weeping  eyes  of  women  adorned  the  mournful  scene ;  and  the 
coffin,  covered  with  beautiful  flowers,  containing  the  dead  warrior, 
with  his  sheathed  sword  by  his  side,  was  attended  to  the  cemetery 
not  only  by  a  procession  of  dignitaries,  but  by  a  long  train  of  heart- 
stricken  mourners,  carrying  in  their  faces  the  emblems  of  woe. 
Eecently  a  lady  passing  through  this  crowded  cemetery  to  visit  the 
grave  of  Gen.  Johnston,  found  the  following  written  epitaph  pasted 
upon  a  rough  board  attached  to  the  tomb.  The  author  is  not 
known ;  but  an  inscription  more  classic  and  noble  has  seldom  been 
put  over  the  head  of  the  dead : 


GENERAL  ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 

Behind  this  stone  is  laid, 

For  a  season, 

ALBERT  SIDNEY  JOHNSTON, 
A  General  in  the  Army  of  the  Confederate  States, 

Who  fell  at  Shiloh,  Tenn., 

On  the  sixth  day  of  April,  A.D., 

Eighteen  hundred  and  sixty-two; 

A  man  tried  in  many  high  offices 

And  critical  enterprises, 

And  found  faithful  in  all. 

His  life  was  one  long  sacrifice  of  interest  to  conscience ; 

And  even  that  life,  on  a  woeful  Sabbath, 

Did  he  yield  as  a  holocaust  to  his  country's  need. 

Not  wholly  understood  was  he  while  he  lived  ; 

But,  in  his  death  his  greatness  stands  confess'd 

In  a  people's  tears. 

Eesolute,  moderate,  clear  of  envy,  yet  not  wanting 
In  that  firmer  ambition  which  makes  men  great  and 

pure. 
In  his  honour — impregnable; 

In  his  simplicity — sublime. 
No  country  e'er  had  a  truer  son — no  cause  a  nobler 

champion ; 
No  people  a  bolder  defender — no  principle  a  purer 

victim 
Than  the  dead  Soldier 

Who  sleeps  here ! 

The  cause  for  which  he  perished  is  lost — 

The  people  for  whom  he  fought  are  crushed — 

The  hopes  in  which  he  trusted  are  shattered — 

The  Flag  he  loved  guides  no  more  the  charging  lines ; 

But  his  fame,  consign'd  to  the  keeping  of  that 

time,  which 
Happily  is  not  so  much  the  tomb  of  Virtue  as  its 

shrine, 

Shall,  in  the  years  to  come,  fire  modest  worth  to 
noble  ends. 


GENERAL  ALBERT 'SIDNEY  JOHNSTON.  283 

In  honour,  now,  our  great  captain  rests ; 

A  bereaved  people  mourn  him. 
Three  commonwealths  proudly  claim  him; 

And  history  shall  cherish  him 
Among  those  choicer  spirits,  who,  holding  their  conscience 

unmixed  with  blame, 

Have  been,  in  all  conjunctures,  true  to  themselves, 
their  country,  and  their  God. 


* 


GENERAL  BKAXTON  BRAGG. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Equivocal  reputation  of  Gen.  Bragg  in  the  war. — His  services  in  Mexico.— Offers  his 
sword  to  Louisiana. — His  command  at  Pensacola. — Gallant  participation  in  the 
battle  of  Shiloh. — His  reflections  upon  Gen.  Beauregard. — In  command  of  the 
"Western  forces. — His  Kentucky  campaign,  as  correspondent  to  the  Virginia 
campaign  of  1862. — Battle  of  Perryville.— Gen.  Bragg's  retreat  through  Cumberland 
Gap. — Criticisms  and  recriminations  touching  the  campaign. 

THE  name  of  Braxton  Bragg  is  connected  with  so  much  of 
recrimination  in  the  late  war,  and  has  been  bandied  so  violently 
between  admirers  and  censors,  that  it  is  difficult  to  balance  for 
history  his  character  and  deeds.  In  a  popular  biography,  however, 
we  have  nothing  to  do  with  disputed  questions  of  military  science, 
unless  to  refer  to  them  in  a  very  general  way ;  and  with  this 
explanation  we  shall  proceed  to  give  the  main  events  in  the  military 
life  of  G-en.  Bragg,  and  a  view  of  his  character,  with  a  sincere  effort 
to  do  equal  justice  to  the  man,  and  to  the  cause  in  which  his  record 
was  so  confused  by  partisanship,  and  his  reputation  so  equivocal 
through  constant  recrimination. 

He  is  a  native  of  North  Carolina ;  born  in  Warren  County,  in 
1815.  Having  graduated  at  West  Point,  he  received  the  appoint 
ment  of  second-lieutenant  of  the  Third  Artillery,  July  1,  1837 ; 
engaged  in  the  Seminole  war,  and  in  1838  was  promoted  to  a  first- 
lieutenancy.  In  the  Mexican  war  he  served  under  Gen.  Taylor, 
and  on  the  9th  May,  1846,  was  brevetted  captain  "for  gallant 
and  distinguished  conduct  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Brown,  Texas." 
His  other  services  in  Mexico  were  meritorious,  and  he  was  brevetted 
major  "for  gallant  conduct  in  the  several  conflicts  at  Monterey,  on 
the  21st,  22d,  and  23d  of  September,  1846."  At  Buena  Yista  he 
commanded  a  battery,  and  was  conspicuous  for  his  bravery ;  and  it 
was  popularly  reported  that  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  engagement, 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  285 

Gen.  Taylor  rode  to  his  battery,  and  gave  his  famous  nonchalant 
order :  "  A  little  more  grape,  Capt.  Bragg !  "  The  phrase  gave  a 
familiar  title  to  Bragg,  although  the  anecdote  has  been  impeached, 
and  is  of  doubtful  authority.  For  his  service  on  this  field,  Bragg 
was  brevetted  lieutenant-colonel. 

A  singular  incident  is  related  of  his  military  life  in  Mexico, 
which  we  give  in  Col.  Bragg's  own  words.  He  says,  in  a  letter 
to  a  friend,  dated  August  27,  1847 :  "  An  attempt  was  made,  about 
2  A.M.,  night  before  last,  to  assassinate  me  in  my  bed.  I  have  no 
clue  to  the  perpetrator,  and  can  suggest  no  reason  for  the  act.  My 
escape  without  injury  is  almost  miraculous.  As  exaggerated 
accounts  may  reach  the  press,  the  truth  may  interest  you.  A 
twelve-pound  shell,  heavily  charged,  was  placed  within  two  feet  of 
my  bed,  just  outside  of  my  tent,  and  exploded  by  a  slow  match ; 
the  fragments  literally  riddling  my  tent  and  bedding,  pieces  passing 
above  and  below  me,  some  through  a  blanket  spread  over  me,  and  yet 
I  was  untouched.  I  was  not  aware  that  I  had  an  enemy  in  the  world." 

At  the  period  of  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the 
North  and  South  Col.  Bragg,  who  had  resigned  from  the  United 
States  service,  was  cultivating  a  plantation  in  Louisiana.  He 
offered  his  sword  to  the  cause  of  the  South  ;  he  was  made  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  volunteer  forces  of  Louisiana;  and  on  the 
accession  of  the  Confederate  power,  his  military  experience  was 
remembered,  and  he  was  -appointed  a  Brigadier-General  by  Presi 
dent  Davis,  and  put  in  command  of  the  forces  at  Pensacola. 

The  Federals  held  Fort  Pickens,  and  there  was  an  eager  expec 
tation  of  the  public  that  the  drama  of  Fort  Sumter  would  be 
repeated  here,  and  an  attempt  made  to  take  this  work,  which, 
situated  on  the  extremity  of  Santa  Kosa  Island,  commanded  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour.  But  the  events  of  the  siege  proved  of 
but  little  interest.  On  the  8th  October,  1861,  Gen.  Bragg  sent  an 
expedition  to  break  up  an  encampment  of  "  Billy  Wilson  "  Zouaves 
on  the  island,  which  was  of  doubtful  success ;  and  in  the  succeeding 
month  the  Federal  fleet  replied  by  a  lame  attempt,  assisted  by  the 
guns  of  the  fort,  to  bombard  and  capture  the  Confederate  position.  On 
this  event  Gen.  Bragg  published  the  following  congratulatory  order : 

HEAD-QUARTERS  ARMY  OF  PENSACOLA, 

NEAR  PENSACOLA,  FLA.,  Nov.  25,  1861. 
The  signal  success  which  has  crowned  our  forty  hours'  conflict 


286  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

with  the  arrogant  and  confident  enemy — whose  government,  it 
seems,  is  hourly  looking  for  an  announcement  of  his  success  in 
capturing  our  position — should  fill  our  hearts  with  gratitude  to  a 
merciful  Providence.  This  terrific  bombardment  of  more  than 
a  hundred  guns  of  the  heaviest  calibre,  causing  the  very  earth  to 
tremble  around  us,  has,  from  the  wild  firing  of  the  enemy,  resulted 
in  the  loss  of  only  seven  lives,  with  eight  wounded ;  but  two  of 
them  seriously,  five  of  the  deaths  from  an  accident,  and  but  two 
from  the  enemy's  shot.  "We  have  crippled  their  ships,  and  driven 
them  off,  and  forced  the  garrison  of  Fort  Pickens,  in  its  impotent 
rage,  to  slake  its  revenge  by  firing  on  our  hospital,  and  burning 
the  habitations  of  our  innocent  women  and  children,  who  have 
been  driven  therefrom  by  an  unannounced  storm  of  shot  and  shell. 
For  the  coolness,  devotion,  and  conspicuous  gallantry  of  the  troops, 
the  General  tenders  his  cordial  thanks ;  but  for  the  precision  of  their 
firing,  in  this  their  first  practice,  which  would  have  done  credit  to 
veterans,  he  is  unable  to  express  his  admiration.  Their  country 
and  their  enemy  will  both  remember  the  22d  and  23d  of  No 
vember. 

By  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  BRAGG. 

GEO.  G.  GARNER,  AsJt.  Adft.-Gen. 

In  February,  1862,  Gen.  Bragg,  now  made  a  Major-General, 
had  his  headquarters  established  at  Mobile ;  and  shortly  afterwards 
joined  his  forces  with  the  army  of  the  Mississippi,  under  command 
of  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston.  His  first  important  field  was  at 
Shiloh,  where  he  commanded  the  Second  and  largest  army  corps, 
consisting  of  13,589  troops.  In  this  action,  Gen.  Bragg  made  an 
excellent  mark,  and  answered  all  the  expectations  which  his  repu 
tation  had  inspired.  When  the  first  line  of  Confederates,  driving 
the  enemy  through  his  camps,  was  found  to  falter  as  it  came  upon 
the  Federal  batteries,  posted  on  eminences,  with  strong  infantry 
supports,  Bragg  moved  up  steadily  and  promptly  to  its  support, 
developed  his  whole  line,  and  swept  the  ground,  capturing  three 
large  encampments,  and  three  batteries  of  artillery. 

Of  the  singular  close  of  the  day's  performances,  Gen.  Bragg 
writes  as  follows :  "  The  troops  were  soon  put  in  motion,  respond 
ing  with  great  alacrity  to  the  command  of  *  Forward !  let  every 
order  be  forward.'  It  was  now  probably  past  four  o'clock,  the 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG,  287 

descending  sun  warning  us  to  press  our  advantage,  and  finish  the 
work  before  night  should  compel  us  to  desist.  Fairly  in  motion, 
these  commands  again,  with  a  common  head,  and  a  common  pur 
pose,  swept  all  before  them.  Neither  battery  nor  battalion  could 
withstand  their  onslaught.  Passing  through  camp  after  camp, 
rich  in  military  spoils  of  every  kind,  the  enemy  was  driven  head 
long  from  every  position,  and  thrown  in  confused  masses  upon  the 
river  bank,  behind  his  heavy  artillery,  and  under  cover  of  his 
gunboats  at  the  landing.  He  had  left  nearly  the  whole  of  his 
light  artillery  in  our  hands,  and  some  three  thousand  or  more 
prisoners,  who  were  cut  off  from  their  retreat  by  the  closing  in 
of  our  troops  on  the  left,  under  Major-Gen.  Polk,  with  a  portion  of 
his  reserve  corps,  and  Brig.-Gen.  Kuggles,  with  Anderson's  and 
Pond's  brigades  of  his  division.  The  prisoners  were  dispatched 
to  the  rear  under  a  proper  guard,  all  else  being  left  on  the  field, 
that  we  might  press  our  advantage.  The  enemy  had  fallen  back  in 
much  confusion,  and  was  crowded  in  unorganized  masses  on  the  river 
bank,  vainly  striving  to  cross.  They  were  covered  by  a  battery  of 
heavy  guns  well  served,  and  their  two  gunboats,  which  now  poured 
a  heavy  fire  upon  our  supposed  positions,  for  we  were  entirely  hid 
by  the  forest.  Their  fire,  though  terrific  in  sound,  and  producing 
some  consternation  at  first,  did  us  no  damage,  as  the  shells  all  passed 
over,  and  exploded  far  beyond  our  positions.  As  soon  as  our 
troops  could  be  again  formed  and  put  in  motion,  the  order  was 
given  to  move  forward  at  all  points,  and  sweep  the  enemy  from  the 
field.  The  sun  was  about  disappearing,  so  that  little  time  was  left 
us  to  finish  the  glorious  work  of  the  day ;  a  day  unsurpassed  in 
the  history  of  warfare  for  its  daring  deeds,  brilliant  achievements, 
and  heavy  sacrifices.  Our  troops,  greatly  exhausted  by  twelve 
hours'  incessant  fighting,  without  food,  mostly  responded  to  the 
order  with  alacrity,  and  the  movement  commenced  ivith  every  pros 
pect  of  success,  though  a  heavy  battery  in  our  front,  and  the  gun 
boats  on  our  right,  seemed  determined  to  dispute  every  inch  of 
ground.  Just  at  this  time,  an  order  was  received  from  ike  Command 
ing-  General,  to  withdraw  the  forces  beyond  tlie  enemy's  fire.  As  this 
was  communicated  in  many  instances  direct  to  brigade  commanders, 
the  troops  were  soon  in  motion,  and  the  action  ceased.  The  different 
commands,  mixed  and  scattered,  bivouacked  at  points  most  con 
venient  to  their  positions,  and  beyond  the  range  of  the  enemy's 


288  GENERAL    BftAXTON    BRAGG. 

guns.     All  firing,  except  a  half-hour  shot  from  the  gunboats,  ceased, 
and  the  night  was  passed  in  quiet." 

Of  the  criticism,  which  the  statement  above  evidently  contains, 
respecting  Gen.  Beauregard's  failure  to  complete  the  victory  of  the 
first  day  of  Shiloh  (reversed  as  it  was  by  the  events  of  the  next 
twenty-four  hours)  it  will  be  obvious  to  remark,  that  it  was  unfor 
tunate  that  Gen.  Bragg  did  not  adopt  for  himself  this  lesson  of 
improving  critical  opportunities.  For  we  shall  see,  in  his  subse 
quent  campaigns,  that  he  repeated  many  times  the  very  errour  he 
reprehended,  never  completed  his  successes,  and  of  all  Confederate 
Generals  was  most  famous  for  first-day  battles,  and  for  victories  with 
defeats  on  their  heels. 

The  second  day  of  Shiloh  brought  Buell's  army  on  the  scene, 
and  ended  with  the  retreat  of  the  Confederates  to  Corinth.  Bragg 
was  made  a  full  General  after  the  battle ;  and  when  Beauregard 
retired  his  army  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Corinth,  among  the 
forests  of  Mississippi,  occasion  was  taken  of  his  furlough  to  recruit 
his  health,  to  put  Bragg  in  command  of  his  department,  and  to 
give  him  the  conduct  of  the  whole  campaign,  between  the  Alle- 
ghany  Mountains  and  the  Mississippi  Eiver. 

A  grand  scheme  was  now  organized  for  an  aggressive  cam 
paign,  embracing  the  whole  theatre  of  the  war  in  the  West.  Gen. 
Bragg  had  addressed  his  troops  in  significant  language.  He  had 
proclaimed  to  them :  "  The  slight  reverses  we  have  met  on  the 
sea-board  have  worked  us  good  as  well  as  evil ;  the  brave  troops 
so  long  retained  there  have  hastened  to  swell  your  numbers,  while 
the  gallant  Van  Dorn  and  invincible  Price,  with  the  ever  success 
ful  *  Army  of  the  West,'  are  now  in  your  midst,  with  numbers 
almost  equalling  the  *  Army  of  Shiloh.'  We  have,  then,  but  to 
strike  and  destroy ;  and  as  the  enemy's  whole  resources  are  concen 
trated  here,  we  shall  not  only  redeem  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and 
Missouri  at  one  blow,  but  open  the  portals  of  the  whole  North 
west." 

The  campaign  hinted  here  was  intended  as  the  western  corre 
spondent  to  the  grand  movement  of  1862  in  Virginia,  to  relieve  the 
country  of  the  invaders,  and  put  the  enemy  back  upon  the  frontier. 
The  theatre  was  a  much  larger  one  than  that  on  which  Lee  was 
contending.  The  proposed  line  of  operations  extended  for  a  dis 
tance  of  between  seven  and  eight  hundred  miles,  from  Cumberland 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  289 

Gap,  on  the  borders  of  Eastern  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Lower  Mississippi.  It  was  proposed  to  assault 
Baton  Eouge  at  the  lower  extremity  of  this  line,  to  manoeuvre 
against  the  Federal  army  in  the  vicinity  of  Corinth  in  the  centre, 
and  to  operate  from  its  extreme  right  against  Eastern  Kentucky. 
With  these  objects  in  view,  a  small  army  under  Gen.  Breckinridge 
was  assembled  in  Louisiana,  a  larger  force  under  Van  Dorn  in 
Upper  Mississippi,  whilst  a  still  more  formidable  army,  under 
Gen.  Bragg,  was  organized  in  Eastern  Tennessee  for  the  invasion 
of  Kentucky. 

It  was  a  magnificent  prospect,  in  which  Bragg  indulged  visions 
of  a  transcendent  fame,  and  the  public  was  dazzled  with  great 
expectations.  In  August  he  began  his  movement  from  Tupelo,  in 
Mississippi,  through  the  States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  to  Chat 
tanooga,  with  a  view  to  operations  in  East  Tennessee  and  Ken 
tucky.  His  army  was  now  divided  into  three  corps,  respectively 
commanded  by  Major-Generals  Polk,  Hardee,  and  Kirby  Smith ; 
the  latter  being  at  Knoxville,  ready  to  push  forward  when  Bragg 
should  reach  Chattanooga.  After  arriving  here,  Bragg  ascertained 
that  Kirby  Smith  had  turned  Cumberland  Gap  and  was  marching 
on  Lexington,  Kentucky.  Gen.  Humphrey  Marshall  was  to  enter 
Eastern  Kentucky  from  "Western  Virginia ;  and  Bragg  was  now 
elated  with  the  prospect  that  Buell's  army,  which  had  fallen  back 
from  the  Memphis  and  Charleston  Railroad,  and  appeared  now 
likely  to  make  a  hopeless  race  to  get  between  the  Confederates 
and  the  Ohio,  "  was  pretty  well  disposed  of."  He  dispatched  to 
Gen.  Van  Dorn,  who  remained  in  the  Mississippi  district :  "  Sher 
man  and  Rosecrans  we  leave  to  you  and  Price,  satisfied  you  can 
dispose  of  them,  and  we  confidently  hope  to  meet  you  on  the  Ohio" 

On  the  5th  September,  Gen.  Bragg  entered  Kentucky,  and 
marched  to  the  right  of  Bowling  Green,  sending  an  advance  on  to 
Mumfordsville  to  demand  its  surrender.  Mumfordsville  is  a  large 
town  on  the  Louisville  and  Nashville  Railroad,  and  Bragg  was  now 
between  it  and  Buell's  army  at  Bowling  Green.  On  the  17th  Sep 
tember,  Mumfordsville  surrendered,  and  more  than  four  thousand 
prisoners  were  taken.  It  appeared  now  that  the  crisis  of  the  cam 
paign  had  arrived ;  for  Bragg  was  on  the  road  by  which  Buell 
would  be  forced  to  march  to  get  between  the  Confederates  and  the 
Ohio  River,  while  Kirby  Smith,  at  Lexington,  threatened  Louisville,. 


290  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

about  fifty  miles  distant.  In  this  conjuncture,  however,  Gen. 
Bragg  very  unexpectedly  declined  battle,  for  no  other  reason  that 
has  ever  been  developed  than  that  given  in  his  official  report; 
that  his  subsistence  was  low,  and  that  "  a  serious  engagement  would 
not  fail,  whatever  its  results,  to  materially  cripple  him."  The 
consequence  was  that  Buell,  without  opposition  and  almost  within 
sight  of  the  Confederate  army,  effected  his  march  to  Louisville, 
recapturing  Mumfordsville  on  the  way,  whilst  Bragg,  marching 
first  to  Bardstown  and  then  to  Frankfort,  contented  himself  with 
inaugurating  a  provisional  Governor  of  Kentucky.* 

*  Here  Gen.  Bragg  issued  a  long  rhetorical  address,  portions  of  which  we  copy 
below: 

TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  NORTHWEST. 

The  responsibility  then  rests  with  you,  the  people  of  the  Northwest,  of  continuing 
an  unjust  aud  aggressive  warfare  on  the  people  of  the  Confederate  States.  And  in 
the  name  of  reason  and  humanity,  I  call  upon  you  to  pause  and  reflect,  what  cause 
of  quarrel  so  bloody  have  you  against  these  States,  and  what  are  you  to  gain  by  it. 
Nature  has  set  her  seal  upon  these  States,  and  marked  them  out  to  be  your  friends 
and  allies.  She  has  bound  them  to  you  by  all  the  ties  of  geographical  contiguity  and 
conformation,  and  the  great  mutual  interests  of  commerce  and  productions.  When 
the  passion?  of  this  unnatural  war  shall  have  subsided,  and  reason  resumes  her  sway, 
a  community  of  interest  will  force  commercial  and  social  coalition  between  the  great 
grain  and  stock-growing  States  of  the  Northwest,  and  the  cotton,  tobacco,  and  sugar 
regions  of  the  South.  The  Mississippi  river  is  the  grand  artery  of  their  mutual 
national  lives,  which  men  cannot  sever,  and  which  never  ought  to  have  been  suffered 
to  be  disturbed  by  the  antagonisms,  the  cupidity,  and  the  bigotry  of  New  England 
and  the  East.  It  is  from  the  East  that  have  come  the  germs  of  this  bloody  and  most 
unnatural  strife.  It  is  from  the  meddlesome,  grasping,  and  fanatical  disposition  of  the 
same  people  who  have  imposed  upon  you  and  us  alike  those  tariffs,  internal  improve 
ments,  and  fishing-bounty  laws,  whereby  we  have  been  taxed  for  their  aggrandizement. 
It  is  from  the  East  that  will  come  the  tax-gatherer  to  collect  from  you  that  mighty  debt 
which  is  being  amassed  mountain  high  for  the  purpose  of  ruining  your  best  customers 
and  natural  friends. 

"When  this  war  ends,  the  same  antagonisms  of  interest,  policy,  and  feeling  which 
have  been  pressed  upon  us  by  the  East,  and  forced  us  from  a  political  union  where 
we  had  ceased  to  find  safety  for  our  interests  or  respect  for  our  rights,  will  bear  down 
upon  you  and  separate  you  from  a  people  whose  traditional  policy  it  is  to  live  by  their 
wits  upon  the  labour  of  their  neighbours.  Meantime,  you  are  being  used  by  them  to 
fight  the  battle  of  emancipation ;  a  battle  which,  if  successful,  destroys  our  prosperity, 
and  with  it  your  best  markets  to  buy  and  sell.  Our  mutual  dependence  is  the  work 
of  the  Creator.  With  our  peculiar  productions,  convertible  into  gold,  we  should,  in  a 
state  of  peace,  draw  from  you  largely  the  products  of  your  labour.  In  us  of  the  South 
you  would  find  rich  and  willing  customers ;  in  the  East  you  must  confront  rivals  in 
production  and  trade,  and  the  tax-gatherer  in  all  the  forms  of  partial  legislation.  You 
are  blindly  following  abolitionism  to  this  end,  whilst  they  are  nicely  calculating  the 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  291 

This  sharp  and  unexpected  turn  of  affairs  gave  a  new  face  to 
the  campaign.  At  Bardstown,  Gen.  Bragg  sent  a  dispatch  to  Van 
Dorn,  which  was  strangely  in  contrast  to  the  glowing  messages  he 
had  sent  from  Chattanooga;  for  he  now  urged  that  Yan  Dorn 
should  bring  his  columns  to  his  support,  and  declared  that  an  over 
whelming  force  of  the  enemy  was  concentrating  in  his  front.  The 
entry  of  Buell  into  Louisville  had  given  him  all  the  advantage  he 
wished  for;  he  had  obtained  reinforcements,  and  moving  on  the 
1st  October,  he  had  pressed  the  Confederate  rear  and  soon  advanced 
his  three  corps  towards  Perryville,  a  few  miles  south  of  Frankfort. 
At  this  time  Gen.  Bragg  had  his  forces  badly  divided ;  the  divi 
sions  of  Kirby  Smith  and  Withers  had  been  drawn  off  by  another 
demonstration  pf  the  enemy,  which  proved  a  feint ;  and  he  was 
left  with  three  divisions  of  Folk's  corps — Cheatham's,  Buckner's 
and  Anderson's— to  fight  the  battle  of  Perryville,  which  took  place 
on  the  8th  October.  Of  the  action,  Gen.  Bragg  writes :  "  For  the 
time  engaged  it  was  the  severest  and  most  desperately  contested 
engagement  within  my  knowledge.  Fearfully  outnumbered,  our 
troops  did  not  hesitate  to  engage  at  any  odds,  and,  though  checked 
at  times,  they  eventually  carried  every  position,  and  drove  the 
enemy  about  two  miles.  But  for  the  intervention  of  night,  we 
should  have  completed  the  work.  We  had  captured  fifteen  pieces 
of  artillery  by  the  most  daring  charges,  killed  one  and  wounded 
two  brigadier-generals,  and  a  very  large  number  of  inferiour  officers 
and  men,  estimated  at  no  less  than  4,000,  and  captured  400 
prisoners,  including  three  staff-officers,  with  servants,  carriage  and 
baggage  of  Maj.-Gen.  McCook.  The  ground  was  literally  covered 

gain  of  obtaining  your  trade  on  terms  that  would  impoverish  your  country.  You  say 
you  are  fighting  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  yours  freely,  and  has 
always  been,  without  striking  a  blow.  You  say  you  are  fighting  to  maintain  the 
Union.  That  Union  is  a  thing  of  the  past.  A  union  of  consent  was  the  only  union 
ever  worth  a  drop  of  blood.  When  force  came  to  be  substituted  for  consent,  the 
casket  was  broken,  and  the  constitutional  jewel  of  your  patriotic  adoration  was 
forever  gone. 

I  come  then  to  you  with  the  olive-branch  of  peace,  and  offer  it  to  your  accept 
ance,  in  the  name  of  the  memories  of  the  past,  and  the  ties  of  the  present  and  future. 
"With  you  remains  the  responsibility  and  the  option  of  continuing  a  cruel  and  wasting 
war,  which  can  only  end,  after  still  greater  sacrifices,  in  such  treaty  of  peace  as  we 
now  offer,  or  of  preserving  the  blessings  of  peace  by  the  simple  abandonment  of  the 
design  of  subjugating  a  people  over  whom  no  right  of  dominion  has  been  conferred  on 
you  by  God  or  man. 


292  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

with  his  dead  and  wounded.  In  such  a  contest  our  own  loss  was 
necessarily  severe,  probably  not  less  than  2,500  killed,  wounded, 
and  missing." 

The  battle  of  Perryville  was  a  Confederate  victory ;  but  it  had 
really  been  fought  to  cover  Gen.  Bragg's  retreat,  which  he  had 
previously  resolved  upon,  in  view  of  the  rapidly  augmenting  forces 
of  the  enemy,  who  had  now  perfected  his  communications,  and  the 
danger  of  risking  a  Confederate  army  in  Kentucky  after  the  season 
of  autumnal  rains  had  made  the  roads  impracticable  for  retreat. 
On  the  13th  October,  Bragg  put  his  army  in  motion  for  Cumber 
land  Gap,  secured  his  retreat  with  a  vast  amount  of  spoil,  and 
ended  the  campaign  of  Kentucky. 

The  campaign  fell  greatly  below  public  expectation,  and  was 
long  a  theme  of  violent  criticism  in  the  Confederacy.  On  the  other 
end  of  the  line  of  operations  in  the  West,  Breckinridge  had  failed 
at  Baton  Kouge,  and  Yan  Dorn  at  Corinth ;  and  the  general  feel 
ing  in  the  Confederacy  was  that  of  disappointment  at  the  results 
of  a  campaign  that  had  been  so  extensive  in  its  plan,  and  so 
promising  in  its  early  announcements.  Of  the  operations  in  Ken 
tucky  a  fair  critic  has  said :  "  Gen.  Bragg  has  been  blamed  for 
having  failed  to  bring  all  his  force  into  the  field  at  Perryville,  in 
which  case,  it  is  alleged,  he  might  have  crushed  the  enemy ;  but 
the  crisis  of  the  campaign  was  not  the  battle  of  Perryville,  which 
was  obviously  fought  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  army,  but  the 
junction  of  Buell  with  Wright  at  Louisville;  it  was  at  Mumfords- 
ville,  or  in  its  vicinity,  that  Gen.  Bragg  should  have  concentrated 
his  army  for  the  decisive  battle,  and  should  have  fallen  on  Buell 
during  his  march  to  Louisville,  forcing  him  either  to  accept  battle 
on  his  adversaries'  terms,  or  to  have  fallen  back  on  Nashville,  and 
left  Louisville  and  even  Cincinnati  to  their  fate." 

In  Kentucky,  the  disappointment  of  the  party  of  Southern 
sympathizers  was  very  great,  and  Bragg  was  mercilessly  criticised. 
It  was  said  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  looked  upon  the  fleeting 
presence  of  his  army  as  a  " horse-show"  or  military  pageantry,  and 
not  as  indicating  the  stern  reality  of  war;  and  the  excuse  was 
made  for  their  not  rising  in  arms  to  expel  the  Federal  authority, 
that  they  were  diffident  in  following  the  fortunes  of  the  Confed 
eracy  under  the  leadership  of  such  an  officer  as  Bragg.  A  clamour 
was  raised  in  Eichmond  for  the  removal  of  a  commander  who  had 


GENERAL   BRAXTON    BRAGG.  293 

done  so  much  to  raise  public  expectation  and  then  disappoint  it. 
But  Gen.  Bragg  had  no  sooner  got  his  army  through  Cumberland 
Gap,  than  leaving  it  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Polk,  he  hurried 
to  Kichmond  to  make  the  necessary  explanations,  and  demonstrate 
there  the  successes  he  claimed  to  have  obtained. 

It  was  strongly  urged  on  his  side  that,  although  the  Kentucky 
campaign  had  fallen  short  of  the  prime  object  of  the  liberation  of 
that  State,  yet  it  had  had  the  effect  of  relieving  portions  of  Ala 
bama  and  Tennessee,  had  obtained  considerable  advantages,  and 
had  secured  supplies  of  vital  necessity  to  the  Confederate  armies. 
A  member  of  Gen.  Bragg's  staff  gave  the  following  as  the  advan 
tages  gained  in  the  advance  upon  Kentucky: 

"  1st.  Buell,  who  had  been  threatening  Chattanooga,  and  even 
Atlanta,  was  forced  to  evacuate  East  Tennessee  in  '  double-quick.' 

"  2d.  North  Alabama  was  thereby  relieved  from  Federal  occu 
pation. 

"  3d.  We  got  possession  of  Cumberland  Gap,  the  doorway 
through  that  mountain  to  Knoxville  and  the  Virginia  and  Ten 
nessee  Eailroad. 

"4th.  We  took  from  18,000  to  20,000  prisoners  at  Kichmond, 
Mumfordsville,  and  other  places. 

"  5th.  We  brought  off  a  far  greater  amount  of  arms  and  am 
munition  than  we  carried  into  Kentucky. 

"  6th.  Jeans  enough  to  clothe  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi 
were  brought  off,  besides  what  Gen.  Smith  obtained.  I  know  not 
what  this  amounts  to ;  but  I  understand  it  is,  as  it  ought  to  be 
from  his  longer  stay  in  the  State,  much  larger. 

"  7th.  We  beat  the  enemy  in  three  considerable  battles — at 
Eichmond,  Mumfordsville,  and  Perry  ville,  and  our  cavalry  whipped 
them  in  twenty  smaller  ones. 

"  8th.  And  last,  we  have  paid  a  debt  of  honour  due  by  the 
Confederate  States  to  Kentucky.  We  have  offered  her  an  army 
to  help  her  liberation,  and  her  exclusion  would  be  no  longer  an 
obstacle  in  honour  or  on  principle  to  a  treaty  of  peace  with  the 
United  States." 

The  truth  is,  the  sum  of  these  successes  was  not  inconsiderable, 
and  the  public  reception  of  the  results  of  the  Kentucky  campaign 


294  GENERAL  BBAXTON  BRAGG. 

w.as  scarcely  just,  because  the  popular  imagination  had  been  too 
much  excited  by  the  hope  of  yet  more  important  consequences. 
The  Government,  however,  was  much  consoled  by  the  rich  spoil 
that  had  been  gathered :  15,000  horses  and  mules,  8,000  beeves, 
50,000  barrels  of  pork,  1,000,000  yards  of  Kentucky  cloth,  &c., 
&c.  It  was  ascertained  that  Gen.  Bragg's  army  was  better  dis 
ciplined,  better  clothed,  and  better  fed  than  when  it  commenced 
the  campaign ;  that  it  was  in  better  health  and  tone  ;  and  so  there 
was  no  hesitation  in  continuing  him  in  command.  In  a  few  weeks 
he  was  again  in  front  of  the  enemy  at  Nashville,  where  Gen.  Eose- 
crans,  having  superseded  Buell,  was  reorganizing  and  preparing 
his  troops  for  a  forward  movement. 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  295 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

'  J  |*M'J 

Battle  of  Murfreesboro. — Interval  of  repose. — Retreat  to  Chattanooga. — Gen.  Bragg 
refuses  to  fight  at  the  instance  of  the  War  Department  — Reinforced  from  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia. — Battle  of  Chickamauga. — A  commentary  in  the 
Richmond  Whig. — Violent  quarrel  between  Gens.  Bragg  and  Longstreet. — The 
disaster  of  Missionary  Ridge. — Gen.  Bragg  relieved  from  command  and  appointed 
"  military  adviser  "  of  President  Davis. — Explanations  in  a  Richmond  journal. — 
Gen.  Bragg's  last  service  in  the  field. — Fall  of  "Wilmington. — Gen.  Bragg's  military 
career  criticised. — His  ardent  Southern  patriotism. 

THE  year  1862  was  to  expire  with  a  grand  conflict  of  arms  in 
the  West.  On  the  26th  December  the  enemy  advanced  in  force 
from  Nashville  to  attack  Gen.  Bragg  at  Murfreesboro.  It  had  been 
well  ascertained  that  his  strength  was  over  sixty  thousand  effective 
men,  while  the  force  which  Bragg  had  on  the  field,  the  morning  of 
the  battle,  was  less  than  two-thirds  the  Federal  numbers.  On  the 
28th  December  this  force  was  concentrated  in  front  of  Murfreesboro. 
Kosecrans  disposed  the  mass  of  his  troops  on  his  left,  prepared  to 
force  the  passage  of  the  Stone  Kiver  on  the  north  of  the  Murfrees 
boro  rail ;  whilst  his  right,  more  extended  and  more  advanced, 
formed  an  angle  with  the  centre  and  left,  and  faced  in  an  almost 
due  easterly  direction.  The  Nashville  turnpike  and  the  river 
divided  both  armies  into  two  wings ;  the  Confederate  left,  under 
Gen.  Hardee,  composed  of  the  divisions  of  Cleburne  and  McCown, 
with  Breckinridge  in  reserve,  being  formed  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  river,  with  its  left  resting  near  the  Nashville  road. 

It  was  determined  by  Gen.  Bragg,  that  on  daylight  of  the  31st 
December,  Hardee  should  open  the  battle,  the  attack  to  be  taken 
up  by  Folk's  command  in  succession  to  the  right  flank  ;  the  object 
being  to  force  the  enemy  back  on  Stone  Kiver,  and,  if  practicable, 
by  the  aid  of  cavalry,  cut  his  communications  with  Nashville. 
The  attack  was  made  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Of  its  effect 
Gen.  Bragg  writes :  "  The  enemy  was  taken  completely  by  sur 
prise  ;  general  and  staff-officers  were  not  mounted  ;  artillery  horses 
not  hitched,  and  infantry  not  formed ;  a  hot  and  inviting  breakfast 
of  coffee  and  other  luxuries,  to  which  our  gallant  and  hardy  men 


296  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

had  long  been  strangers,  was  found  upon  the  fire  unserved,  and 
was  left  whilst  we  pushed  on  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  more  inviting 
feast — that  of  captured  artillery,  flying  battalions,  and  hosts  of 
craven  prisoners,  begging  for  the  lives  they  had  forfeited  by  their 
acts  of  brutality  and  atrocity." 

For  two  miles,  through  fields  and  forests,  over  ditches,  fences, 
and  ravines,  Hardee  routed  and  pushed  the  enemy ;  and  it  seemed 
that  the  day  was  decided  with  the  breaking  of  Kosecrans'  right 
wing.  His  line  was  thrown  back  entirely  at  right  angles  to  his 
first  position.  But  here  the  battle  paused,  and  the  enemy  rallied 
all  his  energies  for  a  desperate  struggle.  In  front  of  the  Confed 
erate  centre  was  an  oval  hill,  not  very  high,  but  commanding  in  all 
directions,  and  exceedingly  available.  Upon  this  hill  Kosecrans 
placed  a  crown  of  twenty  guns,  supporting  it  right  and  left  and 
rear  by  large  masses  of  infantry,  and  took  his  stand  to  contest  what 
remained  of  the  day.  The  position  was  well  chosen,  and  despe 
rately  held  ;  it  proved  impracticable  for  Bragg ;  two  attempts  were 
made  to  carry  it  by  infantry,  and  were  unsuccessful.  Abandoning 
any  further  experiment  of  assault,  Gen.  Bragg  brought  up  his 
artillery,  and  with  a  tremendous  but  ineffectual  cannonade  on  both 
sides,  the  day  ended. 

Of  the  results  of  the  day  Gen.  Bragg  telegraphed  to  Kichmond : 
"  We  assailed  the  enemy  at  seven  o'clock  this  morning,  and  after 
ten  hours'  hard  fighting  have  driven  him  from  every  position 
except  his  extreme  left,  where  he  has  successfully  resisted  us.  With 
the  exception  of  this  point,  we  occupy  the  whole  field.  We  cap 
tured  four  thousand  prisoners,  including  two  Brigadier-Generals, 
thirty-one  pieces  of  artillery,  and  some  two  hundred  wagons  and 
teams.  Our  loss  is  heavy ;  that  of  the  enemy  much  greater." 

The  next  day  he  sent  the  following  dispatch : 

MURFBEESBORO,  January  1,  1863. 

The  enemy  has  yielded  his  strong  point  and  is  falling  back. 
We  occupy  the  whole  field  and  shall  follow.  *  *  *  *  God  has 
granted  us  a  happy  New  Year. 

BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

But  he  was  sadly  mistaken  in  his  interpretation  of  the  wily 
movement  of  Kosecrans ;  for,  instead  of  retreating,  that  commander 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  297 

had  retired  but  a  short  distance  in  rear  of  his  former  position,  to 
obtain  a  wider  front.  On  the  2d  January,  one  of  the  enemy's 
divisions  recrossed  Stone  Kiver,  and  took  position  on  rising  ground, 
which  enfiladed  Gen.  Folk's  line.  It  became  necessary  to  defeat  this 
movement,  and  a  column  of  attack  was  formed  under  Breckin- 
ridge,  in  two  lines  of  four  brigades.  The  Confederates  advanced 
confidently,  and  drove  the  division  which  threatened  Folk's  line, 
gaining  the  crest  of  rising  ground  overlooking  the  river.  But 
across  the  river  they  encountered  the  remainder  of  Crittenden's 
corps,  with  a  portion  of  those  of  Thomas  and  McCook,  posted  on 
commanding  ground.  The  Federals  in  turn  advanced,  and  drove 
back  Breckinridge's  division  in  considerable  disorder,  inflicting  on 
it  such  heavy  loss,  that  it  is  said  two  thousand  Confederates  were 
killed  or  wounded  in  half  an  hour.  Bragg,  perceiving  the  disaster, 
ordered  up  Anderson's  brigade  of  Folk's  corps  in  support.  Advanc 
ing  steadily  through  the  broken  infantry  of  Breckin ridge's  divi 
sion,  Anderson  checked  the  pursuit  and  saved  the  artillery  aban 
doned  in  the  confusion,  with  the  exception  of  four  guns,  which 
remained  in  the  enemy's  hands.  Night  put  an  end  to  the  engage 
ment,  and  the  two  armies  reoccupied  their  former  lines. 

The  next  day  each  army  appeared  to  await  an  attack  from  its 
opponent.  Satisfied,  however,  of  his  inability  to  dislodge  the  enemy 
from  his  intrenchments,  and  hearing  of  reinforcements  to  him,  Gen. 
Bragg  determined  to  withdraw  from  his  front,  and  retire  his  army 
to  Tullahoma.  Of  the  necessity  of  this  movement  Gen.  Bragg 
says:  U0n  Saturday  morning,  the  3d  January,  our  forces  had 
been  in  line  of  battle  five  days  and  nights,  with  but  little  rest,  hav 
ing  no  reserves;  tbeir  baggage  and  tents  had  been  loaded, 'and  the 
wagons  were  four  miles  off;  their  provisions,  if  cooked  at  all,  were 
most  imperfectly  prepared  with  scanty  means;  the  weather  had 
been  severe  from  cold  and  almost  constant  rain,  and  we  had  no 
change  of  clothing,  and  in  many  places  could  not  have  fire.  The 
necessary  consequence  was  the  great  exhaustion  of  both  officers 
and  men,  many  having  to  be  sent  to  the  hospitals  in  the  rear,  and 
more  still  were  beginning  to  straggle  from  their  commands — an  evil 
from  which  we  had  so  far  suffered  but  little.  During  the  whole 
of  the  day  the  rain  continued  to  fall  with  little  intermission,  and 
the  rapid  rise  in  Stone  Eiver  indicated  that  it  would  soon  be 
unfordable.  Late  on  Friday  night,  I  had  received  the  captured 


298  GENGRAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

papers  of  Maj.-Gen.  McCook,  commanding  one  corps  tfarmee  of  the 
enemy,  showing  their  effective  strength  to  have  been  very  nearly, 
if  not  quite  70,000  men.  Before  noon  reports  from  Brig.-Gen. 
Wheeler  satisfied  me  that  the  enemy,  instead  of  retiring,  was 
receiving  reinforcements.  Common  prudence  and  the  safety  of  my 
army,  upon  which  even  the  safety  of  our  cause  depended,  left  no 
doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  the  necessity  for  my  withdrawal  from  so 
unequal  a  contest." 

For  many  months  nothing  was  done  by  the  main  army  under 
Gen.  Bragg,  although  detached  commands  were  at  work.  It  rested 
at  Tullahoma  and  vicinity,  and  was  soon  stronger  in  numbers  than 
when  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro  was  fought,  owing  to  Gen.  Bragg's 
vigorous  measures  to  arrest  deserters  and  reclaim  absentees.  The 
army  was  well  clothed,  healthy,  and  in  fine  spirits.  During  this 
interval  of  leisure,  an  interesting  incident  occurred  in  Gen.  Bragg's 
life :  the  baptism  of  the  commander  in  his  camp.  The  ceremony 
was  performed  in  an  impressive  manner  by  Bishop  Elliot,  who  in 
view  of  a  congregation  of  about  3,000  of  the  troops,  took  the 
General's  hand  in  his  own  and  said,  "  Braxton,  if  thou  hast  not 
already  been  baptized,  I  baptize  thee,"  etc.  A  writer  in  one  of  the 
newspapers,  referring  to  the  scene,  remarked:  "Gen.  Bragg  has 
thus  set  an  example  to  his  army  which  will  not  be  without  its 
influence.  On  visiting  Gen.  Lee's  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I 
was  struck  with  the  high  moral  character  which  prevailed  among 
the  officers  and  soldiers,  as  well  as  the  deep  religious  feeling  that 
pervaded,  especially  in  the  lamented  Gen.  Jackson's  corps.  It  will 
be  a  source  of  congratulation  should  Gen.  Bragg  succeed  in  pro 
ducing  the  same  beneficial  result.  There  is  no  occasion  for  men 
becoming  reckless  and  demoralized  on  entering  the  army,  but  on 
the  contrary,  a  different  feeling  should  prevail." 

Without  introducing  into  the  narrative  minor  affairs  of  Gen. 
Bragg's  army,  it  is  not  until  July  1863,  that  we  take  up  the  thread 
of  its  operations.  It  had  been  reduced  for  the  defence  of  Vicks- 
burg  against  the  protest  of  its  commander  and  that  of  Gen.  John 
ston  ;  and  with  his  flank  now  threatened  by  a  superiour  army  un 
der  Kosecrans,  who  had  occupied  Hoover's  Gap,  Gen.  Bragg  thought 
it  advisable  to  fall  back  to  Chattanooga,  which  he  did  in  the  last 
days  of  July,  establishing  his  headquarters  first  in  Bridgeport,  and 
then  in  the  town.  Around  this  place  the  Confederate  arrny  was 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

now  encamped;  Eosecrans  advancing  upon  it  across  the  moun 
tains  on  one  side,  and  Burnside,  commanding  the  Federal  forces  in 
East  Tennessee,  coming  down  the  valley,  by  the  way  of  Cumber 
land  Gap,  on  the  other. 

At  this  time  there  appears  to  have  been  great  impatience  in 
Eichmond  for  a  battle  in  the  West,  and  another  outcry  of  popular 
dissatisfaction  with  Gen.  Bragg.  To  these  expressions  he  replied 
in  a  letter  to  the  War  Department,  dated  August  8,  1863,  in  which 
he  declared,  that  with  all  the  reinforcements  he  could  get  from 
Johnston,  he  would  not  have  more  than  40,000  effective  men ; 
while  Eosecrans  had  60,000,  and  would  be  reinforced  by  Burnside 
with  30,000  more— making  90,000  against  40,000— and  as  a  true 
patriot  he  was  opposed  to  throwing  away  our  armies  in  enterprises 
sure  to  terminate  disastrously. 

Gen.  Cooper,  the  Adjutant-General  at  Eichmond,  sent  this 
response  to  the  President,  asking  if  Bragg  should  not  be  ordered  to 
fight  under  such  circumstances.  But  the  President  paused,  and 
finally  sent  back  the  paper  indorsed  that  "only  a  suggestion  could 
be  given  to  a  Commanding-General  to  fight  a  battle ;  but  to  order 
him  to  fight  when  he  predicted  a  failure  in  advance,  would  be 
unwise."  Indeed,  the  decision  was  so  much  in  favour  of  Bragg's 
protest,  that  it  was  determined  to  reinforce  him  from  the  Army  of 
Virginia  with  Longstreet's  corps,  and  enable  him  to  give  the  battle 
he  had  so  long  declined  on  the  score  of  inferiour  numbers. 

On  the  7th  September,  Gen.  Bragg  evacuated  Chattanooga,  as 
Eosecrans  appeared  to  be  making  a  flank  movement  towards  Eome, 
Georgia,  and  occupying  a  line  about  ten  miles  south  of  Chatta 
nooga,  and  fronting  the  east  slope  of  Lookout  Mountain,  he  deter 
mined  to  engage  the  enemy  as  he  emerged  from  the  mountain 
gorges.  He  issued  the  following  address  to  his  troops : 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OP  TENNESSEE,  IN  THE  FIELD, 

LAFAYETTE,  GA.,  Sept.  10. 

The  troops  will  be  ready  for  an  immediate  move  against  the 
enemy.  His  demonstrations  on  our  flanks  have  been  thwarted ; 
and  twice  he  has  retired  before  us  when  offered  battle.  We  must 
now  force  him  to  the  issue.  Soldiers,  you  are  largely  reinforced — 
you  must  now  seek  the  contest.  In  doing  so,  I  know  you  will  be 
content  to  suffer  privations  and  encounter  hardships.  Heretofore 
you  have  never  failed  to  respond  to  your  General  when  he  has 


300  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

asked  a  sacrifice  at  your  hands.  Belying  upon  your  gallantry  and 
patriotism  he  asks  you  to  add  a  crowning  glory  to  the  wreaths  you 
wear.  Our  credit  is  in  your  keeping.  Your  enemy  boasts  that 
you  are  demoralized,  and  retreating  before  him.  Having  accom 
plished  our  object  in  driving  back  his  flank  movement,  let  us  now 
turn  on  his  main  force  and  crush  it  in  its  fancied  security.  Your 
General  will  lead  you.  You  have  but  to  respond  to  assure  us  of  a 
glorious  triumph  over  an  insolent  foe.  I  know  what  your  response 
will  be.  Trusting  in  God  and  the  justice  of  our  cause,  and  nerved 
by  the  love  of  the  dear  ones  at  home,  failure  is  impossible,  and 
victory  must  be  ours. 

BRAXTON  BRAGG, 

General  commanding. 

The  great  battle  was  preceded  by  a  singular  opportunity  of 
advantage  which  Eosecrans  unwittingly  offered  to  his  adversary, 
and  which  Gen.  Bragg  undoubtedly  lost  through  the  contumacy 
and  delays  of  some  of  his  division  commanders.  The  enemy 
advanced,  as  he  supposed  in  pursuit  of  a  retreating  and  demoralized 
army,  exposing  himself  in  detail ;  and  the  centre  corps,  under 
Thomas,  being  in  McLemore's  Cove,  immediately  opposite  Lafay 
ette,  at  and  near  which  Gen.  Bragg  had  all  his  forces  concentrated, 
was  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  latter.  It  was  only  necessary 
that  Gen.  Bragg  should  fall  upon  it  with  such  a  mass  as  would 
have  crushed  it.  The  attack  was  to  be  made  by  Gen.  Hindman, 
and  D.  H.  Hill  was  to  move  rapidly  to  join  his  forces  ;  but  delays 
occurred ;  Hill  did  not  act  in  concert ;  a  day  was  lost ;  and 
Thomas,  perceiving  his  errour,  effected  his  escape  up  the  mountain. 

The  next  attempt  of  Bragg  was  to  make  a  flank  movement, 
turn  the  enemy's  left,  and  get  between  him  and  Chattanooga.  The 
movement  commenced  on  the  19th  September;  but  the  enemy 
anticipated  it,  commenced  the  attack  with  Thomas'  corps,  and  en 
gaging  the  troops  of  Walker,  Cheatham,  and  Cleburne,  continued 
a  doubtful  conflict  until  night. 

Gen.  Bragg  prepared  for  a  general  action  the  next  day,  divid 
ing  his  force  into  two  commands,  the  left  under  Longstreet,  the 
right  under  Polk — the  latter  being  ordered  to  commence  at  day 
light  the  attack,  which  was  to  be  taken  up  in  succession  rapidly  to 
the  left.  These  orders  were  not  promptly  obeyed ;  Gen.  Polk  was 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BKAGG.  301 

dilatory,  and  excused  himself  by  another  alleged  instance  of  D.  H. 
Hill's  disobedience  of  orders ;  and  the  battle  was  not  commenced  un 
til  ten  o'clock,  when  Bragg,  chafing  under  delays  which  the  enemy 
was  busily  improving  in  strengthening  his  position,  and  exclaim 
ing  that  his  Generals  would  not  obey  him,  directed  one  of  his  aides 
to  ride  along  the  line  and  order  the  company  officers  to  take  their 
men  into  action.  The  action  opened  by  a  forward  movement  of 
Breckinridge,  followed  and  accompanied  by  Cleburne.  These 
divisions  were  driven  back  with  heavy  loss,  and  the  right  wing  of 
the  Confederates  was  evidently  in  distress.  Longstreet,  however, 
held  his  ground  on  the  left ;  and  the  battle  fluctuated  until  the  de 
scending  sun  warned  Gen.  Bragg  that  if  he  hoped  for  victory  he 
should  improve  the  hours  by  a  grand  and  decisive  movement. 

The  whole  Confederate  line  was  then  revised  and  posted,  and  a 
forward  movement  in  all  its  length  ordered.  The  right  swung 
round  with  an  extended  sweep,  with  its  firm  supports,  and  the  left 
rallied  once  more  to  the  charge  of  the  works,  before  which  it  had 
suffered  so  severely  in  the  morning.  Never  did  troops  move  up 
to  their  work  with  more  resolution  ;  the  daring  Breckinridge,  with 
his  Kentuckians  and  Louisianians,  and  Cleburne,  with  his  Arkan- 
sians  and  Alabamians,  and  Walker,  with  his  South  Carolinians, 
Mississippians,  and  Georgians,  and  Cheatham,  with  his  Tennes- 
seeans,  all  moved  forward  in  one  mighty  tide,  amidst  the  thunders 
of  some  twenty  batteries,  and  the  roar  of  thousands  of  muskets 
and  rifles.  On  the  left,  at  the  same  time,  Longstreet's  veteran  di 
visions,  that  had  firmly  held  the  day,  gained  the  line  that  had  been 
obstinately  contested,  and  now  swept  on  in  magnificent  array 
with  the  continuous  shout  of  victory.  The  scene  was  one  of  sur 
passing  sublimity  and  grandeur.  Sweeping  forward,  as  the  flood  of 
a  mighty  river,  the  attack  carried  everything  before  it,  nothing 
being  able  to  stand  in  the  resistless  line  of  its  path.  The  enemy's 
works,  which  opposed  such  a  stubborn  resistance  in  the  morning, 
succumbed  before  the  on- moving  torrent ;  and  the  brave  men  of 
Cleburne's  division,  which  had  been  repulsed  in  the  morning,  had, 
by  their  extraordinary  gallantry  in  the  evening,  the  opportunity 
of  avenging  the  experiences  of  the  earlier  part  of  the  day.  The 
whole  field  was  carried  triumphantly,  and  the  enemy  driven  as 
chaff  before  the  wind. 

As  night  fell,  the  troops  were  halted  and  the  pursuit  abandoned. 


302  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

Of  the  alleged  neglect  of  Gen.  Bragg  to  follow  up  his  victory,  a 
writer  in  the  Kichmond  Whig,  who  has  graphically  described,  and 
ingeniously  criticised  this  battle,  says:  "Panic,  confusion,  dis 
order,  became  the  condition  of  an  army  which  had  never  before 
acknowledged  defeat,  and  which  for  two  days  had  been  contesting 
every  inch  of  ground  with  valour  the  most  obstinate.  And  what 
did  the  Confederate  commander  do?  Did  he  pursue  an  enemy 
thus  demoralized,  and  furnished,  by  his  not  forming  his  line  of 
battle  at  right  angles  with  his  actual  line/  with  opportunity  of  re 
treat  upon  Chattanooga,  whose  possession  was  the  object  of  the 
campaign — an  enemy  not  only  demoralized,  but  encumbered  with 
heavy  trains,  and  no  mode  of  exit,  save  through  two  gaps  of  Mis 
sionary  Ridge,  a  mountain  ?  No.  Night  had  set  in,  and  he  deemed 
it  prudent  to  halt,  notwithstanding  his  men  were  eager  for  pursuit, 
and  a  brilliant  moon  furnished  almost  the  light  of  day.  Three 
hours  were  lost  in  the  morning  by  Folk's  failure  to  attack  at  day 
light;  and,  therefore,  the  condition  of  the  troops  was  such  as  to 
forbid  the  possibility  of  pursuit.  But  granting  that  reasons,  sub 
stantive  reasons,  existed  for  not  pursuing  on  Sunday  night,  what 
hindered  the  Commander-in-Chief  from  pursuing  on  Monday  morn 
ing  at  daylight?  Chattanooga  was  only  ten  miles  from  the  battle 
field,  and  unfortified;  our  pursuing  cavalry  could  see  the  head  of 
their  column,  and  urged  Gen.  Bragg  by  repeated  messages  to 
pursue ;  that  every  hour's  delay  would  be  equal  to  the  loss  of  a 
thousand  men.  Citizens  along  the  road  reported  that  many  of 
their  commands  passed  their  dwellings  in  the  utmost  disorder, 
without  arms  or  accoutrements,  and  many  without  hats,  as  a  con 
fused  and  routed  mob,  not  as  troops  in  column,  everything  in 
Chattanooga  and  on  the  road  inviting  rather  than  forbidding  at 
tack.  Even  if  they  had  good  defensive  works,  with  the  condition 
as  reported  above,  by  a  prompt  pursuit  our  army  would  have  gone 
into  Chattanooga  with  theirs,  and  thus  broken  the  effect  of  their 
fire ;  and  if  such  would  have  been  the  result  of  good  defensive 
works,  what  might  not  the  result  have  been  without  them,  and  the 
enemy'  panic-stricken  because  of  the  knowledge  that  none  such 
existed  ?  What  hindered  Gen.  Bragg  from  pursuing  is  not  known ; 
but  it  is  known  that  while  pursuit  seems  to  have  been  invited,  he 
did  not  pursue,  and  not  pursuing,  what  did  he  do  on  Monday 
morning?  He  first  sent  out  detachments  to  the  battle-field  to 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  303 

gather  up  the  fruits  of  victory,  in  arms,  large  and  small,  to  be  se 
cured  and  sent  to  the  rear,  and  caused  the  captured  banners  to  be 
collected  to  be  sent  to  Eichmond,  and  prisoners  to  be  counted  and 
sent  to  the  rear.  He  then  ordered  the  troops  under  arms,  and 
marched  them  down  the  Chattanooga  road  until  they  came  near  to 
Rossville,  where  Forrest  and  Pegram  were  thundering  away  with 
their  batteries  at  the  retreating  enemy,  there  had  them  filed  to  the 
right,  and  thrown  down  the  Chickamauga  Creek,  that  they  might 
rest  from  their  fatigues  and  be  in  good  position  to  move  upon 
Burnside  or  flank  Eosecrans,  as  further  contingencies  might  dictate." 

The  enemy's  immediate  losses  in  the  battle  were  large.  It  was 
officially  stated  by  Gen.  Bragg  that  he  captured  over  eight  thousand 
prisoners,  fifty-one  pieces  of  artillery,  and  fifteen  thousand  stand 
of  small-arms.  But  whatever  the  value  of  these  fruits,  and  what 
ever  the  merit  of  the  criticism  we  have  just  quoted  above,  it  is 
certain  that  the  victory  won  by  Gen.  Bragg,  although  in  some 
respects  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war,  was  without  substantial 
results,  as  it  did  not  recover  Chattanooga,  and  thus  left  the  enemy 
with  the  key  of  Eastern  Tennessee  and  Northern  Georgia  in  his 
hands.  After  this  battle  it  was  proposed  by  Gen.  Longstreet  to 
cross  the  Tennessee  and  move  upon  Nashville;  but  Gen.  Bragg 
rejected  this  plan  of  campaign,  and  determined  to  invest  Chatta 
nooga,  and  starve  the  enemy  out.  This  difference  of  views  was  the 
occasion  of  an  unfortunate  and  violent  quarrel  between  Gen.  Bragg 
and  Gen.  Longstreet,  which,  by  its  constant  and  fretful  appeals  to 
the  War  Department  at  Eichmond,  probably  had  some  effect  in 
leading  to  that  ill-timed  detachment  of  Longstreet's  command  to 
operate  against  Knoxville,  which  ultimately  exposed  Bragg  to  one 
of  the  worst  defeats  of  the  war. 

While  Bragg's  force  at  Missionary  Eidge  was  reduced  by  Long- 
street's  expedition  to  take  Knoxville,  the  enemy  was  pursuing  a 
policy  quite  the  reverse.  Gen.  Grant  had  been  appointed  by  the 
government  at  Washington  to  take  command  of  the  Mississippi 
Department;  and  executing  his  favourite  plan  of  superiour  numbers, 
he  had  brought  to  Chattanooga  two  corps  from  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  and  called  Sherman,  with  the  Vicksburg  army,  from 
Memphis,  at  the  very  time  Bragg  was  reducing  his  force,  and 
meditating  the  side-operation  of  driving  Burnside  out  of  East 
Tennessee. 


304:  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

On  the  25th  November,  Grant  prepared  for  his  grand  assault 
on  Missionary  Ridge,  with  not  less  than  eighty-five  thousand 
veteran  troops.  Although  Bragg  did  not  have  half  these  numbers, 
the  strength  of  his  position  might  have  compensated  for  this  inferior 
ity,  had  his  troops  fought  with  their  usual  spirit.  On  the  conduct 
of  this  disastrous  engagement,  President  Davis  remarked  with  great 
severity  in  a  message  to  Congress :  u  After  a  long  and  severe  battle, 
in  which  great  carnage  was  inflicted  on  the  enemy,  some  of  our 
troops  inexplicably  abandoned  positions  of  great  strength,  and,  by 
a  disorderly  retreat,  compelled  the  commander  to  withdraw  the 
forces  elsewhere  successful,  and  finally  to  retire  with  his  whole 
army  to  a  position  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles  to  the  rear.  It  is 
believed  that  if  the  troops  who  yielded  to  the  assault  had  fought 
with  the  valour  which  they  had  displayed  on  previous  occasions, 
and  which  was  manifested  in  this  battle  on  the  other  parts  of  the 
line,  the  enemy  would  have  been  repulsed  with  very  great  slaughter, 
and  our  country  would  have  escaped  the  misfortune,  and  the  army 
the  mortification  of  the  first  defeat  that  has  resulted  from  miscon 
duct  by  the  troops." 

On  the  night  of  the  25th  November,  Bragg  was  in  full  retreat, 
and  all  of  his  strong  positions  on  Lookout  Mountain,  Chattanooga 
Valley,  and  Missionary  Bidge,  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  His 
army  was  put  in  motion  on  the  road  to  Binggold,  and  thence  to 
Dalton.  He  had  lost  six  thousand  prisoners,  and  forty  pieces  of 
artillery ;  but  the  enemy  desisted  from  pursuit,  and  the  campaign 
of  1863,  in  the  West,  may  be  said  to  have  closed  on  the  northern 
frontier  of  Georgia.* 


*  The  decline  of  Gen.  Bragg's  fortune  was  promptly  insulted  by  the  enemy,  and 
was  the  occasion  of  the  usual  witticisms  of  the  Northern  journals.  We  copy  the  lines 
below,  not  for  any  merit  we  can  possibly  discover  in  the  uncouth  arrangement  of 
words,  but  as  a  specimen  of  that  large  part  of  Northern  literature  in  the  war,  which 
was  occupied  with  libel,  caricature,  and  scurrilous  wit : 

HEADQUARTERS,  TULLAHOMA,    1863. 

I  hate,  my  boy  Wheeler,  old  Abe's  apparatus, 

Of  hemp  garlands  twisted  to  choke  our  afflatus. 

Cease  to  rove  where  that  Stanley  the  devil  is  playing, 

Nor  scout  near  the  spot  where  "  Old  Rosy  "  is  staying. 

Fort  Donelson's  sold  to  Uncle  Sam, 

For  "  bloodhounds  "  can't  butt  with  a  Federal  ram. 


GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG.  305 

In  December,  Gen.  Bragg  wrote  to  Richmond,  asking  to  be 
relieved,  and  acknowledging  his  defeat ;  and  he  declared  that  he 
would  have  to  fall  still  further  back,  if  the  enemy  pressed  him 
vigorously.  Happily  the  enemy  did  not  know  this,  for  at  the 
moment  the  letter  was  written,  Grant  was  falling  back  to  Chatta 
nooga.  In  relinquishing  his  command,  Gen.  Bragg  exhorted  his 
army  in  the  usual  style,  appeared  to  forget  all  causes  of  recrimina 
tion,  and  declared  that  it  had  "  the  blessings  and  prayers  of  a 
grateful  friend." 

He  withdrew  for  some  time  from  all  military  duty  to  recruit  his 
health.  But  he  soon  appeared  before  the  public  again  in  the  follow 
ing  appointment: 

ADJUTANT  AND  INSPECTOR-GENERAL'S  OFFICE, 
RICHMOND,  VA.,  February  24,  1864. 

Gen.  Braxton  Bragg  is  assigned  to  duty  at  the  seat  of  govern 
ment,  and,  under  the  direction  of  the  President,  is  charged  with  the 
conduct  of  military  operations  in  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy. 
By  order. 

S.  COOPER,  Adjutant  Inspector- General. 

This  office  has  been  much  misunderstood,  was  popularly  over 
rated,  and  by  its  high-sounding  terms  captivated  public  attention. 
But  it  was  really  nothing  more  than  the  same  that  had  been  given 
Gen.  Lee  before  the  battles  of  Richmond,  a  sort  of  supernumerary, 
not  very  honourable,  and  best  described  as  "  military  adviser  "  of 
the  President.  The  appointee  shared  something  of  the  duties  of  the 
Secretary  of  War,  but  in  all  respects  was  subservient  to  the 
President.  The  Richmond  Enquirer,  which  had  very  unfavourably 
criticised  Gen.  Bragg's  campaigns,  and  considered  that  his  mind 
had  found  an  appropriate  field  of  usefulness  in  this  new  appoint 
ment,  had  the  following  remarks,  explaining  the  nature  of  the 
office,  and  defining  its  limits :  "  Gen.  Bragg  has  been  assigned  to 
duty  in  Richmond,  as  consulting  and  advisory  General.  "We  regard 

My  sedulous  care  is  to  make  my  escape, 
And  drink  myself  tight  with  a  "  little  more  grape." 
You're  rather  Lowe-flung,  and  have  shown  the  white  rag, 
And  I'm  nearly  played  out — 

Your  old  friend, 

BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

20 


306  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

the  appointment  as  one  very  proper,  and  believe  that  it  will  conduce 
to  the  advancement  and  promotion  of  the  cause.  Gen.  Bragg  has 
unquestionable  abilities,  which  eminently  fit  him  for  such  a  respon 
sible  position.  The  country  will  be  pleased  to  see  his  experience 
and  information  made  use  of  by  the  President.  His  patriotism  and 
zeal  for  the  public  service  are  fully  recognized  and  appreciated  by 
his  countrymen.  The  duties  of  the  commander  in-chief,  who,  under 
the  constitution,  can  be  no  other  than  the  President,  are  most  ardu 
ous,  and  require  much  aid  and  assistance,  as  well  as  ability  and 
experience.  Gen.  Bragg  has  acquired,  by  long  service,  that  prac 
tical  experience  necessary  to  the  position  to  which  he  is  assigned 
by  the  general  order  published  in  to-day's  Enquirer .  <untl 

"An  erroneous  impression  obtains  as  to  the  nature  of  this 
appointment  of  Gen.  Bragg.  He  is  not,  and  cannot  be  commander- 
in-chief.  *  The  constitution  of  the  Confederate  States  makes  the 
President  the  commander-in-chief.  Gen.  Bragg  is  detailed  for  duty 
in  Richmond  '  under '  the  President.  He  does  not  rank  Gen.  Lee, 
nor  Gen.  Johnston.  He  cannot  command  or  direct  them,  except 
'by  command  of  the  President.'  His  appointment  has  been  made 
with  the  knowledge  and  approval  of  Gens.  Cooper,  Lee,  Johnston, 
and  Beauregard,  all  his  superiours  in  rank,  who,  knowing  and 
appreciating  the  usefulness  and  ability  of  Gen.  Bragg,  concur  in 
his  appointment  by  the  President." 

The  last  field  service  of  Gen.  Bragg  was  in  North  Carolina. 
He  was  appointed  to  take  command  at  Wilmington,  at  the  time 
Fort  Fisher  was  threatened  by  Porter's  fleet,  and  a  second  expedi 
tion  of  land  forces,  under  Gen.  Terry.  The  enemy  having  effected 
a  landing  so  as  to  flank  Bragg's  forces  on  the  peninsula,  he  declined 
an  attack,  and  withdrew  to  Wilmington,  but  not  until  he  had 
heavily  reinforced  the  garrison  of  the  fort,  which  was  left  to  make 
the  decisive  battle  under  Gen.  Whiting.  The  result  was  that  the 
fort  was  captured,  and  that  Wilmington  was  subsequently  evacu 
ated  ;  Gen.  Bragg  putting  his  little  army,  less  than  five  thousand 
men,  in  motion  to  join  Gen.  Johnston,  who  was  endeavouring  to 
collect  a  force  on  the  front  of  Sherman,  who  had  made  preparations 
for  a  movement  on  Goldsboro,  in  two  columns,  one  from  Wilming 
ton,  and  one  from  Newbern,  in  conjunction  with  his  main  body, 
designing  to  concentrate  there  all  of  his  forces.  On  the  8th  March, 
1865,  Gen.  Bragg  struck  the  column  moving  from  Newbern  at  a 


GENERAL  BKAXTON  BRAGG.  307 

point  near  Kinston,  and  attacked  it  with  his  own  troops  and  a 
small  division  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  taking  fifteen  hundred 
prisoners.  He  was  unable,  however,  to  follow  up  his  advantage ; 
and  the  junction  of  Sherman  and  Schofield  at  Goldsboro  was  deci 
sive  of  the  campaign,  the  close  of  which  was  expedited  by  the 
news  of  Gen.  Lee's  surrender  in  Virginia,  and  involved  the  gene 
ral  conclusion  of  the  war. 

Since  the  war  Gen.  Bragg  has  retired  very  closely  from  public 
attention,  and  is  said  to  be  cultivating  a  plantation  in  Alabama. 
From  our  brief  narrative  the  reader  will  doubtless  obtain  some 
means  of  judging  the  much-vexed  question  of  his  generalship;  for 
it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  there  is  much  in  it  open  to  criticism. 
But  the  biographer,  who  estimates  the  whole  life  of  the  man,  would 
do  wrong  to  confine  it  to  such  a  question  of  ability,  and  not  give 
credit  for  the  virtues  and  affections  which  make  up  the  sum  of 
character,  and  are  themselves  titles  to  admiration  and  praise. 
Whether  Gen.  Bragg  was  or  was  not  an  able  commander,  it  is 
certain  that  he  was  pure,  incorruptible,  fearless,  and  so  ardent  in 
his  Southern  patriotism  that  he  never  omitted  a  sentiment  for  his 
country  in  any  order  he  ever  wrote;  and  indeed  he  used  such  noble 
and  appropriate  language  in  these  expressions  that  we  are  easily 
led  to  the  imagination  that  he  would  have  been  distinguished  as  a 
politician,  if  his  life  had  been  inclined  to  civil  employments.  Much 
of  his  undeniable  unpopularity  in  the  army  is  to  be  ascribed  to  his 
extraordinary  rigour  and  integrity  as  a  disciplinarian,  and,  in  this 
respect,  he  gave  an  example  which,  if  followed  by  other  Confed 
erate  commanders,  would  have  been  of  more  ultimate  service  to 
the  cause  than  many  victories  in  the  field.  With  him  desertion 
was  the  capital  military  crime,  and  not,  as  some  practically  made 
it,  a  sort  of  license  of  the  volunteer  soldier,  to  be  checked  by  moral 
persuasions  and  patriotic  appeals.  He  shot  his  men  for  acts  of 
insubordination,  which  would  have  merited  death  in  any  well-regu 
lated  army.  Many  foolish  and  extravagant  stories  were  told  of  his 
rigour.  One  of  these,  related  by  Mr.  Foote  in  the  Confederate 
Congress,  with  an  abundance  of  comment,  was,  that  he  had  exe 
cuted  three  soldiers  for  firing  into  a  flock  of  chickens  on  the  line  of 
their  march  !  The  facts  were,  that  Gen.  Bragg  was  making  a  move 
ment  at  the  time  in  close  proximity  to  the  enemy's  lines ;  that  the 
report  of  a  musket  endangered  the  safety  of  the  whole  army ;  that 


308  GENERAL  BRAXTON  BRAGG. 

the  troops  had  been  so  warned ;  and  that  the  men  who  fired,  and 
risked  an  alarm  that  put  the  whole  army  in  peril,  were  instantly 
and  properly  executed.  The  personal  appearance  of  the  commander 
was  unusually  stern  and  military ;  he  had  few  intimate  friendships ; 
and  he  sometimes  gave  offence  to  his  officers  by  an  occasional 
acerbity  of  manner.  But  whatever  the  fault  of  his  head,  or  the 
unpleasantness  of  his  exteriour,  no  one  ever  doubted  that  Gen. 
Braxton  Bragg  was  one  of  the  most  single-minded  patriots  of  the 
army,  and  would  have  freely  given  his  life,  on  numberless  occa 
sions,  to  serve  the  cause  of  his  country. 


Iniwvu.1  expr«Sslr  for~l.ee  a,id  Ws  Lieutenants" 
E.B. Treat  &  Co.Bihliaiers,  654  Broailw 57;  New-Tori.. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 


CHAPTEE  XXVI. 

Anomaly  of  the  Missouri  Campaign. — Early  Life  of  Sterling  Price. — Governor  of 
Missouri. — His  Politics. — Formation  of  "  The  Missouri  State  Guard." — Personal 
appearance  of  the  Commander. — His  correspondence  with  Gen.  Harney. — Affair 
at  Booneville. — Gen.  Price  reinforced  by  Gens.  McCulloch  and  Pearce. — Battle 
of  Oak  HOI  or  Wilson's  Creek. — Gen.  Price's  movement  upon  Lexington. — His 
success. — Designs  against  St.  Louis. — "Why  they  were  abandoned. — Eetreat  of  the 
Patriot  Army  of  Missouri. — The  State  joins  the  Southern  Confederacy. — Gen. 
Price's  Proclamation  at  Neosho. 

WHEREVER  the  history  of  the  American  War  is  known,  the  names 
of  Sterling  Price  and  u  The  Missouri  Guard"  are  remarkable.  The 
romantic  theatre  on  which  he  fought,  the  anomaly  of  the  Missouri 
campaign,  and  its  striking  exceptions  to  all  the  ordinary  rules  and 
common  apprehensions  of  military  science,  constitute  a  theme  of 
unfailing  interest  and  wondering  criticism,  peculiar  and  remarkable, 
even  in  a  war  replete  with  new  operations  and  startling  episodes. 

Sterling  Price  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  nutrix  leonum  ;  but  all 
his  adult  honours  are  claimed  by  the  noble  State  of  Missouri,  with 
the  flower  of  whose  manhood,  led  to  battle,  he  adorned  his  reputa 
tion,  binding  up  the  fame  of  commander  and  of  troops  in  a  com 
mon  story  of  heroism.  Indeed,  as  subjects  of  admiration,  the 
commander  and  his  troops  cannot  be  separated ;  and  if  he  was  a 
hero,  so  too  were  the  unbought  soldiers  who  fought  under  his  ban 
ners,  and  gave  an  illustration  of  manhood  unsurpassed  in  the  war. 

He  was  born  in  Prince  Edward  County,  Virginia,  on  the  14th 
September,  1809.  At  the  proper  age,  after  passing  through  a 
course  of  home  training  and  schooling,  he  was  sent  to  Hampden 
Sydney  College,  where  he  went  through  the  then  usual  course  of 
study.  Upon  returning  home,  or  soon  thereafter,  in  order  to  ac- 


310  MAJOR  GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

quire  a  good  knowledge  of  practical  business,  he  engaged  as  a 
deputy  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  his  native  county.  Here  he  remained 
two  years,  and  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  Of  an  enter 
prising  disposition,  he  determined  to  emigrate  to  theWest.  Missouri, 
as  being  chiefly  peopled  by  Kentuckians  and  Virginians,  seemed 
to  him  to  afford  the  best  opening  and  to  promise  the  most  con 
genial  associations.  He  arrived  in  the  State  in  the  year  1830, 
when  the  city  of  St.  Louis  was  but  little  more  than  a  depot  for  the 
trade  with  the  Indians,  and  when,  with  the  exception  of  St.  Gene- 
vieve,  Vide  Poche,  St.  Charles,  and  a  few  other  villages  founded 
by  early  French  adventurers,  the  population  of  the  State  was 
extremely  sparse,  and  scattered.  He  determined  to  settle  in  the 
central  portion  of  the  State — the  region  then  known  as  the  Boone's 
Lick  County  (so  called  after  Daniel  Boone,  of  historic  renown,  who 
died  in  that  region),  and  now  included  in  the  counties  of  Howard 
and  Chariton.  Chariton  became  ultimately  his  permanent  res 
idence.  Soon  after  his  abode  was  fixed  he  received  an  appoint 
ment  as  Brigadier-General  of  the  militia  of  the  State — conferred  in 
consequence  of  his  known  taste  for  military  service. 

From  his  earliest  manhood  Gen.  Price  espoused  the  principles 
of  the  Democratic  party — that  Democracy  which  had  Madison  and 
Jefferson  for  its  founders,  and  so  many  illustrious  men  since  as  its 
expounders.  He  was,  in  short,  a  Democrat  who  believed  in  the 
sovereignty  of  the  State,  the  limitation  of  the  action  of  the  Federal 
Government  to  the  powers  expressly  granted,  and  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people  within  their  respective  States.  During  his  life  since, 
he  has  not  departed  from  the  creed  of  his  youth.  With  these  prin 
ciples,  and  because  of  them,  he  was  selected  by  his  fellow-citizens, 
in  the  year  1836,  to  represent  them  in  the  General  Assembly.  In 
that  body  he  was  never  noisy  or  demonstrative ;  but  alwaj^s  the 
practical  and  useful  member,  taking  care  to  understand  the  nature 
and  bearing  of  all  proposed  legislation,  and  labouring  to  advance 
in  all  respects  the  public  interest.  He  was  again  elected  a  repre 
sentative  in  1840  and  18-42,  and  became  the  Speaker  of  the  House 
each  session,  a  position  which  he  filled  with  ability,  decision,  dig 
nity,  and  discretion. 

In  1844,  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  In  this  body  he  acted 
always  with  the  Democratic  party,  keeping  his  seat  until  the  occur 
rence  of  the  war  with  Mexico.  This  event  opened  to  him  the  field 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  311 

of  action  for  which  he  was  most  decidedly  inclined,  and  certainly 
best  qualified.  He  immediately  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  and 
raised  a  regiment  for  the  war.  The  details  of  his  operations  in 
New  Mexico  and  Chihuahua,  where  he  had  an  independent  com 
mand,  are  to  be  found  in  the  official  reports.  He  fought  the  enemy 
successfully  at  Cancada,  Lambonda,  Taos,  and  against  largely  su 
perior  forces.  At  Taos,  with  three  hundred  men,  he  captured  the 
garrison,  took  1500  prisoners  and  vast  munitions  of  war.  For 
these  services  he  was  promoted  by  President  Polk  to  the  rank  of 
Brigadier-General.  He  then  moved  upon  Chihuahua.  At  Santa 
Cruz  de  Eosales,  he  met  and  gave  battle  to  Gen.  Trias,  who  had  a 
force  of  double  his  own  numbers.  The  fight  resulted  in  the  cap 
ture  of  the  enemy  and  all  his  munitions,  which  were  considerable. 

A  few  days  prior  to  this  battle  a  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico 
had  been  signed.  This  was  indeed  the  last  battle  of  the  war. 
Upon  his  return  to  Missouri,  Price's  troops  were  mustered  out  at 
Independence.  In  his  campaign  he  had  undoubtedly  shown  con 
siderable  military  abilities,  and  all  those  generous  and  magnani 
mous  qualities  which  deeply  attach  the  soldier  to  his  leader  and 
commander. 

At  the  next  general  election  after  his  return  from  New  Mexico, 
Gen.  Price  was  made  Governor  of  the  State  by  a  majority  of  over 
15,000  votes.  This  was  the  more  honourable  in  consequence  of  the 
peculiar  circumstances  under  which  he  was  nominated  by  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  The  position  which  Col.  Benton,  the  oldest  and  by 
far  the  most  distinguished  leader  in  the  party,  assumed  in  relation 
to  the  power  of  Congress,  over  the  subject  of  slavery,  had  divided 
the  party  into  two  sections,  which  were  rapidly  becoming  more 
hostile  to  each  other  than  to  their  common  opponents,  the  Whigs. 
It  was  certain  that  if  the  party  remained  divided  its  whole  power 
and  usefulness  as  a  segment  of  the  great  party  of  the  nation  would 
not  only  be  neutralized,  but  that  the  minority  of  the  people  would 
actually  wield  all  the  influence  which  the  majority  should  properly 
possess  and  enjoy.  Under  such  circumstance  thoughtful  men  in 
both  divisions  of  the  party  saw  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  reunion. 
To  effect  this  purpose  a  State  convention  was  called.  In  that  body 
the  two  divisions  were  fully  and  fairly  represented.  In  such  cases 
it  happens  that  dissensions  are  far  more  apt  to  be  engendered  by 
personal  ambitions  and  jealousies  than  by  party  differences.  The 


312  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

important  and  indeed  indispensable  necessity  was  to  find  a  guberna 
torial  candidate  who  could,  without  sacrifice  of  principle,  inspire 
confidence  in  both  sections,  and  to  whose  personal  character  none 
could  take  exception.  Gen.  Price  was  that  man,  and  it  is  certain 
no  one  else  in  Missouri  could  have  so  fully  united  the  party. 

As  the  Executive  of  the  State  all  parties  then  and  since  have 
concurred  in  the  conviction  that  he  was  the  best  the  State  ever 
had.  Firm,  dignified,  calm,  and  deliberate,  he  did  nothing  hastily 
or  in  passion,  or  prejudice.  In  all  that  concerned  the  honour  and 
the  interests  of  the  State  he  took  care  to  inform  himself  thoroughly, 
and  to  act  with  energy  and  promptitude.  There  are  few  who  do 
not  now  admit  that  all  his  recommendations  for  legislation  were 
wise  and  prudent,  and  that  in  all  cases  where  legislation  was  ad 
verse  to  his  views — especially  in  reference  to  the  finances  and  to 
railroads — the  consequences  have  been  greatly  detrimental  to  the 
State  and  people.  He  retired  from  this  high  position  far  more 
popular  than  when  he  entered  upon  it,  giving  an  extraordinary 
and  rare  evidence  of  his  merits. 

Upon  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  State  of  Missouri 
called  a  convention,  of  which  Price,  being  regarded  as  the  ablest 
parliamentarian  in  the  State,  was  elected  President,  on  an  avowal 
of  sentiments  of  attachment  and  devotion  to  the  Union.  Indeed, 
on  the  first  summons  of  the  convention  not  a  single  secessionist 
could  be  found  in  it ;  and  the  almost  universal'  sentiment  of  the 
State  of  Missouri  was  an  unwillingness  to  rush  into  a  dissolution 
of  the  Union,  until  every  hope  of  a  peaceful  settlement  of  the 
question  had  vanished.  Throughout  the  deliberations  of  the  con 
vention,  of  which  he  was  President,  and  up  to  the  very  moment 
when  he  found  the  programme  of  that  body  was  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  and  military  coercion  on  the  part  of  the  General  Govern 
ment,  Price  had  upheld  the  Union  of  the  States,  and  the  integrity  of 
the  Constitution,  as  one  and  the  same  thing,  and  indestructible  so 
long  as  the  organic  law  was  sustained.  Secession  he  ever  main 
tained  as  a  heresy ;  but  the  government  he  considered  a  contract 
between  the  States,  to  be  broken  by  the  inherent  right  of  revolution. 
At  this  point  he  conceived  the  Constitution  had  been  infringed,  its 
obvious  precepts  annulled,  the  Southern  States,  as  a  consequence,  to 
be  oppressed,  and  their  rights  long  recognized  to  be  taken  from  them. 
He  could  not  long  hesitate  to  enlist  his  earnest  nature  on  the  side 


MAJOR  GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  313 

of  right,  when  all  efforts  at  adjustment  had  proved  abortive,  when 
the  cry  of  blood  was  raised  in  the  land,  and  when  the  Government 
at  Washington  had  plainly  put  on  the  aspect  and  panoply  of  war. 

It  was  in  May,  1861,  after  the  development  of  the  coercive 
policy  of  President  Lincoln,  that  under  a  law  of  Missouri,  the 
State  Guard  was  formed,  with  Sterling  Price  as  Major-General 
commanding. 

Although  the  new  Major  General  of  Missouri  had  not  received 
the  benefit  of  a  West  Point  education  (a  condition  which  President 
Davis,  himself  a  graduate  of  that  strait  school,  seemed  to  consider 
the  sine  qua  non  in  the  dispensation  of  his  Executive  favours),  yet 
his  strong  native  powers  and  quick  presence  of  mind  gave  him 
aptitude  for  war,  which  was  rapidly  developed  in  the  campaign 
through  which  he  served.  He  had  a  commanding  presence;  his 
plain,  hearty  manners  endeared  him  to  the  populace;  and  the 
strength  and  virtue  of  his  personal  character,  the  Cato-like  purity 
of  his  life,  gave  him  influence  over  all  classes  of  men.  He  was 
over  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  frame  to  match  ;  full,  but  not  portly, 
and  as  straight  as  a  son  of  the  forest.  His  carriage  was  marked 
with  dignity,  grace,  and  gentleness,  and  every  motion  bespoke  the 
attitude  and  presence  of  the  well-bred  gentleman.  He  had  a  large 
head,  covered  with  a  growth  of  thick,  white  hair,  a  high,  broad, 
intellectual  forehead,  florid  face,  no  beard,  and  a  mouth  in  whose 
latent  smiles  lurked  the  good-humour  of  the  man,  while  its 
straight  and  clearly  cut  line  bespoke  the  precise  mind  and  the 
exacting  will. 

Gen.  Price  promptly  accepted  the  command  of  the  Missouri 
troops  tendered  by  Governor  Claiborne  F.  Jackson,  and  issued 
immediate  orders  for  organization.  But  before  appealing  to  arms, 
he  made  earnest  efforts  for  compromise  and  peace,  in  which  he  was 
met  by  Gen.  Harney,  of  the  Federal  service,  as  far  as  the  Washing 
ton  Government  would  permit  him  to  go.  The  infatuated  ferocity 
of  that  government  precipitated  a  war  which  lost  Missouri  to  the 
North. 

The  agreement  with  Gen.  Harney  was  to  secure  the  public 
peace  of  Missouri  by  a  disbandment  of  forces,  and  on  mutual 
recommendations  to  the  citizens  to  abstain  from  violence.  While 
Gen.  Price  proceeded  to  carry  out  his  part  of  such  agreement,  the 
Federal  Government  abrogated  it  on  their  side.  Captain,  afterwards 


314  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

Gen.  Lyon,  was  placed  in  command  of  the  Federal  troops.  Camp 
Jackson  at  St.  Louis  was  captured,  Jefferson  City  was  marched 
upon,  and  evacuated  by  Price,  who  retired  to  Booneville.  Here 
he  prepared  for  resistance.  Troops,  volunteers,  flocked  in,  impro 
vised  for  the  occasion,  raw,  undisciplined  and  unarmed,  except 
with  the  common  fowling-piece  of  the  country,  and  such  ammuni 
tion  as  could  be  hastily  provided. 

From  this  place  the  little  patriot  command,  after  fighting  with 
small  losses  a  largely  superiour  Federal  force,  retreated,  under  Col. 
Marmaduke,  towards  southwestern  Missouri — Gen.  Price  being 
prostrated  by  sickness,  and  removed  to  Lexington,  whence  he 
rejoined  his  command  at  Cowskin  Prairie.  At  this  rendezvous  he 
raised  and  received  recruits,  until  by  the  last  of  July,  1861,  he  had 
partially  armed  and  equipped  about  six  thousand  men.  "Without 
a  quarter- master,  commissary,  ordnance  or  medical  bureau,  no 
treasury,  no  arms,  no  ammunition,  save  the  double-barrel  shot 
gun  and  squirrel  rifle,  the  powder-horn  and  shot-pouch  of  the 
sportsman,  he  organized  this  most  unpromising  force,  with  which 
to  bid  desperate  defiance  to  the  well-appointed  armies  of  the  United 
States. 

Here,  however,  the  patriot  army  of  Missouri  was  reinforced  by 
»ome  Arkansas  State  troops  under  Gen.  Pearce,  and  by  Brig.-Gen. 
McCulloch  of  the  Confederate  army,  acting  under  the  orders  of 
Gen.  Leonidas  Polk,  then  commanding  the  Mississippi  Department. 
Information  was  soon  obtained  here  that  the  pursuing  Federal 
columns,  Lyon's,  Sigel's,  and  others,  had  formed  a  junction  at 
Springfield,  where  they  numbered  some  12,000  or  15,000  men,  well- 
armed,  disciplined,  and  counting  among  them  a  heavy  force  of 
United  States  regulars  of  all  arms.  Gen.  Price  was  at  once  for 
marching  to  meet  this  formidable  force,  in  which  view,  however, 
he  was  obstructed  by  McCulloch,  who  claimed  by  his  Confederate 
commission  to  be  superiour  in  command.  The  latter  seemed  to 
distrust  volunteers,  to  fear  the  nerve  of  the  hardy  Missourian,  and 
laughed  at  the  confident  pretensions  of  the  shot-gun  and  rifle,  con 
trasting  them  with  the  regular  soldier,  and  well-appointed  arms 
and  equipment  of  the  United  States.  Gen.  Price,  on  the  contrary, 
well  knew  the  enterprise  and  spirit  of  the  volunteer  patriots  around 
him  ;  he  well  knew  the  effectiveness  of  "  buck  and  ball ;"  he  well 
knew  the  rough  and  broken  country  with  its  dense  chapparal ;  he 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  115 

well  knew  the  vital  importance  of  taking  time  by  the  forelock,  and 
preventing  a  reinforcement  at  Springfield.  He  had  faith  in  his 
own  State,  and  hope  and  love  of  country  and  military  prescience, 
animated  him  to  consider  defeat  an  impossibility.  Forgetful  of 
self,  he  relinquished  to  McCulloch  the  chief  command  (although 
Missouri  had  not  yet  joined  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  her 
troops  were  therefore  independent  of  its  authority),  when  he  found 
that  this  sensitive  and  exacting  commander  made  it  the  condition 
of  joining  in  an  attack  upon  the  enemy. 

About  the  first  of  August,  the  heterogeneous  army  commenced 
its  march  towards  Springfield.  Not  only  were  Price's  men  defi 
cient  in  weapons,  but  when  the  march  commenced,  the  commissary 
and  quartermaster's  departments,  but  recently  organized,  proved 
very  indifferent,  and  it  was  seldom  the  men  drew  full  rations. 
They  made  up  for  all  deficiencies,  however,  by  the  scanty  habits 
of  their  life,  and  by  every  crude  expedient  the  imagination  could 
suggest.  They  gathered  corn  wherever  they  could,  pounded  it 
between  rocks  until  reduced  to  powder,  and  then  made  bread. 
Hogs  were  plentiful,  as  also  beef  cattle ;  and  farmers,  being  friendly 
to  the  cause,  willingly  sold  all  things  for  Confederate  paper,  so  that 
it  much  relieved  the  commissariat,  and  eased  the  line  of  march. 
McCulloch,  with  his  small  column,  led  the  way ;  Pearce  of 
Arkansas  followed ;  and  last  came  the  hero  and  patriot,  Sterling 
Price,  with  his  ragged,  half-fed,  and  ill-armed  band  of  Missourians. 

On  the  8th  August,  the  Confederates  and  their  allies  camped 
at  Wilson's  Creek,  about  ten  miles  south  of  Springfield.  McCul 
loch  halted  his  advance  on  the  right  of  the  road,  supported  by 
Pearce,  while  Price  was  on  the  left  of  it ;  and  thoughtless  of  dan 
ger — in  fact,  never  dreaming  of  Lyon  being  in  the  vicinity  at  all — 
threw  out  no  pickets.  The  next  morning,  when  McCulloch  was 
quietly  taking  his  breakfast  at  Price's  headquarters,  a  courier 
arrived  from  Gen.  Raines,  who  held  the  extreme  outpost  on  the 
North,  announcing  that  the  enemy  were  in  sight  and  in  great 
force.  McCulloch  seemed  to  doubt  the  accuracy  of  this  report, 
and  continued  his  breakfast  coolly ;  another  messenger  in  haste 
came  in,  and  stated  that  a  heavy  body  of  the  enemy  were  advanc 
ing  on  Gen.  Raines,  but  that  he  would  hold  his  position  as  long  as 
possible.  Still  McCulloch  seemed  incredulous.  Gen.  Price  said 
to  him  with  much  excitement :  "  Gen.  McCulloch,  have  you  no 


316  MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE. 

orders  to  give?  "  Turning  to  the  courier,  McCulloch  said  :  "  Go 
to  Gen.  Raines  ;  tell  him  to  ascertain  all  the  facts,  and  report  to  me 
at  headquarters."  No  longer  able  to  restrain  himself,  Gen.  Price 
struck  his  hand  heavily  upon  the  table,  and  in  a  voice  of  thunder 
said  to  his  staff:  "Gentlemen,  to  your  horses!"  Instantly  all 
arose  and  hurried  away.  They  had  no  time  to  lose,  for  hardly 
had  they  reached  the  open  air  before  a  shot  from  Sigel's  batteries 
on  the  south,  darted  into  the  camp. 

It  was  a  surprise  on  all  sides  of  the  camp.  While  McCulloch 
stemmed  the  storm  on  the  right  and  rear,  Lyon  was  pushing  Price 
with  great  vigour  in  the  centre  and  left.  It  was  only  by  the  most 
reckless  devotion  of  his  own  person,  his  commanding  cheers  to  his 
hardy  woodsmen,  and  his  repeated  presence  within  fifty  yards  of 
the  deadly  muskets  of  the  enemy,  that  Gen.  Price  was  enabled  to 
save  the  day  on  this  part  of  the  field.  It  ended  in  one  of  the  most 
signal  victories  of  the  war,  Gen.  Lyon  falling  dead  on  the  field, 
and  the  Federal  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  being  fully  one-half 
greater  than  that  of  the  allies — Price  and  McCulloch. 

Shortly  after  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek,  McCulloch  decided 
to  retire  his  force  to  Arkansas,  refusing  to  unite  in  other  enter 
prises  of  Gen.  Price,  who  was  now  left  alone  to  conduct  the  cam 
paign  in  Missouri.  From  friendly  refugees  constantly  arriving  in 
camp,  it  was  ascertained  beyond  a  doubt  that  Fremont  was  strongly 
fortifying  all  important  cities  on  the  Missouri  River,  to  serve  as  a 
safe  base  of  operations,  whence  supplies  could  be  easily  transported 
into  the  interiour  by  wagon-trains  or  boats.  Lexington,  held  by 
Colonel  Mulligan  and  a  heavy  force,  was  known  to  be  strongly 
fortified,  and  being  on  high  ground,  it  commanded  all  approaches 
from  the  interiour,  while  the  river  was  kept  open  for  the  transit  of 
any  number  of  troops  from  St.  Louis.  Price  determined  to  march 
forward  and  attack  it,  but  was  informed  that  large  bands  of  out 
laws  from  Kansas,  under  General  Jim  Lane  and  others,  were  de 
vastating  the  whole  country  on  his  left  flank,  and  threatened  to  get 
in  his  rear.  Suddenly  diverging  from  his  proper  route,  Price  sent 
Raines  and  Parsons  up  in  that  direction,  with  a  small  force  of  deter 
mined  men ;  and  so  secretly  was  the  expedition  conducted,  that  they 
unexpectedly  came  upon  Lane  at  a  creek  called  Dry  wood,  and  after 
a  confused  fight  of  some  hours,  drove  the  enemy  from  the  field, 
pushed  forward  to  their  headquarters  at  Fort  Scott,  and  captured  it. 


MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE.  317 

Joining  the  column  under  Price  again,  the  army  of  five  thousand 
effectives  and  five  guns  pushed  forward  towards  Lexington,  and 
arrived  in  the  vicinity  on  the  13th  September.  It  was  the  object 
to  take  Lexington,  with  its  garrison  of  about  4,000  men,  before  it 
could  be  reinforced  by  Fremont.  Gen.  Price  might  have  taken  it 
by  a  charge,  but  he  was  content  with  a  slower  progress ;  and  was 
quite  satisfied  to  make  one  of  the  most  brilliant  captures  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi  campaign,  with  a  loss  of  only  74  men  killed  and 
wounded — fighting  for  two  days  and  a  half. 

Gen.  Price  bore  a  testimony  to  the  heroic  endurance  of  his 
army  which  deserves  to  be  recorded.  He  said :  "  The  victory  has 
demonstrated  the  fitness  of  our  citizen  soldiery  for  the  tedious 
operations  of  a  siege  as  well  as  for  a  dashing  charge.  They  lay 
for  fifty -two  hours  in  the  open  air  without  tents  or  covering,  re 
gardless  of  the  sun  and  rain,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  watch 
ful  and  desperate  foe,  manfully  repelling  every  assault  and  pa 
tiently  awaiting  my  orders  to  storm  the  fortifications.  No  General 
ever  commanded  a  braver  or  better  army.  It  is  composed  of  the 
best  blood  and  the  bravest  men  of  Missouri." 

So  far  the  bold  and  brilliant  movements  of  the  campaign  in 
Missouri  drew  attention  from  more  important  theatres  of  the  war, 
and  constituted  a  theme  of  wonder  and  admiration  that  arrested 
the  public  mind,  and  was  the  occasion  of  criticism  in  all  parts  of 
the  world.  Price's  men  had  marched  and  fought  with  an  endur 
ance  and  courage  that  rendered  them  worthy  of  the  name  of 
heroes.  The  thanks  of  the  Confederate  Congress  were  tendered 
to  "  Gen.  Price  and  the  Missouri  Army  under  his  command,  for 
the  gallant  conduct  they  had  displayed  throughout  their  service, 
and  especially  for  the  skill,  fortitude,  and  courage,  by  which  they 
gained  the  brilliant  achievement  at  Lexington."  There  had  been 
no  such  phenomenon  in  the  war :  it  was  a  new  apparition  of  mili 
tary  science  to  see  a  man  flying  with  a  few  hundred  retainers 
across  his  State,  an  empire  in  itself,  almost  from  one  corner  of  it 
to  another,  before  a  victorious  and  thoroughly  appointed  army ; 
raising  in  a  few  weeks  a  force  of  5,000  men ;  arming,  equipping, 
and  feeding  them,  without  resources,  but  from  captured  stores  of 
the  enemy ;  winning  a  great  battle  by  his  own  genius  and  head 
long  courage;  establishing  his  popularity  in  the  hearts  of  his 


318  MAJOK-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

command ;  marching  back  to  his  starting-point,  and  capturing  an 
army  and  its  entire  outfit  by  an  unconditional  surrender. 

It  had  been  Gen.  Price's  design  not  to  repose  on  the  victory  of 
Lexington ;  but  obtaining  supplies  and  recruits,  to  sweep  down 
upon  St.  Louis,  uniting  with  Maj.-Gen.  Polk  and  his  Confederate 
forces.  But  the  progress  of  this  brilliant  conception  was  unex 
pectedly  checked: — first,  by  the  order  to  Gen.  Polk  from  the 
War  Department  for  the  Tennessee  campaign ;  secondly  by  Price's 
failure  to  receive  a  large  supply  of  ammunition  from  Brig.-Gen. 
McCulloch  according  to  promise.  He  could  not  move  upon  St. 
Louis  for  the  want  of  cooperation  by  Gen.  Polk ;  he  could  not 
remain  where  he  was,  for  the  want  of  ammunition,  threatened  by 
Sturges  on  the  north,  and  Fremont  on  the  south.  There  were 
not  three  rounds  of  percussion-caps  to  the  man.  Hence  he  was 
forced  to  evacuate  the  place,  and  retreat  towards  Springfield,  not 
even  having  time  to  organize  fully  ten  or  twelve  thousand  volun 
teers,  who  were  then  ready  to  enlist  under  his  banner. 

On  the  20th  August,  1861,  the  Confederate  Congress,  at  Rich 
mond,  passed  an  act,  one  section  of  which  admitted  the  State  of 
Missouri  as  a  member  of  the  Confederacy,  upon  an  equal  footing 
with  the  other  States  under  the  Constitution  for  the  Provisional 
Government,  upon  condition  that  the  said  Constitution  should  be 
adopted  and  ratified  by  the  properly  and  legally  constituted  author 
ities  of  the  State.  Another  section  recognized  the  Government, 
of  which  Claiborne  F.  Jackson  was  the  chief  magistrate,  in  Mis 
souri,  to  be  the  legally  elected  and  regularly  constituted  Govern 
ment  of  the  people  and  State,  and  authorized  the  President  of  the 
Confederate  States,  at  any  time  prior  to  her  full  admission,  to  form 
with  her  a  treaty  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive. 

Gen.  Price,  with  his  army,  entered  the  town  of  Neosho,  in  New 
ton  county,  early  in  November.  On  the  second  day  of  that  month 
the  Legislature  had  here  assembled,  by  proclamation  of  Governor 
Jackson.  The  attendance  was  full ;  twenty -three  members  of  the 
upper,  and  seventy-seven  of  the  lower  house  being  present,  and 
with  entire  unanimity  they  passed  an  act  of  secession  from  the 
Federal  Union,  adopted  the  Provisional  Constitution  of  the  Con 
federate  States,  and  initiated  such  measures  as  would  perfect  the 
union  between  their  State  and  her  sisters  of  the  South. 

From  Neosho,  Gen.  Price  marched  to  Cassville,  in  Barry  County, 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  319 

and  thence  to  McDonald  County,  in  the  extreme  southwestern  angle 
of  the  State.  Here  he  rested  and  recruited  his  army,  and  then 
again  moved  northward.  On  the  30th  November,  from  Neosho, 
he  issued  a  stirring  proclamation,  calling  volunteers  to  his  camp. 
He  called  for  fifty  thousand  men,  according  to  the  first  summons 
of  the  Governor,  and  promised  with  this  force  to  liberate  Missouri 
surely  and  speedily.  The  language  of  the  appeal  was  ardent,  and 
characteristic  of  the  man.  "  In  the  month  of  June  last,"  he 
wrote,  "  I  was  called  to  the  command  of  a  handful  of  Missourians, 
who  nobly  gave  up  home  anol  comforts  to  espouse  in  that  gloomy 
hour  the  cause  of  your  bleeding  country,  struggling  with  the  most 
heartless  and  cruel  despotism  known  among  civilized  men.  When 
peace  and  protection  could  no  longer  be  enjoyed  but  at  the  price 
of  honour  and  liberty,  your  chief  magistrate  called  for  fifty 
thousand  men  to  drive  the  ruthless  invaders  from  a  soil  made  fruit 
ful  by  your  labours,  and  consecrated  by  your  homes.  And  to 
that  call  less  than  five  thousand  responded  out  of  a  male  popula 
tion  exceeding  two  hundred  thousand.  One  in  forty  only  stepped 
forward  to  defend  with  their  persons  and  their  lives  the  cause  of 
constitutional  liberty  and  human  rights.  Some  allowances  are  to 
be  made  on  the  face  of  the  want  of  military  organization,  a  sup 
posed  want  of  arms,  the  necessary  retreat  of  the  army  southward, 
the  blockade  of  the  river,  and  the  presence  of  an  armed  and  or 
ganized  foe.  But  nearly  six  months  have  now  elapsed  *  *  * 
I  must  have  fifty  thousand  men.  Now  is  the  crisis  of  your  fate; 
now  is  the  golden  opportunity  to  save  the  State  ;  now  is  the  time 
for  your  political  salvation.  The  time  of  the  enlistment  of  our  brave 
bands  is  beginning  to  expire.  Do  not  hold  their  patience  beyond 
endurance.  Do  not  longer  sicken  their  hearts  by  hopes  deferred. 
Boys  and  small  property-holders  have  in  the  main  fought  the 
battles  for  the  protection  of  your  property,  and  when  they  ask, 
where  are  the  men  for  whom  we  are  fighting,  how  can  I  explain,  my 
fellow-citizens  ?  I  call  upon  you,  by  every  consideration  of  in 
terest,  by  every  desire  of  safety,  by  every  tie  that  binds  you  to 
home  and  country,  delay  no  longer.  Let  the  dead  bury  the  dead. 
Leave  your  property  to  take  care  of  itself.  Come  to  the  Army  of 
the  Missouri — not  for  a  week,  or  a  month,  but  to  free  your  country. 

"  '  Strike,  till  each  armed  foe  expires ! 
Strike,  for  your  country's  altar  fires ! 


320  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

Strike,  for  the  green  graves  of  your  sirea, 
God  and  your  native  land! ' 

Be  yours  the  office  to  choose  between  the  glory  of  a  free  country 
and  a  just  government,  or  the  bondage  of  your  children.  I,  at 
kastj  will  never  see  the  chains  fastened  upon  my  country.  I  will 
ask  for  six  and  a  half  feet  of  Missouri  soil  on  which  to  repose, 
for  I  will  not  live  to  see  my  people  enslaved.  Are  you  coming  ? 
Fifty  thousand  men  of  Missouri  shall  move  to  victory  with  the 
tread  of  a  giant.  Come  on,  my  brave  fifty  thousand  heroes — gal 
lant,  unconquerable  Southern  men !  We  await  your  coming." 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  321 


CHAPTEE  XXVII. 

Gen.  Price  at  the  head  of  ten  thousand  men. — McCulloch  refuses  to  cooperate. — 
Admirable  retreat  of  Price's  army  to  Boston  Mountains.— Hardihood  of  his  troops. 
— A  message  from  Gen.  Halleck. — Gen.  Van  Corn  appointed  Confederate  Com 
mander  of  the  Trans-Mississippi. — Battle  of  Elk  Horn. — Its  importance. — Hero 
ism  of  Gen.  Price  on  the  field. — The  Missouri  troops  cross  the  Mississippi  River. 
— Gen.  Price's  eloquent  address  to  "  the  State  Guard." 

THE  response  to  Gen.  Price's  glowing  appeal  to  the  patriotism 
of  Missouri,  was  not  what  the  commander  expected  and  required  ; 
but  yet  it  was  sufficient  to  inspire  him  with  something  of  new 
hope.  His  command  had  suffered  sadly  for  want  of  steady  and 
persistent  organization  ;  it  being  mostly  made  up  of  volunteers 
who  had  hied  to  the  camps  in  prospect  of  short  service  and  a 
speedy  return  to  their  homes;  and  at  one  time  it  had  been  re 
duced  by  absenteeism  to  less  than  five  thousand  men,  when  Gen. 
Price  was  threatened  on  all  sides :  by  Lane,  from  Kansas ;  by  the 
forces  from  the  north  of  Lexington,  and  by  those  coming  out  from 
St.  Louis,  by  Holla.  Now,  however,  under  the  influence  of  fresh 
appeals,  his  forces  ran  up  to  more  than  ten  thousand  men,  and 
with  these  he  determined  to  move  towards  Springfield,  and  make 
another  effort  for  the  redemption  of  the  State.  He  had  again  put 
himself  in  communication  with  McCulloch's  forces,  then  under 
command  of  Cols.  Mclntosh  and  Hebert.  His  aim  was  to  hold 
the  State  of  Missouri,  because  of  the  richness  of  the  country,  and 
its  great  capacity  of  subsistence ;  because  of  the  priceless  value 
of  the  Granby  Lead  Mines ;  and  because  he  most  especially  desir 
ed  to  confine  the  destroying  tide  of  war  to  its  limits,  and  leave 
Arkansas  and  the  South  free  and  unharmed.  He  could  not  do 
this  unaided  and  alone.  His  force  was  too  small  to  resist  one  of 
the  best  appointed  armies  ever  put  on  foot  by  the  United  States. 
He  argued  the  subject  fully  and  repeatedly  with  Mclntosh  and 
Hebert,  McCulloch  then  being  at  Eichmond.  He  appealed  to 
Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  to  the  Eichmond  Government,  and  en 
treated  the  co-operating  aid  of  the  Confederate  forces,  there  hoard- 

21 


322  MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE. 

ed  and  rusting  on  the  confines  of  Arkansas,  while  he  was  stand 
ing  picket  for  the  whole  Trans-Mississippi  Department.  He  ex 
pressed  his  willingness  and  ability  to  hold  Missouri,  and  keep  the 
Federal  forces  at  bay ;  he  exhibited  the  teeming  granaries  and 
meat  supplies  of  the  country ;  he  urged  the  importance  of  holding 
the  Granby  Lead  Mines;  and  he  argued  the  rich  returns  the 
armies  of  the  Confederacy  would  derive  from  the  fearless  yeomanry 
of  Missouri. 

But  these  views  were  not  taken  by  the  Confederate  authorities. 
Price  was  not  reinforced  ;  Curtis,  Sigel,  and  Davis  advanced  ;  the 
little  Army  of  Missouri  was  compelled  to  retreat,  and  Springfield 
and  Granby  fell  into  the  enemy's  possession,  no  more  to  be  re 
claimed.  But  the  retreat  was  conducted  with  a  skill  and  success 
worthy  of  all  praise  ;  and  wherever  the  enemy  came  up  with  it 
he  found  a  steadiness  and  ferocity,  seldom  the  traits  of  a  retreating 
column.  Millions  of  stores,  wagons  and  teams,  lead  and  cattle,  and 
other  property  were  carried  out  by  Price ;  for  four  days  and 
nights  he  marched  and  fought,  saving  all  his  stores  and  losing  but 
few  of  his  men  ;  and  he  exhibited  an  endurance  and  energy  which 
astonished  the  enemy,  and  was  the  occasion  of  the  remark,  that 
"  Old  Price  could  beat  the  world  running  after  a  fight  or  away 
from  one."  With  sullen  steps  he  retired  to  the  Boston  Mountains, 
where  he  encamped,  and  where  finally  he  was  to  be  joined  by 
McCulloch's  forces,  but  not  until  the  golden  moment  for  an  offen 
sive  movement  had  departed,  and  the  enemy  had  increased  the 
forces,  and  multiplied  the  toils,  by  which  he  held  the  State  of 
Missouri. 

An  officer  of  Price's  army,  describing  this  hard  and  painful 
retreat,  writes :  "Our  sufferings  during  the  campaign  had  been 
extreme,  but  setting  the  inconveniences  aside,  had  tended  to  harden 
ns,  and  make  our  limbs  as  tough  as  steel.  Continually  marching 
through  non-inhabited  districts,  we  had  to  depend  upon  Providence 
for  supplies.  Over  mountains,  through  'gaps,' across  rivers  and 
creeks,  our  progress  was  toilsome  and  weary ;  but  not  more  than 
a  hundred  names  could  be  found  upon  the  sick-list  at  any  time 
during  our  frequent  and  rapid  journeyings.  Our  cavalry  led  a 
hard  life,  incident  to  their  daily  duty.  Among  the  mountains  a 
party  of  these  '  irregular  '  horse  would  watch  all  the  roads,  conceal 
their  fires,  and  hang  around  the  enemy  with  a  pertinacious  deter- 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  323 

mination  that  no  man  should  stir  without  their  knowledge,  and  at 
the  least  opportunity  making  a  dash  at  the  foe,  capturing  and  des 
troying  as  they  went,  living  as  best  they  might,  and  doing  what 
ever  they  pleased.  As  scouts,  these  men  were  invaluable,  they 
were  here,  there,  and  everywhere ;  it  was  impossible  to  follow  in 
their  track.  Their  dress  was  of  skins  or  anything  that  came  to 
hand,  and  so  long  as  grass  was  found  for  their  hardy,  wiry  Indian 
horses,  the  riders  cared  little  for  food,  dress,  leisure,  or  relief  from 
duty." 

It  is  said  that  about  this  period  of  the  enemy's  encouragement, 
when  the  Army  of  Missouri  was  compelled  to  retire  to  the  Boston 
Mountains,  Gen.  Halleck,  who  had  assumed  command  of  the 
Western  Department,  sent  a  message  to  Gen.  Price  by  a  gentleman 
who  was  passing  the  lines.  "  Tell  Gen.  Price,"  he  said,  "  that  he 
had  the  advantage  of  me  in  Missouri,  for  he  knew  the  country 
better  than  I  did ;  but  I  have  got  him  now  where  I  want  him,  and 
expect  to  capture  him,  and  whip  his  army  soon."  "When  you  go 
back,' '  was  Price's  reply,  "  say  to  Gen.  Halleck  that  he  has  not 
men  enough  in  his  army  to  capture  me.  And  as  to  whipping 
my  boys,  tell  him  he  may  select  one  hundred  of  the  best  men  in 
his  whole  army,  and  I  will  take  the  same  number  of  mine,  as  they 
come,  and  without  distinction.  He  shall  lead  his  one  hundred  men, 
and  I  will  lead  mine ;  and  we  will  go  into  an  open  field  to  fight 
it  out ;  and  the  fate  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  shall  depend 
upon  the  result.  Tell  him  that,  will  you  I  "  No  reply  was  ever 
made  to  the  challenge. 

On  his  retreat  to  the  Boston  Mountains  it  was  discovered,  much 
to  Gen.  Price's  gratification,  that  the  government  at  Richmond  had 
at  last  determined  to  cure  the  disagreement  between  himself  and 
McCulloch  by  appointing  Maj.-Gen.  Earl  Van  Dorn  to  the  com 
mand  of  all  the  Trans- Mississippi  forces,  giving  him  the  direction 
of  affairs  there,  and  securing  that  unanimity  so  long  desirable. 
A  happy  accord  existed  between  Gen.  Price  and  the  new  com 
mander.  Indeed  a  private  correspondence  had  taken  place  between 
these  two  military  chieftains,  on  the  occasion  of  Yan  Dorn's  ap 
pointment  by  President  Davis  to  take  command  in  Arkansas  and 
Missouri,  which  not  only  showed  a  spirit  of  mutual  appreciation  and 
compliment  highly  honourable  to  both,  but  developed  a  singular 
similarity  of  views  (considering  that  the  letter  of  each  was  written 


324  MAJOR  GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

without  knowledge  of  that  of  the  other)  with  reference  to  the  con 
duct  of  the  war. 

When  Yan  Dorn  arrived  to  take  command,  a  plan  of  attack  was 
soon  settled — a  joint  one  by  Price  and  McCulloch;  the  enemy 
then  resting  at  Pea  Ridge.  The  army,  about  16,000  strong,  was 
put  in  motion,  encamped  on  the  5th  March  at  Elm  Springs,  at 
tacked  Sigel  next  day  at  Bentonsville,  and  drove  him  out.  Gen. 
Van  Dorn,  during  the  night,  so  changed  the  plan  of  battle,  as  to 
allow  McCulloch  to  attack  with  his  force  on  the  south,  while  Price 
was  to  move  around  on  the  north.  It  was  a  fatal  errour.  Price 
was  on  the  north,  McCulloch  on  the  south,  the  enemy  was  be 
tween  them,  only  three  miles  apart;  yet  in  order  for  either  to 
reach  the  other,  twelve  miles  had  to  be  travelled,  by  reason  of  the 
mountainous  country.  Price,  with  7,300  men,  McCulloch  with 
9,000,  either  weakened  or  pushed  to  extremity,  could  derive  no 
aid  in  proper  time  from  the  other — an  inferiour  force  surrounding 
a  superiour  one.  Yan  Dorn  rode  up  on  the  morning  of  the  7th, 
and  informed  Price  of  the  change,  who  at  once  deeply  regretted  it, 
and  urged  its  disadvantages.  Yan  Dorn  yielded;  courier  after 
courier  was  dispatched  to  McCulloch;  but  it  was  too  late.  He  was 
already  in  action.  In  a  few  moments  he  and  Mclntosh,  his  second 
in  command,  were  both  killed,  and  there  were  none  to  direct  the 
progress  of  the  troops,  who  felt  they  were  now  pushing  on  to  vic 
tory  ;  the  various  colonels,  in  fact,  did  not  stop  to  inquire  who  had 
succeeded  to  the  command,  but  each  was  doing  his  best  in  his  own 
way.  The  enemy  were  before  them,  and  they  neither  knew  nor 
cared  for  anything  more ;  of  strategy,  they  were  almost,  if  not 
quite,  ignorant ;  the  men  were  in  disorder,  but  still  fought  on, 
regiment  mixed  with  regiment.  Thinking  that  his  orders  would 
be  obeyed,  and  not  knowing  that  McCulloch  and  Mclntosh  were 
among  the  slain,  Yan  Dorn  pushed  forward  his  centre  and  left  as 
best  he  could,  and  after  much  hard  fighting,  drove  the  enemy,  in 
flicting  much  loss. 

Curtis  and  Sturgis  perceiving,  however,  the  confusion  on  the 
right,  where  McCulloch  had  fallen,  rallied  their  commands,  and 
presented  a  formidable  front.  Here  the  battle  was  renewed,  and  a 
desperate  action  took  place.  Price,  with  his  7,000  veterans,  who 
did  not  know  how  to  retreat,  continued  to  assail  the  unbroken 
Federals,  now  all  united.  During  the  whole  day  he  drove  them ; 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  325 

it  was  one  continuous  advance  from  point  to  point ;  and  at  night 
the  army  that  had  performed  such  miracles  of  valour  slept  in  the 
encampment  of  the  enemy  of  the  same  day,  and  fed  from  his  com 
missariat  supplies. 

But  the  victory  which  Price  had  plucked  from  circumstances 
so  adverse  and  desperate,  proved  fruitless,  and  was  bitter  with  dis 
appointment.  He  was  anxious  to  renew  the  battle  the  next  day, 
and  expressed  to  Yan  Dorn  his  confidence  that  he  would  make 
another  Wilson's  Creek  affair,  when  he  overran  the  enemy's  odds 
on  the  soil  of  Missouri.  The  camps  of  the  enemy  had  fallen  into 
his  hands,  with  many  prisoners,  stores,  cannon,  etc. ;  and  the  men 
were  excited  with  their  success.  Van  Dorn,  however,  surmised 
that  reinforcements  had  reached  the  enemy  in  great  number,  and 
felt  himself  too  weak  to  accept  another  engagement,  should  the 
enemy  force  one  upon  him.  He  therefore  ordered  the  sick  far  to 
the  rear,  and,  destroying  so  much  of  the  booty  as  could  not  be 
transported,  began  to  prepare  for  a  retreat. 

Thus  ended  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn  (it  was  called  "  Pea  Kidge," 
by  the  enemy),  with  results  adverse  to  the  Confederates,  and  so 
important  that  it  may  be  said  to  have  decided  the  question  of  Con 
federate  rule  in  Missouri.  Whatever  the  errours  that  precipitated 
such  results  on  the  very  heels  of  victory,  it  may  be  said  that  Price 
had  no  part  or  lot  in  them.  The  Missouri  troops,  from  the  noble 
veteran  who  had  led  them  so  long,  down  to  the  meanest  private,  be 
haved  with  a  courage,  the  fire  and  devotion  of  which  never,  for  a 
moment,  slackened.  The  personal  testimony  of  Gen.  Van  Dorn  to 
their  noble  conduct,  was  a  just  and  magnanimous  tribute.  He 
wrote  to  the  Government  at  Kichmond :  "  During  the  whole  of 
this  engagement  I  was  with  the  Missourians,  under  Price,  and  I 
have  never  seen  better  fighters  than  these  Missouri  troops,  or  more 
gallant  leaders  than  Gen.  Price  and  his  officers.  From  the  first  to  the 
last  shot,  they  continually  rushed  on,  and  never  yielded  an  inch 
they  had  won  ;  and  when  at  last  they  received  orders  to  fall  back, 
they  retired  steadily  and  with  cheers.  Gen.  Price  received  a  severe 
wound  in  the  action,  but  would  neither  retire  from  the  field  nor 
cease  to  expose  his  life  to  danger." 

Nor  is  this  all  the  testimony  to  the  heroism  of  Gen.  Price  on  the 
field  of  Elk  Horn.  Some  incidents  are  related  by  an  officer  of  his 
conduct  in  the  retreat,  that  show  aspects  of  heroism  more  engaging 


326  MA  JOB- GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

than  even  those  of  reckless  bravery.  "  In  the  progress  of  the 
retreat,"'  writes  an  officer,  "every  few  hundred  yards  we  would 
overtake  some  wounded  soldier.  As  soon  as  he  would  see  the  old 
General,  he  would  cry  out :  '  General,  I  am  wounded  ! '  Instantly 
some  vehicle  was  ordered  to  stop,  and  the  poor  soldier's  wants  cared 
for.  Again  and  again  it  occurred,  until  the  conveyances  were 
covered  with  the  wounded.  Another  one  cried  out :  :  General,  I 
am  wounded ! '  The  General's  head  dropped  upon  his  breast,  and 
his  eyes,  bedimmed  with  tears,  were  thrown  up,  and  he  looked  in 
front  for  some  place  to  put  his  poor  soldier.  He  discovered  some 
thing  on  wheels  in  front,  and  commanded :  '  Halt !  and  put  this 
wounded  soldier  up ;  by  G — d,  I  will  save  my  wounded,  if  I  lose 
the  whole  army  ! ' ' 

The  battle  of  Elk  Horn  may  be  said  to  have  terminated  Price's 
splendid  career  as  commander  of  "the  Missouri  State  Guard." 
Shortly  thereafter  it  was  decided  by  the  government  at  Eichmond 
to  remove  the  forces  from  the  Trans-Mississippi  district,  and  to 
unite  the  armies  of  Van  Dorn  and  Price  with  such  force  as  Gen. 
Beauregard  already  had  at  Corinth.  The  order  for  leaving  the 
limits  of  their  States  was  responded  to  by  the  Missouri  and  Arkan 
sas  troops  with  ready  and  patriotic  spirit.  Price  had  for  a  long 
time  been  held  in  disfavour  by  President  Davis.  But  popular 
demand,  army  clamour,  and  Congressional  urgency,  were  too 
great  longer  to  withstand,  and  the  Major-General's  commission 
was  ordered.  On  the  occasion  of  this  change  of  command  and 
transfer  of  his  theatre  of  operations  across  the  Mississippi  Kiver, 
Price  made  to  his  troops  the  following  extraordinary  and  admirable 
appeal.  Comprehensive  in  its  terms,  Napoleonic  in  spirit,  and  glow 
ing  with  patriotic  fire,  it  challenges  comparison  with  some  of  the 
military  orders  of  the  most  celebrated  commanders  in  history : 

HEADQUABTEBS  MISSOUBI  STATE  GUABD, 

DBS  AEC,  ARKANSAS,  April  3,  1862. 
Soldiers  of  the  State  Guard : 

I  command  you  no  longer.  I  have  this  day  resigned  the  com 
mission  which  your  patient  endurance,  your  devoted  patriotism, 
and  your  dauntless  bravery,  have  made  so  honourable.  I  have  done 
this  that  I  may  the  better  serve  you,  our  State,  and  our  country  ; 
that  I  may  the  sooner  lead  you  back  to  the  fertile  prairies,  the  rich 


MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING   PRICE.  327 

woodlands,  and  majestic  streams  of  our  beloved  Missouri ;  that  I 
may  the  more  certainly  restore  you  to  your  once  happy  homes, 
and  to  the  loved  ones  there. 

Five  thousand  of  those  who  have  fought  side  by  side  with  us 
under  the  grizzly  bears  of  Missouri,  have  followed  me  into  the 
Confederate  camp.  They  appeal  to  you,  as  I  do,  by  all  the  tender 
memories  of  the  past,  not  to  leave  us  now,  but  to  go  with  us  wher 
ever  the  path  of  duty  may  lead,  till  we  shall  have  conquered  a 
peace,  and  won  our  independence,  by  brilliant  deeds  upon  new 
fields  of  battle. 

Soldiers  of  the  State  Guard !  veterans  of  six  pitched  battles 
and  nearly  twenty  skirmishes !  conquerors  in  them  all !  your 
country,  with  its  "  ruined  hearths  and  shrines,"  calls  upon  you  to 
rally  once  more  in  her  defence,  and  rescue  her  forever  from  the 
terrible  thraldom  which  threatens  her.  I  know  that  she  will  not 
call  in  vain.  The  insolent  and  barbarous  hordes  which  have  dared 
to  invade  our  soil,  and  to  desecrate  our  homes,  have  just  met  with 
a  signal  overthrow  beyond  the  Mississippi.  Now  is  the  time  to 
end  this  unhappy  war.  If  every  man  will  but  do  his  duty,  his 
own  roof  will  shelter  him  in  peace  from  the  storms  of  the  coming 
winter. 

Let  not  history  record  that  the  men  who  bore  with  patience 
the  privations  of  Cowskin  Prairie,  who  endured  uncomplainingly 
the  burning  heats  of  a  Missouri  summer,  and  the  frosts  and  snows 
of  a  Missouri  winter ;  that  the  men  who  met  the  enemy  at  Car 
thage,  at  Oak  Hills,  at  Fort  Scott,  at  Lexington,  and  in  number 
less  lesser  battle-fields  in  Missouri,  and  met  them  but  to  conquer 
them ;  that  the  men  who  fought  so  bravely  and  so  well  at  Elk 
Horn ;  that  the  unpaid  soldiery  of  Missouri,  were,  after  so  many 
victories,  and  after  so  much  suffering,  unequal  to  the  great  task  of 
achieving  the  independence  of  their  magnificent  State. 

Soldiers !  I  go  but  to  mark  a  pathway  to  our  homes.  Follow 
me! 

STERLING  PRICE. 


1  10       /fi-*.»i't<'v|;  .    ',:   ;,.    n  >>i)'ojj|  9J5 

'&•*  Jt1*  Jvjt-fj  ui 

;;jniW9>r          '  fo'o 


328  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Career  of  Gen.  Price  as  a  subordinate. — Mortality  record  of  the  Missouri  Guard. — 
Their  participation  in  the  battle  of  Corinth. — Battle  of  Helena. — Gen.  Price's 
cherished  idea  of  liberating  Missouri. — His  agreement  with  Gen.  Fremont  for  the 
humanities  of  the  war. — How  the  enemy  violated  it. — Gen.  Price's  last  attempt  to 
save  Missouri. — His  final  retreat  from  the  State. — Summary  of  the  character  of 
Gen.  Price. — A  defect  hi  his  military  career. — Gen.  Price  as  an  exile. 

THE  glowing  anticipations  with  which  Gen.  Price  joined  the 
forces  of  Beauregard  were  never  realized.  It  was  an  unfortunate 
promotion  and  an  evil  star  that  took  Gen.  Price  across  the  Missis 
sippi.  From  that  day  forward,  he  never  held  independent  com 
mand,  and  his  subsequent  military  career  may  be  described  as 
desultory.  A  pioneer  in  energetic  thought  and  action,  his  was  not 
a  genius  to  prosper  under  the  control  of  but  the  fewest  men.  His 
career  as  a  subordinate  was  not  wholly  in  eclipse ;  the  universal 
acclaim  of  every  battle  in  which  he  was  an  actor  told  of  his  brav 
ery  ;  he  always  did  his  part  well  when  others  failed,  and  invariably 
won  his  share  of  the  action  ;  but  the  general  story  was  that  of  im 
perfect  results,  where  he  was  not  sustained,  and  the  mistaken  judg 
ment  or  blundering  vanity  of  his  superiours  interfered  to  hold  him 
in  check,  and  diminish  his  authority. 

That  famous  body  of  troops,  the  "  Missouri  Guard,"  became 
almost  extinct  in  the  multitude  of  battles  it  fought  far  away  from 
its  homes.  Of  the  ten  thousand  gallant  men  whom  Price  led  from 
Missouri,  in  April  and  May,  1862,  not  more  than  two  thousand 
five  hundred  were  left  at  the  close  of  the  year  survivors  of  the 
casualties  of  battle  and  camps,  fit  for  service. 

At  luka  Gen.  Price  won  a  victory,  took  a  formidable  battery 
with  his  "salamander  brigades,"  and  retired  only  when  the  enemy 
was  reinforced  to  an  extent  that  made  further  attack  madness.  At 
Corinth,  although  the  Confederate  arms  were  unsuccessful  there, 
he  alone  won  a  fame  equal  to  that  of  his  greatest  victories.  Of  his 
part  in  this  action  Gen.  Price  officially  reports :  "It  was  after  nine 
o'clock  (October  4, 1862)  when  my  line  became  generally  and  furi- 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  329 

ously  engaged  with  the  enemy  in  his  innermost  and  most  formida 
ble  works,  from  which  his  infantry  and  artillery  could  jointly 
operate  against  my  troops.  Here,  as  in  the  previous  actions,  my 
artillery  could  not  be  effectively  brought  into  action,  and  but  few 
of  the  guns  were  engaged.  The  fighting,  by  my  command,  was 
almost  entirely  confined  to  the  infantry.  My  men  pressed  forward 
upon  the  enemy,  and,  with  heavy  loss,  succeeded  in  getting  into 
the  works,  having  driven  him  from  them,  capturing  more  than 
forty  pieces  of  artillery,  and  forcing  him  to  take  refuge  in  the 
houses  of  the  town,  and  in  every  place  that  would  afford  protec 
tion  from  our  galling  fire.  He  was  followed  and  driven  from 
house  to  house  with  great  slaughter.  In  the  town  were  batteries 
in  mask,  supported  by  heavy  reserves,  behind  which  the  retreating 
enemy  took  shelter,  and  which  opened  upon  our  troops  a  most 
destructive  fire  at  short  range.  My  men  held  their  positions  most 
gallantly,  returning  the  fire  of  the  enemy  with  great  spirit,  until 
portions  of  them  exhausted  their  ammunition  and  were  compelled 
to  retire.  This  necessitated  the  withdrawal  of  the  whole  line, 
which  was  done  under  a  withering  fire.  The  attack  was  not 
resumed,  and  we  fell  back  to  our  supply  train,  the  men  being 
almost  exhausted  from  exertion  and  want  of  food  and  water. 
Gen.  Villepigue's  brigade  moved  over  to  our  assistance,  but  did 
not  become  engaged,  as  the  enemy  was  too  badly  cut  up  to  follow 
us.  We  fell  back  in  order  to  obtain  water,  some  six  miles  from 
Corinth,  where  we  bivouacked  for  the  night,  bringing  off  all  of  our 
artillery  and  arms,  save  one  rifled  piece,  which  had  been  inadver 
tently  driven  into  the  enemy's  line  while  going  into  battery  before 
daylight  in  the  morning,  and  had  been  left.  We  brought  off,  also, 
the  two  guns  captured  at  the  outer  line  of  fortifications  on  the 
3d.  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  do  justice  to  the  courage  of  my 
troops  in  these  engagements,  nor  can  I  discriminate  between  offi 
cers  and  commands  where  all  behaved  so  nobly." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  follow  in  detail  the  career  of  Gen. 
Price  to  Farmington,  and  Abbeville,  and  Helena,  and  other  fields 
of  less  important  action.  At  Helena  (July  4,  1863),  he  fought 
against  his  judgment,  under  the  imperative  orders  of  Gen. 
Holmes ;  and  although  the  other  commands  failed,  Price  alone 
carried  the  enemy's  position,  and  crowned  with  its  valour  "  the 
Grave- Yard  Fort,"  but  at  a  sacrifice  of  life  which  he  deplored, 


330  MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE. 

accomplishing,  as  he  foresaw,  a  success  which  could  not  be  sus 
tained,  and  a  glory  unproductive  of  substantial  fruits.  Fettered 
by  the  orders  of  such  men  as  Pemberton  and  Holmes,  subse 
quently  cooperating  with  Gen.  Kirby  Smith,  contributing  to  the 
Red  River  campaign,  and  containing  the  enemy  on  the  borders  of 
Arkansas,  he  was  still  the  successful  commander,  in  all  the  parts  to 
which  he  was  assigned,  but  unable  to  carry  out  his  cherished  idea 
of  liberating  Missouri  and  striking  a  blow  on  her  soil.  Wher 
ever  he  went,  wherever  he  camped,  especially  wherever  he  fought, 
the  people  cheered  with  a  zest,  and  the  soldier  dared,  and  bled,  and 
died,  as  he  would  do  under  few  other  leaders.  But  these  distant 
and  partial  fields  did  not  satisfy  Price's  ambition  ;  to  scourge  the 
enemy  from  his  native  State  he  considered  his  appointed  mission  ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  other  careers  of  glory  his  thoughts  constantly 
reverted  to  his  beloved  Missouri,  and  the  sensibilities  of  his  heart 
were  lacerated  by  the  stories  of  her  suffering  under  the  rule  of  an 
enemy  whose  insolence  and  cruelty  had  exceeded  all  bounds,  and 
scoffed  every  demand  of  justice  and  every  cry  of  humanity. 

In  his  first  campaign  in  Missouri,  Gen.  Price  had  endeavoured 
to  put  the  war  on  the  most  civilized  footing,  to  secure  to  all  the 
people  of  the  State  the  ordinary  humanities  attendant  upon  arm 
ed  strife,  and  to  confine  the  contest  exclusively  to  the  armies  in 
the  field.  In  pursuance  of  these  views  the  following  joint  procla 
mation  was  issued — which,  copied  in  full,  claims  entire  and  close 
attention  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  texts  of  the  war. 

To  all  Peaceably -disposed  Citizens  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  greeting : 
WHEREAS,  A  solemn  agreement  has  been  entered  into  by  Major- 
Generals  Fremont  and  Price,  respectively  commanding  antagonistic 
forces  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  to  the  effect,  that  in  future  arrests 
or  forcible  interference  by  armed  or  unarmed  parties  of  citizens 
within  the  limits  of  said  State  for  the  mere  entertainment  or 
expression  of  political  opinions,  shall  hereafter  cease ;  that  families 
now  broken  up  for  such  causes  may  be  reunited,  and  that  the  war, 
now  progressing,  shall  be  exclusively  confined  to  armies  in  the 
field  ;  therefore,  be  it  known  to  all  whom  it  may  concern  : 

1.  No  arrests  whatever  on  account  of  political  opinions,  or  for 
the  merely  private  expression  of  the  same,  shall  hereafter  be  made 
within  the  limits  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  all  persons  who 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  331 

may  have  been  arrested  and  are  now  held  to  answer  upon  such 
charges  only,  shall  be  forthwith  released.  But  it  is  expressly  de 
clared  that  nothing  in  this  proclamation  shall  be  construed  to  bar 
or  interfere  with  any  of  the  usual  and  regular  proceedings  of  the 
established  courts  and  statutes  and  orders  made  and  provided  for 
such  offences. 

2.  All  peaceably-disposed  citizens,  who  may  have  been  driven 
from  their  homes  because  of  their  political  opinions,  or  who  may 
have  left  them  from  fear  of  force  and  violence,  are  hereby  advised 
and  permitted  to  return,  upon  the  faith  of  our  positive  assurances 
that  while  so  returning  they  shall  receive  protection  from  both 
armies  in  the  field,  whenever  it  can  be  given. 

3.  All  bodies  of  armed  men  acting  without  the  authority  or 
recognition  of  the  Major-Gen,  before  named,  and  not  legitimately 
connected  with  the  armies  in  the  field,  are  hereby  ordered  at  once 
to  disband. 

4.  Any  violation  of  either  of  the  foregoing  articles  shall  sub 
ject  the  offender  to  the  penalty  of  military  law,  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  offence. 

•5f##4f-5f-fc#-X-## 

This  done  and  agreed  at  Springfield,  Missouri,  this  first  day  of 
November,  1861. 
By  order  of  MAJOR-G-ENERAL  FREMONT. 

J.  H.  EATON,  A.  A.  A.  G. 
MAJ.-GEN.  STERLING  PRICE,  by 

HENRY  W.  WILLIAMS, 
D.  KOBERT  BARCLAY, 

Commissioners. 

Here  was  a  distinct  and  honourable  pledge  made  by  the  enemy 
to  conduct  the  war  in  Missouri  on  principles  of  humanity,  and  to 
forego  all  persecution  for  opinion's  sake.  How  was  it  fulfilled, 
when  Price's  army  was  compelled  to  retire  from  the  State,  and  the 
enemy's  audacity  was  unbridled,  and  his  true  temper  allowed  to 
run  its  course  ?  The  flagitious  story  of  his  behaviour  in  Virginia 
and  in  the  Yalley  of  Mississippi,  obtained  new  additions  and  sur 
passing  illustrations  of  cruelty  in  the  distant  State  of  Missouri,  and 
in  the  obscure  departments  of  authority,  where  despotism  ran  riot 
almost  without  the  chance  of  being  discovered,  or  the  risk  of  being 


332  MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE. 

called  to  account.  No  "  red  tape  "  embarrassed  the  enemy's  power 
here  ;  no  settled  rules  limited  and  contained  it ;  the  Federal  au 
thority  and  its  partisans  did  what  they  pleased.  The  unhappy 
State  was  torn  by  crimes  and  excesses  which  no  pen  can  describe. 
The  habeas  corpus  was  suspended ;  denunciations  and  arrests  be 
came  the  weapons  of  private  malignity ;  Union  men  plundered  and 
destroyed  the  homes  of  those  whom  they  chose  to  denounce ;  arson, 
murder,  confiscation,  exile,  were  the  penalties  dealt  out  against 
men,  women,  and  children,  by  vigilance  committees ;  the  assassin's 
dagger  was  unsheathed  and  held  at  the  throat  of  every  one  who 
dared  to  sympathize  with  the  South,  or  to  protest  against  the  worst 
excesses  of  despotic  authority.  Such  was  the  realization  to  Mis 
souri  of  a  war  which  the  enemy  had  solemnly  engaged  to  conduct 
only  against  armies  in  the  field,  and  for  the  exclusive  object  of  the 
restoration  of  the  Union. 

It  was  not  until  near  the  close  of  the  war,  that  Gen.  Price  made 
his  last  desperate  attempt  to  save  Missouri,  to  relieve  her  from  the 
reign  of  terrour,  and  to  "  chase  the  Union  army  from  the  State." 
It  failed.  It  commenced  with  a  brilliant  inroad ;  and  in  the  last 
days  of  September,  1864,  Price's  little  and  adventurous  army, 
under  the  command  of  Shelby,  Marmaduke,  and  Fagan,  had  ad 
vanced  towards  Pilot  Knob,  and  was  moving  north  to  the  Missouri 
River.  But  the  enemy  was  too  numerous ;  and  while  Rosecrans 
pressed  his  rear,  a  body  of  8,000  cavalry  fell  upon  Price,  who 
found  it  impossible  to  extricate  himself  without  a  battle,  delivered 
against  overwhelming  odds.  On  the  23d  October  he  was  attacked, 
and  defeated  with  great  loss — Gens.  Marmaduke  and  Cabell  being 
taken  prisoners,  besides  many  officers  and  men.  The  following 
day  Price  was  again  attacked,  near  Fort  Scott,  and  obliged  hur 
riedly  to  retreat  into  Kansas.  He  then  turned  down  to  the  south, 
and  crossed  the  Arkansas  River,  above  Fort  Smith,  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  On  the  8th  December,  1864,  his  headquarters  were  at 
Washington,  in  the  south  part  of  Arkansas,  his  troops  at  that  time 
greatly  suffering  from  the  weather,  and  sadly  diminished  by  a  cam 
paign  in  which  the  casualties  had  been  many,  and  the  desertions 
yet  more  numerous. 

This  event  may  be  said  to  have  terminated  Gen.  Price's  mili 
tary  career.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  included  in  Kirby 
Smith's  surrender ;  and  preferring  exile  to  the  lot  of  submission 


MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE.  333 

that  the  war  had  determined,  he  shortly  thereafter  left  the  country, 
and  found  refuge  in  Mexico.  There  he  was  for  some  time  engaged 
in  a  scheme  of  colonization  under  the  auspices  of  the  Imperial 
Government,  which,  however,  it  is  generally  believed,  proved  a 
feeble  and  unsatisfactory  enterprise. 

In  the  character  of  Gen.  Price,  as  illustrated  in  our  brief 
sketch,  we  remark  simplicity,  the  charm  of  great  earnestness,  and 
a  commanding  influence  over  men.  As  a  military  man,  he  was 
apt,  resourceful,  and  not  without  some  strategic  genius.  But  no 
commander — not  even  Stonewall  Jackson — ever  fought  his  troops 
more  fiercely  and  in  closer  quarters  with  the  enemy.  Like  the 
great  warriour  of  Virginia,  he  cared  but  little  for  works  of  defence, 
and  sought  the  contact  of  the  bayonet.  It  is  said  that  shortly 
after  he  had  joined  the  Confederate  army,  then  at  Corinth,  Gen. 
Beauregard  conducted  him  around  the  lines  of  the  camp,  and  with 
a  good  deal  of  pride  exhibited  and  explained  the  strength  of  his 
fortifications.  "  What  do  you  think  of  these  works,  Gen.  Price?  " 
"Why,  General,"  answered  Price,  "to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  never 
saw  but  two  of  the  kind  before,  and  that  was  after  our  boys  had 
taken  them." 

We  cannot  fail  to  observe  a  defect  in  Gen.  Price's  military 
career,  in  the  want  of  discipline  in  his  command,  painfully  appar 
ent  in  his  last  invasion  of  Missouri ;  but  this  appears  to  have  been 
so  common  and  inherent  an  affliction  in  all  the  armies  of  the  Con 
federacy,  and  to  have  proceeded  from  so  many  causes  beyond  con 
trol—the  individuality  of  the  Southern  soldier,  the  necessity  of 
conciliating  him  in  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  a  service  where 
there  were  so  many  hardships,  so  many  appeals  to  return  to  suffer 
ing  families,  so  many  opportunities  to  desert  in  wild  and  impassable 
countries,  where  it  was  impossible  to  reclaim  him — that  it  is 
scarcely  to  be  urged  personally  against  any  commander,  and  cast  as 
censure  at  his  doors.*  Price's  men  loved  him,  and  never  failed 

*  An  article  in  a  recent  review  contains  the  following  just  remarks  on  the  organi 
zation  and  spirit  of  the  Southern  armies : 

"  The  army  of  the  late  '  Confederate  States  of  America '  was  an  eclectic,  or 
excerpted  system  from  the  high  military  models  of  Austria,  Prussia,  France,  and  the 
United  States.  It  was  a  beautiful  and  complete  model  of  thorough  scientific  organi 
zation,  full  of  interest  and  instruction  to  those  who  wish  to  learn  how  to  make  war 
terrible  and  destructive,  and,  above  all  things  else  that  sprang  from  the  master  hand 


334:  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

him  for  want  of  affection  and  confidence.  Many  of  them  asserted 
that  "they  would  rather  die  under  his  command  than  fight  with 
any  other."  The}'  had  a  number  of  familiar  affectionate  names  by 
which  their  commander  was  designated,  such  as  "  Pap,"  "  Dad," 
"  The  Old  Tycoon,"  etc.  There  can  be  no  better  indication  of 
popularity  than  the  rude  nicknames  of  the  camp.  Gen.  Price  had 
the  charm  of  being  accessible  alike  to  all — the  officer  and  the  pri 
vate;  and  was  always  ready  with  a  kind  and  respectful  word  for 

of  that  directing  and  all-informing  mind  that  stood  at  the  head  of  the  Southern  revo 
lution,  attested  its  commanding  genius.  From  Austria  was  taken  the  admirable 
organization  of -the  grand  field-staff;  from  Prussia,  the  firm  and  compact  general 
military  anatomy ;  from  France,  the  model  of  its  field  ordnance,  and  scientific  artil 
lery  theory  and  practice  ;  and  from  the  United  States,  its  tactical  economy,  its  infan 
try  equipment  and  drill,  its  army  regulations,  and  its  theory  of  military  manoeuvre 
and  strategic  practice. 

"  The  organization  of  the  Confederate  army  was  a  finished  piece  of  military  mechan 
ism,  methodical,  harmonious,  composite,  in  all  pertaining  to  its  exteriour,  practical 
arrangement ;  but  there  was  a  fatal  defect  in  its  interiour,  vital  economy,  a  morbid, 
organic  derangement,  that  defeated  every  hope  of  healthy  bodily  action,  preyed  upon 
the  seat  of  life,  and  caused  its  ultimate  dissolution.  That  disease  was  the  absence 
of  a  rigid  discipline.  If  it  had  possessed  this  one  important  quality,  the  battle  of 
Sharpsburg  would  have  declared  the  independence  of  the  South.  Gen.  Lee  crossed 
over  into  Maryland,  a  fortnight  before  the  happening  of  that  battle,  with  eighty  thou 
sand  troops ;  but  on  that  field  he  could  only  put  his  hand  on  thirty-five  thousand  of 
that  number.  Not  that  this  more  than  moiety  of  his  army  had  wilfully  deserted  their 
colours ;  but  allured  from  their  commands  by  the  profuse  hospitality  of  the  people  of 
Maryland,  they  lingered  behind  the  advancing  army,  thinking  to  rejoin  it  in  time  to 
share  in  its  laurels.  Such  conduct  the  systems  of  Frederick  and  Napoleon  pronounced 
desertion,  and  inflexibly  punished  with  death.  The  great  body  of  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  Southern  army  was  composed  of  a  social  element  that  in  the  armies  of  other 
countries  is  seen  only  in  positions  of  command  and  authority ;  and  the  officers  elected 
from  among  themselves,  and  often  their  social  and  intellectual  inferiours,  left  matters 
of  authority  and  subordination  to  take  care  of  themselves,  while  their  only  care  was 
to  make  their  reports  correspond,  from  day  to  day.  Under  such  a  general  relaxation 
of  authority,  discipline  was  impossible ;  and  the  Southern  army  was  nothing  more 
than  an  association  of  patriotic  gentlemen,  animated  by  the  enthusiasm  of  a  common 
cause,  and  regarding  army  regulations  and  discipline  as  designed  only  for  a  race  of 
slaves.  When  once  in  battle,  they  fought  with  a  dash,  spirit,  resolution,  and  des 
peration  of  valour  such  as  has  never  been  excelled  by  any  soldiery  in  the  world, 
ancient  or  modern.  This  idea  is  most  forcibly  illustrated  by  a  remark  that  is  said  to 
have  fallen  from  the  lips  of  that  rugged  old  hero,  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  after  the  battle  of 
Antietam,  when,  in  speaking  of  the  behaviour  of  his  troops  in  that  engagement,  he 
said,  he  had  but  one  fault  to  find  of  his  Mississippians,  and  that  was,  '  each  man  acted  as 
if  he  thought  himself  a  brigadier.'  In  the  European  sense  of  the  word,  there  was 
no  such  thing  known  to  the  Confederate  army  as  discipline." 


MAJOR-GENERAL   STERLING  PRICE.  335 

every  one.     And  yet  he  was  fierce  and  energetic,  with  unlimited 
influence  over  his  men. 

Of  the  hero  in  exile,  an  eloquent  writer,  from  whom  we  have 
already  drawn  some  incidents  of  Gen.  Price's  career,  thus  well  and 
nobty  discourses :  "  Gen.  Price  has  gone  to  Mexico,  if  reports  are 
true,  with  the  purpose  of  making  it  his  home  and  country — nay, 
not  his  country,  for  we  hold  it  impossible  that  any  man,  with  his 
brain  and  affections,  can  shake  off  both  educated  and  natural  patriot 
ism.  He  cannot  do  it.  His  heart,  like  every  great  or  brave  heart, 
in  the  land  we  love,  yet  yearns  for  the  glory  and  prosperity  of 
the  great  nation  from  which  he  is  said  to  have  expatriated  himself. 
(  A  poor,  unmanly  melancholy,  sprang  from  change  of  fortune,' 
cannot  so  afflict  his  noble  nature.  Disappointed  in  his  hopes  he 
may  be  distrustful  of  his  reception  by  former  friends  and  neigh 
bours,  yea,  doubtful  of  his  pardon  by  the  General  Government. 
We  do  not  so  regard  the  prospect.  Gen.  Price  has  honestly  and 
well  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  great  revolution  the  entire  South 
stood  so  manfully  to  achieve.  He  has  forfeited  the  respect  of  no 
one,  save  the  blind  partisan,  or  the  bloodthirsty  puritan.  On  the 
contrary  be  has  won  upon  their  sympathy  and  regard;  for  duty 
performed  commends  itself  to  the  heart  of  every  well-regulated 
child  of  Adam.  He  has  committed  no  outrage,  no  act  of  his  life 
can  bring  the  blush  of  shame  to  his  cheek,  or  disturb  the  most 
extravagant  conscience.  We  differ  with  all  those  who  look  for 
refuge  to  another  land,  another  nationality.  The  South  staked  her 
all  upon  the  issue  just  decided.  She  lost.  She  is  willing  to  pay 
the  penalty,  has  paid  it,  and  is  still  paying  it.  She  has  nearly 
resumed  her  old  place  in  the  government,  and  her  soldiers  have 
determined,  under  the  wise  policy  of  President  Johnson,  to  accept, 
in  loyal  faith,  his  generous  amnesty,  faithfully  to  serve  the  United 
States,  and  strive  to  promote  all  solid  ends  of  government,  as  freely, 
as  fully,  as  manfully,  as  during  the  p'ast  four  years  they  fought  for 
separation.  So  we  speak  and  feel,  and  so  shall  we  act.  Now  is 
the  day  and  the  hour  when  such  manhood  as  Gen.  Price  possesses 
this  nation  needs,  in  carrying  out  her  new  policy.  Let  him  return. 
Let  him  go  cheerfully  to  his  old  home,  with  form  erect,  that  face 
blooming  with  honest  pride,  and,  like  Lee  and  Johnson,  strike 
again  for  the  national  and  social  progress  of  his  own,  his  native 
land. 


336  MAJOR-GENERAL  STERLING  PRICE. 

"  Say  not  with  the  Grecian  misanthrope : 

" ' Come  not  to  me  again:  but  say  to  Athens, 
Timon  hath  made  his  everlasting  mansion 
Upon  the  beached  verge  of  the  salt  flood ; 
Whom  once  a  day  with  his  embossed  froth 
The  turbulent  surge  shall  cover.'  " 


(}  HTfL   JOE  K.  JOHNS TON 


JOHNSTON. 


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GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Some  account  of  "the  first  families  "  of  Virginia. — Ancestry  of  Joseph  Eggleston 
Johnston. — Peter  Johnston  in  the  Revolutionary  "War,  and  in  the  State  councils 
of  Virginia. — Early  life  of  Joseph  E.  Johnston. — Military  tastes  of  the  boy. — 
Services  of  Lieut.  Johnston  in  the  Florida  War. — An  incident  of  desperate 
courage. — Services  in  the  Mexican  War. — Bon  Mot  of  Gen.  Scott. — Johnston 
appointed  Quartermaster-General 

THE  people  of  Eastern  Virginia  have  a  creditable  practice  of 
tracing  family  lineages  to  their  earliest  sources.  In  democratic 
communities,  where  inherited  rank  is  disallowed,  and  distinctions 
of  blood  are  decried,  the  practice  may  be  somewhat  invidious ; 
but  yet  there  is  no  sentiment  more  natural,  more  laudable,  or 
more  conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  State,  than  pride  of  family 
founded  upon  merit  continuing,  or  honourable  public  services 
repeated,  through  successive  generations.  The  Virginia  habit  is 
the  more  praiseworthy,  innocent,  and  useful,  inasmuch  as  the  claim 
so  often  heard,  of  descent  from  the  "  first  families,"  far  from  being 
generally  a  pretension  to  superiour  rank  and  blood,  is  nothing 
more  than  a  commendable  claim  of  regular  and  honest  descent 
from  early  settlers  in  the  colony.  By  "  first "  families  is  meant 
nothing  more  pretentious  or  aristocratic  than  families  that  came 
to  Virginia  in  periods  of  history  more  or  less  early.  Not  many 
families,  however,  now  claiming  this  attribute  of  first  in  order  of 
time,  can  be  traced  further  back  than  a  few  generations  beyond  the 
colonial  war  of  independence. 

Among  the  first  families  of  Virginia,  in  this  sense  of  time,  are 
those  of  Lee  and  Johnston  ;  names  which  were  as  intimately  iden 
tified  in  the  [Revolution  which  succeeded  in  1783,  as  they  have 

22 


333  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

been  in  that  which  failed  in  1865.  If  the  Virginia  habit  of  trac 
ing  lineages  be  pardonable,  the  reader  will  excuse  the  indulgence 
of  it  in  the  instance  of  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON  ;  for  both 
his  paternal  and  maternal  ancestry  were  prominently  known  in  the 
early  history  of  the  State. 

Peter  Johnston,  the  first  of  his  family  in  America,  was  a  na 
tive  of  Edinburgh.  He  belonged  to  the  clan  of  Johnstons  of 
Annandale,  the  famous  border  chieftains,  celebrated  in  Scottish 
song  and  legend.  Emigrating  to  the  colony  of  Virginia  when 
about  sixteen  years  of  age,  he  became  a  merchant,  and  settled  at  a 
place  on  James  River  known  as  Osborne's,  at  that  time  the  chief 
"  Tobacco  Inspection  "  in  the  colony.  He  remained  single  until 
his  fifty-first  year,  and  then  married  a  widow,  Mrs.  Martha  Rogers, 
daughter  of  Mr.  John  Butler,  a  merchant  of  Prince  George  Coun 
ty,  who  lived  on  the  south  side  of  the  Appomatox,  a  mile  below 
Petersburg.  Peter  Johnston  and  his  wife  lived  four  years  at  Os- 
borne's,  and  then  (in  1765)  removed  to  the  County  of  Prince  Ed 
ward,  and  settled  on  a  farm,  which  they  called  Cherry  Grove,  but 
which  was  afterwards  called  Longwood,  a  mile  from  Farmville. 
This  place  was  the  family  residence  until  1811.  They  prospered, 
acquired  a  handsome  property,  and  gained  high  standing.  Mr. 
Johnston,  always  a  strong  advocate  for  learning,  was  one  (the 
chief)  of  the  founders  of  Hampden  Sidney  College.  He  gave 
his  four  sons  a  liberal  education — first,  under  the  care  of  tutors, 
whom  he  imported  expressly  from  Scotland,  and  afterwards  at 
Hampden  Sidney.  He  was  a  High  Churchman,  a  firm  royalist, 
and  a  great  stickler  for  family  dignity  and  paternal  authority. 
He  gave  most  of  his  property  to  the  eldest  son. 

On  Thursday  the  6th  of  January,  1763,  the  first  son  of  Peter  and 
Martha  Johnston  was  born,  at  Osborne's  on  James  River,  and  was 
baptized  by  his  father's  name.  The  son  was  two  years  of  age  at 
the  removal  of  the  family  to  Prince  Edward. 

Imbibing  at  a  very  early  period  of  the  Revolutionary  War  an 
enthusiastic  attachment  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  sensible  that  the 
opinions  of  his  father,  whose  political  creed  sanctioned  the  preten 
sions  of  Britain,  would  militate  against  his  ardent  ambition  to  serve 
the  patriot  cause,  Peter  Johnston  the  younger,  at  the  age  of  six 
teen,  eloped  from  his  college,  and  joined  as  a  volunteer  the  Legion 
of  Lieut.-Col.  Henry  Lee,  then  passing  through  the  country.  His 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  339 

companion  in  this  truancy  was  Clement  Carrington  of  Charlotte 
County.  The  Legion  was  composed  of  three  companies  of  horse 
and  three  of  foot.  It  was  then  on  its  march  from  the  army  of 
Washington  in  the  north,  to  take  part  with  Greene  in  the  southern 
campaigns.  Col.  Lee  had  made  so  favourable  an  impression  on 
G-en.  Washington,  as  to  have  been  permitted  to  organize  and  officer 
his  Legion  with  men  specially  known  for  their  courage  and  effi 
ciency.  No  command  of  approximate  numbers  was  ever  able  to 
withstand  it.  Peter  Johnston's  eagerness  to  acquire  military  knowl 
edge,  and  unceasing  efforts  at  distinction,  very  speedily  attracted 
attention,  and  obtained  for  him  the  commission  of  ensign,  to  which 
he  aspired;  while  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct  evinced  that  it 
could  not  have  been  more  judiciously  bestowed.  He  was  brave, 
enterprising,  and  where  duty  called,  exemplary  in  its  performance. 
He  bore  himself  honourably  and  bravely  at  Guilford,  Eutaw,  and 
Ninety-six,  and  retained  to  the  day  of  his  death  a  predilection  for 
his  early  profession,  which  not  all  his  subsequent  success  in  a  pro 
fession  of  a  very  different  character  could  entirely  obliterate.  The 
captain  of  his  company  was  Joseph  Eggleston  of  Amelia. 

To  the  end  of  the  war  he  still  acquired  an  increase  of  reputation, 
and  so  completely  gained  the  favour  of  the  parent  whom  he  had 
offended,  as  to  be  received  on  his  return  to  the  domestic  circle  of 
his  family,  not  only  with  affection  but  with  pride.  He  chose  the 
profession  of  law,  and  soon  won  an  enviable  prominence  at  the  bar. 

After  the  war,  the  names  of  Lee  and  Johnston  took  a  tempo 
rary  divergence.  Henry  Lee  became  a  strong  federalist  and  vehe 
ment  assailant  of  Jefferson,  the  founder  of  the  opposite  school  of 
politics;  while  we  find  Peter  Johnston  a  prominent  member  of  the 
republican  party.  Both  of  these  names  appear  in  the  report  of  the 
celebrated  debates  of  the  Virginia  General  Assembly  of  1799,  on 
the  resolutions  which  had  been  adopted  in  1798  on  the  relations 
of  the  States  to  the  Union ;  and  appear  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
question.  Peter  Johnston,  a  delegate  from  Prince  Edward,  had 
been  one  of  the  committee  who  had  reported  these  celebrated 
resolutions  at  the  session  preceding  the  report  of  Madison,  and  the 
debates  of  1799  upon  the  subject.  Peter  Johnston  was  subse 
quently  for  many  years  a  Judge  of  the  General  Court  of  Virginia, 
and  moved  in  1811  to  the  Abingdon  district,  in  Southwest  Virginia 
to  which  he  had  been  assigned. 


340  GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

In  1788,  Peter  Johnston  the  younger  was  married  to  Mary 
"Wood,  the  second  daughter  of  Col.  Valentine  Wood,  Clerk  of 
Goochland  County,  by  his  wife  Lucy,  a  sister  of  Patrick  Henry, 
the  orator  and  patriot.  Valentine  Wood  was  a  wealthy  landed 
proprietor;  owning  Woodville,  an  estate  on  James  River,  which 
was  the  family  residence  during  his  life ;  Buck  Island,  on  Buck 
Creek  in  Albemarle,  to  which  place  his  widow  removed  after  his 
death ;  and  Fish  Creek  farm  in  Louisa  County.  The  father  of 
Valentine  Wood  was  Henry  Wood,  an  Englishman,  and  man  of 
letters,  who  was  the  first  Clerk  of  Goochland  County,  and  whose 
wife  was  a  Cox  of  the  Chesterfield  family. 

Lucy  Wood  (nee  Henry),  sister  of  Patrick  Henry,  was  a  lady 
of  remarkable  talent,  social  influence  and  piety,  and  was  noted  for 
her  cultivated  mind,  and  uncommon  conversational  powers.  Mary 
Johnston  (nee  Wood)  was  also  of  superior  intellect  and  mental 
cultivation.  She  inspired  all  her  family  with  a  strong  predilection 
for  literary  and  esthetical  studies.  She  instructed  in  the  rudiments 
of  the  ancient  languages,  and  assisted  in  preparing  for  college  each 
one  of  her  sons.  Such  facts  can  so  rarely  be  said  of  even  the  best 
mothers,  that  when  true,  they  deserve  to  be  recorded. 

Judge  and  Mrs.  Johnston  paid  the  strictest  attention  to  the 
education  of  their  children,  moral  and  physical,  as  well  as  mental. 
They  reared  a  considerable  family.  Charles  Clement  Johnston,  the 
third  son,  was  a  man  of  great  eloquence  and  popular  talents,  and  in 
the  excited  year  of  1832  was  elected  to  Congress  from  south-western 
Virginia,  as  an  advocate  of  State  rights ;  but  he  lost  his  life  by 
accidental  drowning,  after  a  very  brief  service,  during  which  he 
was  rapidly  making  way  to  the  highest  reputation  for  eloquence 
and  talent. 

Valentine  Wood  Southall,  the  first  cousin  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  was  the  President  of  the  Virginia  Convention  of  1861, 
at  the  time  that  body  passed  the  ordinance  by  which  Virginia 
seceded  from  the  Union.  The  political  facts  which  have  been  thus 
stated  sufficiently  indicate,  in  advance,  the  strong  hereditary  bias 
which  contributed  to  decide  the  course  of  Gen.  Johnston,  when 
Virginia  called  upon  him  for  the  service  of  his  sword :  the  grand- 
nephew  of  Patrick  Henry,  the  son  of  Peter  Johnston,  the  brother 
of  Charles  Johnston,  and  cousin  of  Valentine  Southall. 

Joseph  Eggleston  Johnston,  the  eighth  son  of  Judge  Peter  and 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  341 

Mary  Johnston,  was  born  on  the  3d  day  of  February,  1807,  at 
Cherry  Grove,  near  Farmville,  in  Prince  Edward  County,  Vir 
ginia.  At  school  he  was  noted  as  a  boy  of  quick  parts,  and  bold 
and  enterprising  disposition.  His  parents  had  taught  their  chil 
dren  to  obtain  a  complete  mastery  over  their  minds  and  temper. 
This  self-control  he  exhibited  in  as  remarkable  a  degree  while 
young,  as  he  did  in  much  later  years  in  some  of  the  most  trying 
situations  in  which  men  can  find  themselves  placed.  From  very 
early  boyhood  his  passion  for  a  military  life  was  decided  and  un 
equivocal.  He  went  always  in  the  family  by  the  nickname  of 
"  General."  Naturally  of  such  a  disposition  as  we  have  recorded, 
the  son,  moreover,  of  an  old  soldier,  whose  stirring  narratives  of 
his  early  experience  in  the  army  of  Greene  he  must  have  often 
heard,  his  military  proclivities  grew  with  his  growth  and  strength 
ened  with  his  strength.  In  1825,  through  the  influence  of  John 
C.  Calhoun,  who  had  been  Secretary  of  War,  he  entered  as  a  cadet 
at  the  military  academy  of  West  Point,  at  that  time  in  the  zenith 
of  its  reputation.  His  application  to  his  studies  was  earnest  and 
devoted.  How  successful  it  proved  his  after  history  shows.  He 
graduated  in  1829,  in  the  same  class  with  Gen.  Eobert  E.  Lee,  a 
circumstance  well  worthy  of  note  ;  and  was  assigned  to  the  Fourth 
Artillery,  with  the  rank  of  brevet  second-lieutenant.  At  that 
time  there  was  no  opportunity  for  distinction  in  his  profession,  and 
therefore  we  find  him  still  a  lieutenant  at  the  close  of  seven  years, 
when  he  was  appointed  assistant  commissary  of  subsistence,  a  post 
which  he  resigned  the  year  after,  upon  receiving  a  commission  as 
first-lieutenant  in  the  Topographical  Engineers.  This  rank  he  held 
when  the  Florida  War  broke  out  in  1836.  He  went  to  Florida 
in  the  capacity  of  adjutant-general  to  Gen.  Scott,  and  held  that  po 
sition  during  the  period  that  Scott  had  the  command  of  that  army. 
His  conduct  throughout  this  war  merited  the  highest  praise,  and 
drew  upon  him  general  notice.  Upon  one  occasion,  having  been 
sent,  under  the  escort  of  a  party  of  infantry,  to  make  a  survey  or 
reconnoissance  of  a  region  which  lay  around  a  lake,  and  having 
crossed  the  lake  in  boats,  the  party  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  In 
dians,  and  all  its  officers  were  killed  or  disabled  at  the  first  fire. 
The  men  were  thrown  into  complete  confusion,  when  Lieut.  John 
ston,  taking  the  command,  succeeded  by  his  coolness  and  determin 
ation  in  subduing  what  was  fast  becoming  a  panic.  He  conducted 


342  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

the  retreat  for  seven  miles  with  consummate  skill,  showing  even 
then  the  talent  which  made  him  afterwards  famous.  At  one  time, 
whilst  closely  pressed  by  the  Indians,  he  took  shelter  behind  a 
small  tree  to  rally  his  men.  A  storm  of  bullets  swept  by  Kim, 
most  of  them  aimed  directly  at  himself;  but,  strange  to  say,  while 
many  struck  the  tree,  for  some  time  he  was  unhurt.  At  last,  a 
ball  struck  him  immediately  above  the  forehead,  and  ranged  back 
wards,  grazing  the  skull  the  whole  distance,  but  not  fracturing  it. 
The  injury  was  severe;  so  much  so  as  to  cause  him  to  fall;  but 
the  troops  had  caught  his  spirit,  and  repulsed  the  enemy,  bearing 
off  their  wounded  in  safety  to  the  boats.  The  uniform  worn  by 
Lieut.  Johnston  on  this  occasion  was  long  preserved  by  a  friend  as 
a  curiosity,  being  perforated  by  thirty  bullets. 

For  his  gallant  conduct  on  this  occasion,  and  throughout  the 
Florida  war,  Lieut.  Johnston  was  bre vetted  captain ;  a  meagre 
recompense  for  so  many  and  such  arduous  services ;  but  promotion 
was  slow  in  the  old  army.  About  this  time  he  contracted  a 
marriage  with  a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Louis  McLane,  of  Delaware, 
who  was  for  ten  years  a  representative  and  afterwards  a  senator  in 
Congress  from  that  State ;  then  minister  to  England ;  then  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury  in  Gen.  Jackson's  second  cabinet;  afterwards 
Secretary  of  State  under  the  same  President;  again  minister  to 
England  under  President  Polk ;  and  who  closed  his  life  as  presi 
dent  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad. 

In  September,  1846,  Lieut.  Johnston  became  a  full  captain  by 
seniority.  The  Mexican  war  had  now  begun.  On  the  16th  Feb 
ruary,  1847,  Capt.  Johnston  was  made  Lieut.-Col.  of  Voltigeurs, 
by  brevet,  and  in  that  capacity  sailed  with  the  expedition  under 
Gen.  Scott.  After  the  capture  of  Yera  Cruz,  when  the  army 
advanced,  Col.  Johnston  made  a  most  daring  reconnoissance  of  the 
enemy's  lines,  strongly  posted  on  the  heights  of  Cerro  Gordo.  In 
this  reconnoissance  he  was  severely  wounded,  having  approached 
so  near  the  enemy's  works  that  he  was  struck  by  three  musket- 
balls.  It  was  supposed  at  first  that  his  wounds  were  mortal ;  but 
a  powerful  constitution  and  skilful  treatment  carried  him  safely 
through.  His  wounds  were  received  six  days  before  the  battle  of 
Cerro  Gordo,  in  which,  of  course,  he  was  unable  to  take  part.  He 
recovered  in  time  to  resume  his  command  in  the  concluding  battles 
of  the  war.  He  distinguished  himself  at  Molino  del  Eey,  and  was 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.        843 

again  severely  wounded  at  Chapultepec.  These  numerous  wounds 
led  Gen.  Scott,  afterwards,  to  say  of  him:  "Johnston  is  a  great 
soldier,  but  he  has  an  unfortunate  knack  of  getting  himself  shot  in 
nearly  every  engagement."  He  was  several  times  brevetted  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  this  war,  and  at  its  conclusion 
was  retained  as  Captain  of  Topographical  Engineers.  In  1855, 
when  Congress  authorized  two  additional  regiments  of  horse,  he 
was  on  the  3rd  March  commissioned  as  lieutenant-colonel  in  one 
of  the  new  regiments  (First  Regiment  of  Cavalry,  commanded  by 
Col.  E.  V.  Sumner) ;  while  holding  this  rank  and  position;  he  was 
temporarily  detached  to  important  topographical  service  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  He  was  engaged  in  this  duty  when,  in  June,  1860, 
he  was  appointed  Quartermaster-General  of  the  United  States, 
with  the  commission  of  full  brigadier-general. 

While  the  question  of  this  appointment  was  still  pending, 
General  Scott  was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  recom 
mend  for  so  important  a  position  and  promotion,  an  officer  distin 
guished  for  talent  and  promise  in  the  army.  Gen.  Scott  declined 
to  confine  himself  to  a  single  name,  but  recommended  for  selection 
one  of  the  following  four:  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  Kobert  E.  Lee, 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  and  G.  F.  Smith.  Johnston  received  the 
appointment,  and  was  engaged  in  the  responsible  duties  of  Quar 
termaster-General,  when  his  native  State  seceded  from  the  Union, 
and  imposed  upon  him  the  duty  of  separating  himself  from  a  ser 
vice  for  which  he  felt  a  strong  affection. 


344  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Gen.  Johnston's  resignation  from  the  United  States  Army. — He  visits  Montgomery. 
— Appointed  a  full  General. — Ordered  to  Harper's  Ferry. — The  place  a  cul  de 
sac. — Johnston  abandons  it. — Reasons  for  destroying  the  property  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  Railroad. — How  Gen.  Johnston  amused  Patterson. — He  asks 
permission  to  join  Beauregard  at  Manassas  Junction. — The  march  to  Piedmont, 
and  transportation  hence  to  Manassas. 

IMMEDIATELY  on  the  passage  of  the  Virginia  ordinance  of  seces 
sion,  on  the  17th  April,  1861,  State  Senator  John  Robertson, 
deputed'  by  the  governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  called  upon  Gen. 
Scott,  Gen.  Johnston,  and  Col.  Robert  E.  Lee,  Virginians,  of  the 
Federal  army  then  in  Washington,  to  invite  them  to  take  service 
from  their  native  State.  His  interview  with  Scott  was  unsatisfac 
tory.  He  saw  Johnston  at  his  residence,  on  Sunday,  the  21st, 
who  had  been  prevented  up  to  this  time,  by  the  duties  of  his  office, 
from  resigning  his  commission  in  the  Federal  army.  The  letter 
of  resignation,  however,  was  then  written,  and  was  to  be  delivered 
the  following  morning.  Gen.  Johnston  informed  Judge  Robertson, 
that  he  could  not  confer  with  him  on  the  subject  of  his  errand 
while  holding  a  commission  from  the  United  States ;  but  that  he 
would  go  so  far  as  to  assure  him  that  his  sword  would  never  be 
drawn  against  his  native  State. 

On  the  same  day,  in  familiar  conversation  with  confidential 
friends,  he  expressed  himself  unreservedly  upon  public  affairs. 
He  considered  war  to  be  inevitable,  and  thought  it  would  be  a 
bloody  and  protracted  one.  He  was  clearly  of  opinion  that  Vir 
ginia  should  stand  upon  the  defensive.  He  assumed  that  of  course 
she  would  be  invaded  ;  and  expressed  the  confident  opinion  that 
the  principal  line  of  advance  and  of  defence  would  be  on  the  rail 
road  running  from  Alexandria  to  Gordonsville  and  Richmond.  He 
thought  that  a  second  Federal  army  would  be  sent  into  the  Valley ; 
as  that  populous  region  would  supply  too  many  Southern  soldiers 
to  be  left  on  the  flank  of  the  principal  invading  force.  He  ven- 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON.  JOHNSTON.  345 

tured  the  opinion  that  the  climax  of  the  first  campaign  would  be 
a  battle  fought  near  the  junction  of  the  railroad  leading  from  the 
Valley  with  that  running  from  Alexandria  to  Gordonsville ;  and 
ne  declared  that  the  tactics  of  the  Southern  Genetals  should  be,  so 
to  manoeuvre  as  to  be  able  to  bring  together  at  Manassas,  their 
armies  operating  in  the  Valley  and  before  Alexandria,  at  the  criti 
cal  moment.  These  early  ratiocinations  had  a  remarkable  realiza 
tion  in  the  sequel ;  and  it  is  well  known  to  those  who  were  near 
Gen.  Johnston  in  the  operations  of  1861,  that  he  steadily  adhered 
to  these  opinions,  and  governed  all  his  movements  with  reference 
to  them. 

His  resignation  of  the  office  of  Quartermaster-General  was  ten 
dered  in  person  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  day  following 
these  incidents.  The  Secretary  kindly  endeavoured  to  dissuade  him 
from  the  step,  and  urged  him  to  remain  in  the  service  of  the  Union. 
His  arguments  were  of  course  unavailing.  It  was  generally  under 
stood  at  the  time,  that  if  either  Johnston  or  Lee  had  adhered  to 
the  Union,  the  principal  command  of  the  Federal  armies  would 
have  been  conferred  on  one  or  the  other  of  them. 

Gen.  Johnston  at  once  repaired  to  the  capital  of  Virginia, 
where  having  reported  for  duty,  he  was  appointed  a  Major-Gen eral 
of  volunteers,  and  was  busy  for  a  time,  in  conjunction  with  the 
State  authorities  and  Gen.  Lee,  in  organizing  the  volunteers  who 
were  daily  pouring  into  Richmond.  Gen.  Lee  had  preceded  him 
in  his  arrival  at  Richmond,  and  had  immediately  received  the 
commission  of  Major-General,  and  been  assigned  to  the  chief  com 
mand  of  the  State  forces.  Gen.  Johnston  was  soon  tendered  the 
commission  of  Brigadier-General  of  regulars  in  the  State  service, 
but  declined  it,  being  invited  to  Montgomery,  for  which  capital  he 
set  out.  Three  telegrams  had  come  to  him  at  Richmond  from  the 
Confederate  Government ;  but  he  received  only  the  last,  which  had 
reached  him  through  Mr.  Mallory  ;  the  former  having  been  sent 
through  Gen.  Lee,  who,  feeling  the  need  of  his  services  at  Rich 
mond,  had  suppressed  them.  At  Montgomery  he  received  one  of 
the  first  four  commissions  of  Brigadier-General  that  were  issued; 
and  was  afterwards  made  one  of  the  four  full  Generals  who  were 
commissioned,  and  who  ranked  in  the  following  order :  Samuel 
Cooper,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  Robert  E. 
Lee. 


346  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

From  Montgomery,  Gen.  Johnston  was  ordered  to  repair  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  to  assume  command  of  the  troops  in  that 
quarter.  Gen.  Beauregard  had  already  been  transferred  from 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  to  the  command  of  the  army  which  was 
collecting  near  Alexandria.  Gen.  Johnston  arrived  at  the  Ferry  on 
the  23d  of  May,  where  he  found  Col.  Thomas  J.  ("  Stonewall ") 
Jackson  in  charge,  and  on  the  following  day  assumed  command  of 
the  forces  afterwards  designated  as  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah. 
Gen.  Johnston  did  not  entertain  the  thought  for  a  moment  of  hold 
ing  Harper's  Ferry  longer  than  should  be  necessary  for  removing 
the  machinery,  arms,  and  military  material  which  it  contained.  It 
was  the  very  ideal  of  a  cul  de  sac.  The  village,  with  the  govern 
ment  workshops  and  armory,  was  situated  on  a  tongue  of  land 
thrust  in  between  two  considerable  rivers,  peculiarly  difficult  of 
passage,  except  on  bridges  of  wood,  which  might  be  easily  destroy 
ed.  On  the  Maryland  side  the  position  was  commanded  by  a 
bold  mountain  rising  abruptly  from  the  Potomac.  On  the  south, 
it  was  as  effectually  commanded  by  the  Loudoun  Heights,  a  spur 
of  the  Blue  Eidge  rising  immediately  from  the  waters  of  the 
Shenandoah.  The  space  between  the  rivers  in  rear  of  the  village, 
was  blockaded  by  high  altitudes  called  Bolivar  Heights.  It  afford 
ed  no  protection  to  the  valley,  as  a  strategic  position,  and  could  be 
flanked  by  way  of  Martinsburg  on  the  north,  and  Leesburg  on  the 
south.  Before  reaching  Harper's  Ferry,  Gen.  Johnston  had  de 
termined  to  withdraw  the  army  from  the  place  as  soon  as  the  valu 
able  material  it  contained  could  be  removed ;  to  which  object  he 
immediately  devoted  all  his  energies — a  labour  which  had  been 
well  begun  by  Col.  Jackson. 

He  had  determined  from  the  first  to  make  Winchester  his 
military  and  strategic  base.  It  was  the  centre  to  which  several 
great  roads  converged,  from  all  points  of  the  compass.  It  was  also 
central  with  reference  to  the  crossings  of  the  Potomac  Eiver,  and 
the  line  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad.  From  this  position 
he  could  observe  Gen.  Patterson,  who  soon  showed  himself,  at  the 
head  of  an  army  from  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland,  at  Williams- 
port  ;  and  also  look  after  McClellan,  who  was  moving  in  North 
western  Virginia.  Winchester  was  a  centre  from  which  he  could 
strike  in  detail  the  armies  threatening  the  Valley  at  different  points 
of  an  intended  circumference,  and  still  hold  himself  in  readiness 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  347 

for  carrying  into  execution  his  cardinal  idea  of  repairing  at  the 
proper  moment  to  Manassas  Junction,  to  take  part  in  the  decisive 
battle  that  was  sooner  or  later  to  be  fought  there.  For  this  latter 
movement  he  early  and  repeatedly,  through  official  and  private 
means,  sought  authority  from  the  Confederate  government.  He 
also  solicited  permission  to  evacuate  Harper's  Ferry. 

While  the  rapid  evisceration  of  this  latter  post  was  yet  going 
on,  Gen.  Johnston's  conjectures,  expressed  in  Washington  city 
before  the  campaign  had  opened,  soon  began  to  be  realized.  A 
powerful  Federal  army  was  in  the  course  of  rapid  organization 
under  the  immediate  eye  of  Scott,  near  Washington  and  Alexandria. 
By  the  12th  June,  report  came  of  the  advance  of  a  Federal  force 
from  the  Northwest,  towards  Komney,  and  more  authentic  advices 
that  Patterson  was  approaching  the  Potomac  with  an  army  sup 
posed  to  be  from  15,000  to  20,000  strong. 

Gen.  Johnston  thereupon  decided  that  the  time  had  come  for 
emerging  from  his  cut  de  sac,  and  gaining  the  open  country.  Ac 
cordingly,  the  great  bridge  over  the  Potomac  and  the  factories  of 
the  government,  having  been  destroyed  under  the  skilful  direction 
of  Major  Whiting,  and  all  available  machinery,  stores  and  arms, 
having  been  removed,  without  orders  from  Eichmond,  Gen. 
Johnston,  on  Sunday,  the  16th  June,  abandoned  the  Ferry,  and 
marched  his  army  out  upon  the  road  to  Winchester,  to  a  point 
two  miles  beyond  Charlestown.  Hence,  turning  westward,  for  the 
purpose  of  confronting  Patterson,  he  assumed  a  strong  defensive 
position  at  Bunker  Hill,  on  a  range  of  uplands  stretching  out  be 
tween  Winchester  and  Martinsburg,  where  he  offered  Patterson 
battle  for  a  day.  At  Charlestown  he  had  met  a  dispatch  from  the 
government  at  Richmond,  giving  permission  to  abandon  the  Ferry, 
but  couched  in  terms  which  threw  the  responsibility  of  the  step 
upon  himself.  At  Bunker  Hill  the  temptation  was  very  strong  to 
advance  upon  Patterson,  who  was  then  between  Williamsport  and 
Martinsburg,  and  endeavour  to  force  on  a  battle.  Had  he  con 
sulted  the  wishes  of  his  army  or  desired  a  temporary  eclat,  he 
would  have  taken  that  step.  But  he  had  no  belief  that  Patterson 
would  consent  to  fight  a  serious  engagement ;  and  to  follow  him 
far  enough  and  long  enough  to  force  one  on  him,  conflicted  with 
his  fixed  determination  not  under  any  circumstances  to  be  decoyed 
beyond  supporting  distance  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  under 


348  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

Beauregard.  If  Patterson  were  willing  to  fight  at  all,  his  own 
presence  at  Bunker  Hill  afforded  an  opportunity  for  doing  so  ; 
and  a  battle  would  be  had  without  placing  an  impracticable  dis 
tance  between  himself  and  Manassas.  It  will  be  found  in  the  se 
quel,  that  when  the  moment  for  joining  Beauregard  did  arrive, 
and  he  was  much  nearer  to  Manassas  than  Bunker  Hill,  a  part  of 
his  army,  for  lack  of  transportation,  failed  to  reach  the  field  of 
battle  in  time  to  give  assistance.  It  was  natural  for  his  troops, 
who  did  not  understand  his  design,  to  chafe  under  his  inaction 
at  Bunker  Hill,  and  we  find  even  Col.  Jackson  himself  writing 
thus  from  near  Winchester,  on  Tuesday  the  18th  :  "  Yesterday 
we  were  to  have  marched  at  sunrise,  and  I  had  hoped  that  in  the 
evening  or  this  morning,  we  would  have  engaged  the  enemy ;  but, 
instead  of  doing  so,  Gen.  Johnston  made  some  dispositions  for  re 
ceiving  the  enemy,  if  they  should  attack  us ;  and  thus  we  were 
kept  until  about  noon,  when  he  gave  the  order  to  return  towards 
Winchester.  When  our  troops,  on  Sunday,  were  marching  on 
the  enemy,  they  were  so  inspirited  as  apparently  to  forget  the 
fatigue  of  the  march,  and  though  some  of  them  were  suffering  from 
hunger,  this  and  all  other  privations  appeared  to  be  forgotten,  and 
the  inarch  continued  at  the  rate  of  about  three  miles  per  hour. 
But  when  they  were  ordefed  to  retire,  their  reluctance  was  mani 
fested  by  their  snail-like  pace.  I  hope  the  General  will  do  some 
thing  soon."  There  is  no  severer  proof  of  a  great  soul  than  to  be 
capable  of  withstanding  the  reproaches  of  even  the  good  and  wise, 
in  the  steady  pursuit  of  a  noble  purpose,  which  only  the  uncertain 
future  will  develop,  and  only  success  can  justify. 

From  the  camp  near  Winchester  Col.  A.  P.  Hill  was  sent 
towards  Romney  to  drive  back  the  enemy  who  were  making 
demonstrations  in  that  quarter,  and  whom  he  drove  before  him 
through  Romney  and  Cumberland,  and  along  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  Railroad  some  distance  further,  where  he  destroyed  a  bridge. 
At  the  same  time  Col.  Jackson  was  sent  with  his  brigade  to  Mar- 
tinsburg,  thence  to  observe  the  enemy,  who  had  retreated  across  the 
Potomac.  Here  he  destroyed  extensive  workshops  and  depots, 
forty  locomotives,  and  some  three  hundred  burden  cars. 

It  has  been  asked  by  this  latter  soldier's  biographer,  why  this 
property  had  not  been  withdrawn  by  way  of  Harper's  Ferry  before 
that  place  was  abandoned  ?  The  inquiry  is  as  applicable  to  Col. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  349 

Jackson,  who  was  in  command  at  the  Ferry  until  the  24th  May, 
as  to  Gen.  Johnston,  who  commanded  afterwards  until  the  15th 
June.  Gen.  Johnston  has  answered  for  both  himself  and  his  pre 
decessor,  by  saying : 

"  Col.  Jackson's  course  was  probably  prompted  by  the  con 
sideration  that  directed  mine,  and  gives  the  authority  of  his  great 
character  to  my  course.  It  would  not  have  been  right  on  our  part 
to  seize  the  property  of  that  road  before  the  evacuation  of  Harper's 
Ferry,  nor  politic  to  commit  such  an  act  of  war  against  citizens  of 
Maryland,  when  we  were  receiving  so  much  aid  from  that  State, 
and  hoping  for  much  more.  The  seizure  or  destruction  of  that 
property  by  us  could  have  been  justified  only  by  the  probability 
of  its  military  use  by  the  enemy.  That  probability  did  not  appear 
until  about  the  time  when  Col.  Jackson  received  the  order  in  ques 
tion;  then,  being  unable  to  remove,  we  were  compelled  to  de 
stroy  it. 

"  But  the  most  valuable  part  of  this  property,  the  engines,  could 
not  have  been  removed  in  the  manner  pointed  out.  Up  to  the  time 
of  evacuating  Harper's  Ferry,  we  were  removing  the  machinery 
for  manufacturing  small-arms,  as  fast  as  it  could  be  transported  on 
the  railroad,  to  Winchester.  To  expedite  this  work,  I  proposed  to 
borrow  engines  from  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Eailroad,  but  was 
assured  by  the  engineers  of  both  roads  that  that  to  Winchester, 
especially  near  Harper's  Ferry,  where  it  was  supported  on  trestles, 
was  not  strong  enough  to  bear  those  engines,  which  were  much 
heavier  than  those  for  which  it  was  constructed,  and  that  if  brought 
upon  that  road  they  would  inevitably  crush  it.  This  would  have 
stopped  the  removal  of  the  machinery  from  Harper's  Ferry,  which 
was  far  more  valuable  to  the  Confederacy  than  all  the  rolling-stock 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Koad." 

Remaining  north  of  Martinsburg,  with  Col.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's 
cavalry  in  his  front,  until  the  22 d  July,  Col.  Jackson  that  day 
had  an  engagement  with  Patterson,  who  had  again  returned  to  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Potomac,  and  who  hoped  to  crush  the  small 
force  that  had  now  ventured  within  his  reach.  He  was  met  by 
Jackson  near  Falling  Water  Church*  at  Haine's  farm,  and  was 
repulsed.  Receiving  reinforcements,  Patterson  made  a  second 
advance,  and  suffered  a  second  repulse.  By  this  time,  discovering 
the  exceedingly  disproportionate  force  of  Jackson,  Patterson 


350  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

extended  his  infantry  with  design  to  envelope  Jackson  by  throw 
ing  both  wings  around  him.  After  a  spirited  resistance  of  three 
hours'  duration,  Jackson  withdrew,  skirmishing  sharply  as  he 
retreated,  until  he  met  Johnston's  army,  four  miles  south  of  Mar- 
tinsburg,  advancing  to  his  support,  in  full  hope  of  a  general 
engagement  with  the  enemy.  The  hope  was  disappointed ;  Pat 
terson  falling  back  towards  the  Potomac,  with  a  loss  of  forty-five 
prisoners,  captured  by  Stuart,  and  a  large  number  of  killed  and 
wounded.  Johnston,  thereupon,  again  massed  his  forces  near 
Winchester. 

He  was  now  more  satisfied  than  ever  that  Gen.  Scott's  design, 
in  placing  Patterson  in  the  Valley,  was  to  distract  attention  from 
the  grand  movement  which  he  was  preparing  for  the  principal 
advance  to  Richmond.  Accordingly,  he  renewed  the  request 
which  he  had  hitherto  made,  for  orders  to  join  Beauregard  when 
the  proper  emergency  should  arise,  and  busied  himself  in  prepar 
ing  Winchester  for  defence  by  a  small  force.  On  the  evening  of 
the  17th  July,  Major  Whiting  (afterwards  Maj.-Gen.  Whiting, 
killed  in  command  of  Fort  Fisher)  brought  him  intelligence  from 
Stuart  that  Patterson  was  again  advancing  in  force.  Johnston  at 
once  remarked  that  they  would  immediately  hear  that  McDowell 
was  also  advancing  in  force  on  Beauregard,  from  Alexandria.  For 
some  time  previous  to  this  date  he  had  established  a  system  of 
regular  couriers  for  communicating,  at  intervals  of  a  few  hours, 
with  Beauregard,  whose  opinions  of  the  strategy  of  Gen.  Scott 
coincided  with  his  own.  The  two  Generals  had  already  concerted 
the  purpose  of  combining  their  forces  whenever  the  critical  moment 
should  arrive,  and  had  both  solicited  authority  from  Eichmond  for 
executing  their  foregone  determination. 

About  half-past  one  o'clock  at  night  the  courier  from  Beaure 
gard  brought  a  dispatch  giving  intelligence  that  McDowell  was  in 
motion  from  Alexandria.  Johnston  had  already  directed  Stuart 
to  ascertain,  as  soon  as  practicable,  whether  Patterson's  movement 
was  a  feint  or  for  the  purpose  of  a  serious  engagement.  In  the 
latter  event  he  determined  first  to  fight  and  beat  Patterson,  and 
then  proceed  to  Manassas.  lie  directed  Stuart,  if  he  should  become 
satisfied  that  Patterson  was  making  a  feint,  to  stretch  out  his  cavalry 
in  that  General's  front,  and  screen  as  long  as  possible  his  own 
intended  retirement  towards  Manassas. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  351 

During  the  night  of  the  17th  he  received  a  communication  from 
the  government,  giving  the  long-sought  permission  to  make  the 
junction  with  Beauregard ;  but  it  was  coupled  with  a  condition 
that  he  should  first  move  his  sick  from  Winchester,  where  he  had 
established  them  in  comfortable  hospitals,  to  the  rear  of  Manassas, 
at  Culpeper  Court-House.  His  army  being  composed  of  fresh 
troops,  and  his  raw  soldiers  afflicted  with  the  diseases  incident  to 
an  unusual  mode  of  life,  his  sick  numbered  about  twenty-five  hun 
dred.  It  was  impossible,  therefore,  to  execute  the  order  from 
Richmond.  But  Winchester  having  been  tolerably  well  covered 
by  defensive  works,  Gen.  Johnston  placed  the  militia  of  the  Valley, 
about  twenty-five  hundred  strong,  under  the  command  of  Gens.  Car 
son  and  Meem,  in  front  of  the  place,  and  left  his  sick  in  the  hospitals. 

By  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  18th,  he  learned  from 
Stuart  that  Patterson's  movement  was  a  mere  demonstration,  and 
that  he  had  posted  his  own  cavalry  as  desired.  Johnston,  there 
fore,  at  once  gave  orders  for  putting  his  army  in  motion.  The 
effective  force  which  set  out  in  this  movement  was  11,000  men. 
The  plan  was,  to  march  to  Piedmont,  a  railroad  station,  twenty- 
.  three  miles  from  Winchester,  and  there  take  trains  for  Manassas, 
thirty-four  miles  further.  The  despondency  of  the  troops  was 
excessive  during  the  first  day's  march  ;  they  thought  they  were 
running  away  from  Patterson.  After  crossing  the  Shenandoah, 
however,  the  General  caused  them  to  be  relieved  from  this  depres 
sion  by  the  enlivening  assurance  that  they  were  marching  to  engage 
in  a  great  battle.  His  order  making  the  announcement  was  in 
nervous  words  that  thrilled  the  troops.  "  Our  gallant  army  under 
Gen.  Beauregard,"  he  said,  "  is  now  attacked  by  overwhelming  num 
bers  ;  the  Commanding  General  hopes  that  his  troops  will  step  out 
like  men,  and  make  a  forced  march  to  save  the  country." 

The  army  reached  Piedmont,  by  detachments,  during  Friday,  the 
19th,  and  then,  as  fast  as  transportation  was  afforded,  took  trains  for 
Manassas.  Col.  Jackson's  brigade  embarked  early  on  Friday.  But 
great  embarrassment  was  experienced  in  procuring  trains  in  time  for 
the  prompt  transportation  of  the  whole  command.  Some  of  the 
force  did  arrive  in  time  for  the  ensuing  battle;  others  did  not 
arrive  until  the  middle  of  the  day  of  the  battle.  It  resulted  that 
of  the  whole  force  of  ]  1,000,  8,300  took  part  in  the  engagement, 
and  2,700  arrived  too  late. 


352  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Gen.  Johnston's  survey  of  the  field  of  Manassas. — He  indicates  the  enemy's  design 
to  flank  the  Confederate  left. — His  anxiety  about  Patterson's  movements. — Plan 
of  attack  upon  Centreville. — Why  it  failed. — Non-arrival  of  part  of  the  Army  of 
the  Shenandoah. — Popular  misrepresentations  of  the  battle  of  Manassas. — The 
real  plans  of  action  on  each  side. — How  Gen.  Johnston  overlapped  the  flanking 
movement  of  the  enemy. — His  orders  to  Gen.  Bonham  to  attack  on  Centreville. 
The  most  brilliant  opportunity  of  the  day  lost.— Gen.  Johnston's  published  rea 
sons  for  not  attacking  Washington. — This  explanation  criticised.— Evidence  of 
McClellan.— The  Confederate  Army  demoralized  by  their  victory.— Sequel  of  Ma 
nassas. 

GEN.  JOHNSTON  did  not  reach  Manassas  in  person  until  the 
afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  20th  July.  Unable  from  the  lateness 
of  the  hour  to  examine  the  field,  he  spent  several  anxious  hours 
with  Gen.  Beauregard,  whom  he  ranked,  in  studying  the  maps  of 
the  ground.  For  reasons  about  to  be  given,  he  declined  to  change 
in  any  respect  the  dispositions  of  that  officer.  The  principal  point 
for  decision  was,  where  to  place  his  own  army,  just  arrived  and 
still  arriving.  Gen.  Beauregard  was  in  possession  of  what  he 
deemed  authentic  intelligence,  that  McDowell's  purpose  was  to 
turn  the  right  of  the  Confederate  army  ;  and  there  can  be  no  im 
propriety  in  stating,  what  was  well  known  to  those  who  had  op 
portunity  of  receiving  the  information,  that  Gen.  Beauregard 
firmly  believed  that  the  enemy's  intention  was  to  turn  his  right. 
Gen.  Johnston  dissented  from  this  opinion.  He  thought  a  feint 
would  be  made  on  the  right ;  but  was  well  persuaded  that  if  a 
flanking  movement  was  designed,  of  which  he  had  no  doubt,  it 
would  be  directed  around  their  left.  He  gave  cogent  reasons  for 
this  belief.  The  country  on  the  right  was  very  hilly  and  broken, 
and  the  stream  of  Bull  Bun  in  that  quarter  deeper  and  more  diffi 
cult  of  passage  than  it  was  several  miles  above  on  the  left.  The 
march  in  that  direction  would  be  at  once  arduous  and  hazardous. 
Moreover,  to  flank  on  that  side  would  require  a  longer  devour, 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  353 

would  throw  McDowell  farther  from  Washington,  and  place  him 
in  greater  danger  of  being  cut  off.  An  attack  in  front  was  equally 
improbable.  That  of  the  18th  had  been  either  a  serious  engage 
ment  or  a  feint.  If  serious,  its  failure  had  taught  that  Beaure 
gard's  lines  were  too  strong  for  direct  assault.  If  a  feint,  its  ob 
ject  must  have  been  to  withdraw  the  attention  "of  the  Confederates 
from  the  real  purpose.  Besides,  Johnston  had  served  much  with 
Gen.  Scott,  and  knew  his  partiality  for  flanking  movements. 
Therefore  it  seemed  conclusive  to  him  that  the  left  was  in  most 
danger.  Accordingly,  Gen.  Johnston  disposed  all  the  force  that  had 
arrived  from  the  Yalley  in  positions  to  be  available  on  the  left,  if 
the  enemy  should  take  the  offensive ;  leaving  Gen.  Beauregard's 
previous  dispositions  of  his  own  troops  for  the  present  unchanged. 

But  here  another  and  a  more  potential  consideration  must  not 
be  overlooked,  as  has  uniformly  been  done  by  those  who  have  de 
scribed  this  battle  of  Manassas.  Gen.  Johnston  had  suddenly 
disappeared  from  before  Patterson's  front  in  the  valley,  where  the 
enemy  then  had  an  army  of  25,000  men.  If  the  public  have 
since  dropped  Patterson  from  all  consideration  in  connection  with 
Manassas,  Gen.  Johnston  could  not  afford  at  that  time  to  presume 
upon  the  inactivity  of  so  large  an  army  well  provided  and  equipped. 
He  naturally  expected--he  was  bound  to  expect — that  Patterson 
would  follow  him  by  forced  marches  immediately  on  discovering 
his  disappearance.  It  was  practicable  for  Patterson  to  reach 
Manassas  by  the  night  of  the  21st;  it  was  possible  for  some  of  his 
brigades  to  appear  on  the  field  during  the  advanced  hours  of  that 
day.  It  was,  therefore,  of  vital  necessity  to  beat  McDowell  on 
the  21st,  before  Patterson  could  come  up  with  his  heavy  rein 
forcements. 

Gen.  Johnston  had  taken  measures  to  insure  the  arrival  of  his 
own  army  from  the  Yalley  by  the  night  of  the  20th ;  and  up  to 
his  separation  from  Beauregard  had  not  received  intelligence  of  the 
collision  of  trains  which  had  detained  two  of  his  brigades,  and  was 
still  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  detention. 

Confidently  calculating  upon  the  presence,  and  readiness  to  move, 
by  an  early  hour  the  next  morning,  of  the  whole  army  of  the  Shen- 
andoah,  and  determined  to  bring  on  a  decisive  battle  before  Pat 
terson  could  arrive,  he  had  readily  acceded  to  Beauregard's  bold 
and  able  suggestion,  that  they  themselves  should  assume  the  offen- 

23 


354  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

sive,  and  march,  by  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  with  their  whole 
forces,  by  all  the  roads,  upon  Centreville.  This  movement,  however, 
was  delayed  so  long  the  next  morning,  ,by  the  non-arrival  of  Elzey's 
and  Kirby  Smith's  brigades  from  the  Yalley,  as  to  afford  time  to 
the  enemy  to  progress  far  in  his  aggressive  movement.  The  discov 
ery  of  this  movement  relieved  one  source  of  anxiety  by  giving 
assurance  of  the  certainty  of  a  battle  with  McDowell  before  Patter 
son  could  arrive  on  the  field  in  force.  It  was  this  intention  of 
assuming  the  offensive,  and  of  making  avail  of  all  the  roads 
leading  to  Centreville,  that  prevented  a  concentration  of  troops 
towards  the  left  at  as  early  an  hour  on  the  next  morning  as  would 
have  seemed  proper  in  the  light  of  the  momentous  events  which 
soon  transpired  in  that  quarter. 

If  the  offensive  movement  upon  Centreville,  which  had  thus 
been  concerted  between  Johnston  and  Beauregard,  had  been  carried 
into  execution,  it  would  have  proved  one  of  the  most  decisive 
recorded  in  history  ;  for  it  turned  out  that  McDowell  put  the  body 
of  his  army  in  motion  as  early  as  one  o'clock  A.M.  of  the  21st,  from 
Centreville,  in  the  direction  of  Sudley  Ford;  leaving  behind  only 
the  corps  of 'Gen.  Miles,  11,000  strong.  He  would  therefore  have 
been  struck  by  Johnston's  whole  army  of  about  30,000  men  in  rear 
and  flank,  and  irretrievably  cut  off  from  Washington.  This  bril 
liant  movement  was  prevented  by  the  collision  of  trains,  supposed 
to  have  been  the  contrivance  of  a  treacherous  Northern  conductor, 
which  occurred  on  the  day  before,  on  the  Manassas  railroad,  and 
which  delayed  the  two  brigades  that  had  been  due  on  the  20th ; 
counting  which,  the  attacking  Confederate  army  would  still  have 
embraced  but  little  more  than  half  the  numbers  of  the  enemy  in 
tended  to  be  assailed. 

Many  absurdities  have  been  written  about  the  battle  of  Man 
assas,  and  Gen.  Johnston  has  been  popularly  overlooked  in  the 
common  narratives  of  that  field,  or  represented  at  disadvantage. 
There  is,  however,  good  reason  to  believe  that  while  Gen.  Beauregard 
persisted  in  the  idea  that  the  attack  of  the  enemy  would  come  from 
the  right,  Gen.  Johnston  had  juster  conceptions  of  the  field,  and 
was  prepared  to  meet  the  whole  width  of  the  enemy's  designs. 
His  soldierly  courtesy  and  gentlemanly  deference  to  Beauregard 
have  been  interpreted  into  an  abnegation  of  the  chief  command ; 
and  his  resolution  to  leave  temporarily  undisturbed  the  dispositions 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  355 

which  had  been  made  by  his  predecessor  in  command,  for  receiving 
an  expected  attack  on  the  extreme  right,  or  throwing  the  army 
offensively  on  Centreville,  has  been  taken  as  proof  of  a  serious 
belief  on  his  part,  that  the  enemy's  principal  assault,  if  he  should 
assume  the  offensive,  would  be  made  in  that  direction.  The  biog 
raphers  of  officers  who  held  subordinate  rank  in  the  affair  have 
added  to  the  confusion  of  the  narration  ;  each  representing  his  hero 
as  executing  his  own  conceptions  of  strategy  with  sovereign 
obliviousness  of  the  orders  of  superiours,  and  roaming  over  the 
field  at  will,  selecting  each  for  himself  the  place  of  glory,  and 
making  of  his  own  person  the  pivot  on  which  the  fortunes  of  battle 
revolved.  These  pretentious  narrations  are  as  discreditable  to 
their  authors  as  defamatory  to  the  reputations  of  the  noble 
soldiers  who  are  thus  victimized. 

The  battle  of  Manassas,  though  as  important  and  eventful  a  one 
as  ever  was  fought,  was  yet,  in  its  plan,  both  of  attack  and  defense, 
as  simple  and  intelligible  as  was  ever  lost  and  won.  The  details, 
though  generally  given  with  excessive  dramatic  exaggeration,  much 
needing  the  pruning-knife  of  truthful  and  conscientious  precision, 
have  been  too  frequently  recited  to  admit  of  lengthy  repetition. 
Gen.  McDowell's  plan  of  battle  was  to  turn  the  Confederate  left, 
which  he  attempted  with  a  force  in  motion  of  40,000  regulars  and 
volunteers,  against  a  force  actually  engaged  of  only  15,000  volun 
teers.  A  wooded  country  and  a  night  march  enabled  him  to  mask 
his  purpose  during  the  early  hours  of  the  morning  of  the  eventful 
21st  July,  1861 ;  and,  by  a  simulated  movement  against  the  Con 
federate  right  and  centre,  in  which  he  displayed  artillery  and  infan 
try,  he  was  able  to  fix  there,  for  a  time,  the  Confederate  troops 
which  had  been  posted  for  an  advance  upon  Centreville.  His  suc 
cess  in  this  plan  of  battle  depended  upon  celerity  of  movement, 
a  heavy  concentration  of  troops  in  the  point  to  be  assailed  before 
time  should  be  afforded  his  adversary  for  bringing  up  opposing 
forces,  and  steady  valour  and  intrepidity  on  the  part  of  his  men. 

The  Confederate  plan  of  defense,  as  reported  to  have  resided  in 
Gen.  Johnston's  mind  throughout  the  day,  was  equally  as  simple. 
As  soon  as  he  became  satisfied  that  a  decisive  battle  could  be 
insured  on  that  day,  and  found  that  the  enemy  had  gained  the 
offensive,  his  own  strategy  was  instantly  determined  upon.  It  was, 
under  the  cover  of  woods,  so  to  dispose  his  troops  as  to  overlap 


356  GENEBAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

the  turning  column  of  the  enemy,  and  to  take  the  flanking  force 
itself  in  flank  and  rear,  at  the  moment  it  thought  to  have  turned 
his  own  position.  It  was  his  further  purpose  to  project  the  brig 
ades  of  the  extreme  right,  which  could  be  spared  from,  or  were 
unavailable  for,  the  support  of  the  left,  directly  upon  Centreville, 
and  thus  strike  McDowell  in  rear.  His  danger  consisted  in  weak 
ness  of  numbers,  which  was  aggravated  by  the  failure  of  two  bri 
gades — Elzey's  and  Kirby  Smith's — which  were  still  en  route  from 
the  Yalley,  to  arrive  in  time.  But  chiefly  was  he  anxious  and 
apprehensive  on  the  score  of  Patterson's  arrival,  and  more  than 
once  during  the  day  descried  in  the  distance  indications  which 
might  have  proved  to  be  the  heralds  of  his  approach. 

When  the  enemy's  heavy  attack  was  developed  upon  the  left, 
the  fortune  of  the  day  depended  upon  the  ability  of  the  Confede 
rates  engaged  near  the  Henry  House,  to  hold  their  position  until 
reinforcements  could  be  brought  to  their  support.  While  the  fate 
of  the  battle  was  hanging  here  by  a  thread,  Elzey's  missing  brigade 
of  the  army  of  the  Shenandoah  reached  Manassas,  accompanied  by 
Gen.  Kirby  Smith,  whose  own  brigade  was  still  behind,  and  who, 
being  Elzey's  senior,  had  command  of  the  troops  he  accompanied. 
Immediately  receiving  orders  from  Gen.  Johnston  to  move  under 
cover  of  woods  to  the  left  of  Jackson  and  Bee,  to  observe  the 
enemy,  and  to  take  care  so  to  place  his  command  as  to  envelop 
the  column  by  which  McDowell  was  aiming  to  turn  Jackson, 
Smith  put  his  command  in  motion  to  fulfil  these  instructions,  and 
rode  to  Johnston,  then  at  the  Lewis  House,  to  receive  from  him 
self  a  repetition  of  the  orders.  Thence  proceeding  to  the  extreme 
left  and  overtaking  his  command,  he  arrived  in  time  to  place  it  in 
position  to  surprise  McDowell  by  turning  his  flanking  column, 
and  driving  it  back  in  disorder. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  on  the  extreme  left,  Gen. 
Early  was  executing  an  order  to  move  from  the  extreme  right  to 
the  left.  Arriving  near  his  destination  about  half-past  two  o'clock, 
he  received  an  order  from  Gen.  Johnston,  precisely  similar  to  that 
which  had  been  given  before  to  Kirby  Smith,  which  he  executed 
with  equal  dispatch,  gallantry,  and  success. 

The  flanking  columns  of  McDowell  had  been  first  checked  and 
held  at  bay  by  Jackson,  until  Kirby  Smith  by  his  overlapping 
movement  had  driven  them  back  from  the  advanced  ground  which 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  357 

they  had  partially  gained.  Taking  time  to  re-form  his  column  and 
to  mass  still  greater  numbers  for  a  second  onset,  McDowell  was 
making  his  second  grand  sweep  by  a  still  greater  circuit,  when 
he  was  surprised  and  raked  a  second  time  by  the  overlapping  and 
flanking  tactics  of  Early.  Just  as  he  was  making  the  great  bend 
to  envelop  Elzey's  supposed  extreme  left,  a  well-directed  fire  from 
a  park  of  artillery,  admirably  posted  for  the  purpose,  struck  the 
wheeling  columns  with  a  raking  fire,  happily  seconding  Early's 
final  assault  upon  their  flank,  completed  their  discomfiture,  and 
threw  them  into  the  consternation  and  panic  which  impelled  them 
in  wild  confusion  back  to  Washington. 

By  the  time  that  this  splendid  result  on  the  left  became  evi 
dent  to  Gen.  Johnston,  he  had  received  intelligence  of  the  miscar 
riage  of  the  morning's  orders,  which  had  directed  the  brigades  on 
the  extreme  right  to  throw  themselves  upon  Centreville.  He  now 
instantly  dispatched  an  order  to  Gens.  Bonham  and  Longstreet, 
who  were  nearest  him,  at  Mitchell's  Ford,  to  unite  their  forces  and 
march  with  all  dispatch  upon  Centreville.  These  orders  were 
received,  and  the  two  brigades  were  marched  in  the  direction  of 
Centreville;  but  Gen.  Bonham,  greatly  to  the  chagrin  of  Gen. 
Longstreet,  whom  he  ranked,  determined,  after  anxious  hesitation, 
not  to  execute  the  order,  for  fear  that  by  failure  to  rout  the  forces 
of  Miles  which  were  nearly  double  his  own,  the  glory  of  a  brilliant 
victory  certainly  achieved  might  be  impaired  by  a  partial  defeat.* 
Gen.  Bonham  was  as  brave  and  true  an  officer  as  served  during 
the  war;  and  his  unhappy  determination,  on  this  occasion,  is  one 
of  those  strange  phenomena  in  human  action,  as  inexplicable  as 
pregnant  with  consequences,  in  which  the  caprice  of  a  moment 
proves  to  have  resolved  the  destiny  of  an  empire. 

This  account  of  the  battle  of  Manassas,  differing  in  some  im 
portant  respects  from  the  popular  versions,  indicates  especially  the 
genius  of  Johnston  on  that  field.  It  was  his  penetration  of  the 
enemy's  designs  against  Gen..  Beauregard's  first  impressions,  and 
his  direction  of  the  troops  so  as  to  overlap  the  enemy's  flanking 
movement,  that  furnished  most  of  the  generalship  of  the  day,  mainly 
won,  as  it  was,  however,  by  the  exceeding  valour  of  the  Southern 
troops.  It  was  his  genius  that  saw  at  the  close  of  the  day  the 

*  A  friend  writes :  "  Gen.  Longstreet  never  fails  to  rob  himself  of  a  portion  of  his 
hair  when  lie  relates  this  incident." 


358  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

splendid  opportunity  of  throwing  his  victorious  brigades  upon 
Centreville  and  finishing  the  enemy,  and  was  disconcerted  in  such 
dramatic  conclusion  only  by  the  disobedience  of  his  clear  and 
urgent  orders. 

But  although  Johnston  was  the  Commanding  General  on  the 
field,  and  had  taken  an  independent  view  of  it,  it  is  just  to  observe 
that  in  the  action  of  the  day  there  was  constant  concert  between 
him  and  Gen.  Beauregard,  and  that  the  battle  was  delivered  mainly 
in  the  dispositions  of  the  troops  .made  by  the  latter.  There  was  a 
happy  accord  between  the  two  Generals  in  every  new  movement 
to  meet  the  enemy's  design  as  it  declared  itself.  Gen.  Johnston 
has  never  claimed  a  monopoly  of  the  glory  of  Manassas.  nor  is  it 
due  to  him ;  for  the  part  borne  by  Gen.  Beauregard  entitled  that 
commander  to  all  that  can  be  awarded  consistently  with  what  jus 
tice  demands  for  Gen.  Johnston.  In  truth,  the  glory  of  the  com 
mand  is  a  common  inheritance  for  each  and  for  both,  which  cannot, 
ought  not,  and  needs  not,  to  be  partitioned ;  and,  since  the  frater 
nal  amenities  which  a  golden  page  of  history  describes  to  have 
subsisted  between  Eugene  and  Maryborough,  no  two  commanders 
have  appeared  that  have  set  an  example  to  their  profession  of  rela 
tions  with  each  other  so  generous  and  kindly  as  those  which  John 
ston  established  with  his  equally  chivalrous  and  patriotic  associate. 

It  has  been  a  trite  and  voluminous  complaint  that  the  victory 
of  Manassas  was  not  made  more  decisive,  and  that  the  Confederate 
army  should  have  rested  on  the  field  which  it  had  cleared  of  the 
enemy.  We  have  already  discovered  the  opportunity  of  aggres 
sive  action  in  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  battle.  That  oppor 
tunity  was  lost,  in  the  first  instance,  by  miscarriage  of  orders  sent 
to  the  extreme  right  by  Gens.  Johnston  and  Beauregard ;  and, 
secondly,  by  the  failure  of  Gen.  Bonham,  from  an  honourable  but 
mistaken  view  of  duty,  to  execute  the  orders  sent  him  by  Gen.  John 
ston.  If  this  blow  had  been  struck,  four  instead  of  three  of  the  Federal 
divisions  would  have  been  shattered,  and  the  brigades  on  the  Con 
federate  right  would  have  been  put  so  far  on  the  way  to  Washington. 
But  it  has  been  popularly  and  persistently  asked  why,  when  this 
prospect  of  enveloping  the  enemy's  force,  that  still  stood  at  Centre 
ville,  was  disappointed,  the  Confederate  Generals  did  not  yet  pur 
sue  his  broken  forces  towards  the  Potomac.  An  explanation  of 
this  omission  of  pursuit,  which  has  been  so  lamented  in  every 


GENEKAL   JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  359 

Southern  commentary  on  the  battle,  has  been,  recently  given  by 
Gen.  Johnston  himself  in  a  letter  pririted  in  the  newspapers.  In 
this  late  publication,  with  the  advantage  of  retrospect,  Gen.  John 
ston  contends  that  the  pursuit  of  the  fugitive  enemy  towards  Alex 
andria  and  Washington  would  have  been  fruitless,  and  would  have 
encountered  insuperable  obstacles.  No  more  could  have  been  hoped 
from  the  battle,  he  declares,  than  the  preservation  of  the  Confederacy, 
and  the  arrest  of  the  Federal  advance  towards  Richmond.  "  A  move 
ment  upon  Washington  was  out  of  the  question.  We  could  not 
have  carried  the  intrench ments  by  assault,  and  had  none  of  the 
means  to  besiege  them.  Our  assault  would  have  been  repulsed, 
and  the  enemy,  then  become  the  victorious  party,  would  have 
resumed  their  march  to  Richmond.  But  if  we  had  captured  the 
intrench  ments,  a  river,  a  mile  wide,  lay  between  them  and  Wash 
ington,  commanded  by  the  guns  of  a  Federal  fleet.  If  we  had 
taken  Alexandria,  which  stands  on  low  and  level  ground,  those 
guns  would  have  driven  us  out  in  a  few  hours,  at  the  same  time 
killing  our  friends,  the  inhabitants.  We  could  not  cross  the  Poto 
mac,  and  therefore  it  was  impracticable  to  'conquer  the  hostile 
capital '  or  emancipate  oppressed  Maryland." 

Ingenious  as  is  this  explanation,  candour  compels  us  to  declare 
that  it  is  deficient,  and  at  important  variance  with  the  official 
reports  of  the  enemy  himself.  The  account  of  Gen.  McClellan  of 
the  state  of  affairs  about  Washington,  on  the  heels  of  the  retreat 
from  Bull  Run,  differs  materially  from  the  picture  drawn  by  Gen. 
Johnston.  He  declares  that  "  in  no  quarter  were  the  dispositions 
for  defense  such  as  to  offer  a  vigourous  resistance  to  a  respectable 
body  of  the  enemy ; "  that  the  earthworks  on  the  Virginia  side 
were  of  the  slightest  and  most  trivial  character ;  and  that  there 
was  nothing  to  prevent  the  Confederates  from  occupying  the 
heights,  and  shelling  the  city  from  across  the  Potomac.  But  even 
had  it  been  impossible  for  the  Confederates  to  follow  the  routed 
army  into  Washington,  that  was  no  reason  why  they  should  not 
have  followed  and  harassed  it  as  far  as  they  could. 

The  fact  is,  the  omission  of  pursuit,  or  its  dilatory  and  irresolute 
character,  was  a  fault,  and  yet  one  rather  to  be  ascribed  to  the  con 
dition  of  the  army  than  the  judgment  or  temper  of  the  commander. 
Gen.  Johnston  was  not  especially  responsible  for  it.  His  troops 


360  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

were  almost  as  much  bewildered  and  demoralized*  as  those  of  the 
enemy,  and  they  had  won  a  victory  only  by  a  narrow  chance^  and 
only  after  the  scale  of  battle  had  hung  for  a  whole  day.  Neither 
army  knew  the  damage  it  had  inflicted  on  the  other.  Gen.  Beau- 
regard  bears  witness  to  the  disorganization  which  prevailed  in  his 
command  at  the  close  of  the  day ;  and  Gen.  Johnston  adds : 
"  According  to  my  information  of  the  disposition  of  the  army,  the 
troops  believed  that  their  victory  had  established  the  independence 
of  the  South — that  all  their  country  required  of  them  had  been 
accomplished,  the  war  ended,  and  their  military  obligations  ful 
filled.  They,  therefore,  left  the  army  in  crowds,  to  return  to  their 
homes.  Such  was  the  report  of  the  Generals,  colonels,  staff-officers, 
and  railroad  officials.  The  exultation  of  victory  cost  us  more  than  the 
Federal  army  lost  by  defeat" 

It  was  in  this  view  that  the  victory  of  Manassas,  whatever  it 
exhibited  of  Confederate  valour  or  skill,  was  a  deplorable  event  for 
the  South — a  brilliant  frontispiece  to  a  variable  and  disastrous 
story.  In  stemming  the  torrent  of  swollen  hopes  flowing  from  it ; 
in  reducing  the  popular  expectation;  and  in  winning  the  second 
prize  of  safety  in  renewed  competition  with  the  enemy,  we  shall 
hereafter  find  Johnston  more  characteristic  and  admirable  than 
when  his  genius  adorned  the  bloody  field. 

*  One  of  the  best  colonels  in  Jackson's  brigade,  Col.  James  F.  Preston,  in  show 
ing  how  unfit  for  pursuit  was  that  part  of  the  army  which  had  been  engaged  in  the 
action,  said,  that  he  had  himself  endeavoured,  with  his  superiour's  permission,  to  follow 
the  flying  enemy,  but  he  found,  before  he  had  proceeded  a  mile,  that  his  regiment 
had  dwindled  to  fifty  men,  and  he  was  obliged  to  return. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  361 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

An  early  conceit  of  the  Confederate  Government. — Unpopularity  of  Gen.  Johnston. — 
He  indicates  the  value  of  concentration,  and  proposes  an  aggressive  movement 
across  the  Potomac. — Overruled  by  President  Davis. — Attempt  to  bring  Mc- 
Clellan  to  battle.— Blockade  of  the  Potomac  River.— True  theory  of  the  Battle  of 
Leesburg,  or  Ball's  Bluff. — Gen.  Johnston  meditates  a  retreat  from  North  Vir 
ginia. — A  notable  Council  of  War  in  Richmond. — Gen.  Johnston's  advice  overruled 
by  President  Davis  and  Gen.  Lee. — Transfer  of  Johnston's  Army  to  Yorktown. — 
"Why  he  abandoned  the  Peninsula. — Gen.  Johnston's  share  in  Jackson's  Valley 
Campaign. — Battle  of  Seven  Pines. — How  its  results  were  limited. — Gen.  Johnston 
wounded.— He  loses  command  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

IT  was  the  early  conceit  of  the  Confederate  Government  to 
defend  its  entire  frontier,  and  to  declare  that  no  foot  of  Southern 
territory  should  be  occupied  by  the  invader.  This  declaration 
was  not  the  mere  bravado  of  the  popular  orator  about  the  "  sa 
cred  soil."  It  was  the  deliberate  inspiration  of  the  Government 
itself ;  the  military  animus  of  President  Davis  that  determined 
the  almost  fatal  policy  of  dispersion,  and  strung  the  armies  of  the 
Confederacy  on  every  imaginable  line  of  defence.  Against  this 
policy  Gen.  Johnston  set  his  face  in  the  early  months  of  the  war, 
and  never  failed  to  rebuke  the  conceit  which  inspired  it,  and  to 
chasten  the  foolish  expectations  of  the  populace.  His  severe 
military  judgment,  his  sedate  calculations,  were  not  popular ; 
and  it  was  only  when  the  people  of  the  Confederacy  had  been 
sobered  by  the  experiences  of  the  war  that  they  recognized  the 
wisdom  and  excellent  generalship  of  the  leader  whose  counsels 
they  had  at  first  condemned  as  tame,  whose  precision  they  had  re 
garded  as  timidity,  and  whose  opposition  to  President  Davis' policy 
of  frontier  defence  they  had  treated  with  suspicion  and  innuendo. 

But  Gen.  Johnston's  opposition  to  this  policy  was  founded  on 
clear  and  firm  principles  of  military  science,  which  neither  the 
President  nor  the  people  then  well  understood.  He  knew  the 
value  of  the  concentration  of  forces  in  war;  that  such  concentration 
was,  indeed,  the  condition  of  vigorous  war,  the  necessary  means 
of  striking  the  enemy  with  eifect,  and  making  decisive  fields. 


362  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

It  is  remarkable  that  shortly  after  the  battle  of  Manassas,  when 
President  Davis  was  on  a  visit  to  the  headquarters  of  the  army, 
Gen.  Johnston  submitted  a  plan  illustrating  the  value  of  concen 
tration,  and  proposing  it  as  a  preliminary  for  an  aggressive  cam 
paign.  He  was  sustained  in  his  views  by  Gens.  Beauregard  and 
G.  W.  Smith.  These  Generals  urged  the  immediate  concentration 
in  that  quarter  of  the  greater  part  of  the  forces  dispersed  along 
the  sea-coast  at  Pensacola,  Savannah,  Norfolk,  Yorktown,  and 
Fredericksburg,  with  which,  added  to  the  troops  already  in  hand, 
a  campaign  across  the  Potomac  should  be  initiated  before  Gen. 
McClellan  had  completed  the  organization  of  his  grand  army. 
This,  they  believed,*  might  be  done  without  risk  to  the  positions 
weakened  by  the  measure — though,  in  fact,  the  principles  of  the 
art  of  war  prescribed  that  places  of  such  relative  military  unim 
portance  should  be  sacrificed  or  hazarded  for  the  sake  of  the  vital 
advantage  anticipated.  A  very  considerable  army  could  have 
been  thus  assembled — larger,  perhaps,  than  either  of  those  which 
subsequently  Gen.  Lee  was  able  to  lead  across  the  border  under 
much  less  favorable  military  conditions.  But  the  President  could 
not  be  induced  to  sanction  the  measure,  or  to  give  up  his  own 
settled  policy  of  dispersion,  his  wraste  of  defensive  resources  in 
the  attempted  defense  of  every  threatened  position. 

The  counsels  of  Gen.  Johnston  for  a  concentration  of  forces, 
and  a  movement  into  the  enemy's  territory,  being  thus  rebuffed, 
it  only  remained  for  him  to  develop  and  improve,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  immediate  field  he  occupied.  As  soon  as  the 
condition  of  his  commissariat  and  appliances  for  transporta 
tion  would  permit,  he  threw  forward  his  forces  successively  to 
Fairfax  Court-House,  Munson's  Hill,  and  Mason's  Hill — to  cover 
as  much  as  possible  of  the  country.  Here  the  Confederate  flag 
was  flaunted  in  full  view  of  the  capital  of  the  Union.  From 
these  advanced  positions  he  withdrew  to  Centreville  early  in  the 
fall,  for  convenience  of  supplies,  and  fortified  that  position  with 
some  care.  Much  attention  had  been  paid  before  to  Manassas,  and 
more  continued  afterwards  to  be  paid  by  himself  to  blockading 
the  Potomac  river  with  batteries  and  strong  earthworks,  planted 
at  different  positions  along  its  right  bank  as  far  down  as  Acquia 
Creek.  One  of  the  principal  of  these  batteries  was  at  the  month 
of  the  Occoquan,  whence  a  straight  line  down  through  Centre- 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  363 

ville  strikes  the  Potomac  river  at  the  bend  beyond  Drainesville, 
which  line  is  the  diameter  of  a  circle  of  which  the  bend  of  the 
Potomac  around  by  Washington  is  nearly  the  arc,  and  of  which 
Centreville  is  nearly  the  centre.  From  this  latter  position  he  could 
strike  in  flank  any  column  of  the  enemy  attempting  to  advance 
by  the  line  of  the  Alexandria  and  Gordonsville  Railroad,  whether 
it  should  take  the  northern  route,  by  way  of  Edward's  Ferry,  or 
the  southern,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Occoquan  towards  Manassas. 

He  was  well  advised  of  the  formidable  preparations  which 
McClellan  was  making  at  "Washington  for  a  second  onward 
movement,  and  of  the  magnitude  of  the  army  which  he  was  then 
amassing,  organizing,  instructing,  and  reducing  to  discipline. 
As  time  progressed  he  became  more  and  more  apprehensive  that 
his  adversary  would  relinquish  the  design  of  advancing  upon 
Eichmond  by  the  Manassas  route,  and  substitute  the  line  from 
Fredericksburg,  or  from  some  still  more  eastern  base  on  the 
waters  of  the  Chesapeake — a  change  of  programme  becoming 
more  and  more  practicable  with  the  rapidly  increasing  proportions 
of  the  Federal  navy.  He  therefore  the  more  diligently  laboured 
on  the  batteries  of  the  Potomac,  in  order,  if  an  advance  were  made 
at  all  from  any  part  of  the  line  of  that  river,  he  might  force  its 
being  made  from  near  his  own  front ;  and  in  order,  if  McClellan's 
army  should  be  embarked  at  Annapolis,  it  should  be  for  the  line 
of  the  Eappahannock,  or  of  the  York,  or  for  some  other  destina 
tion  so  remote  from  Washington  as  to  afford  himself  time  for 
changing  his  own  base,  and  confronting  McClellan  ere  he  could 
disembark  at  any  point  in  front  of  Eichmond  which  might  be 
selected  as  most  eligible.  This  work  was  pushed  with  so  much 
energy  and  skill,  that,  by  the  first  of  October,  1861,  the  flag- 
officer  of  the  Potomac  Federal  flotilla  officially  reported  the 
navigation  to  be  effectually  closed.  Thus  was  the  Federal  capital 
besieged  as  to  its  water  approaches ;  and  the  Government  was 
under  the  humiliating  necessity  of  deriving  all  the  supplies 
needful  for  the  immense  army  that  it  was  organizing  and  amass 
ing  there,  as  well  as  for  the  civil  population,  by  the  costly  means 
of  a  limited  and  precarious  overland  transportation. 

ISTor  was  Gen.  Johnston  negligent,  during  this  period,  of  the 
important  duty  of  thoroughly  organizing  his  own  army.  Warn 
ed  by  the  assiduity  of  his  adversary  in  this  regard,  he  devoted 


364  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

much  anxious  and  laborious  attention  to  this  vital  subject ;  and, 
though  his  troops  consisted  almost  wholly  of  twelve  months'  vol 
unteers,  officered  by  the  vicious  system  and  demoralizing  method 
of  election,  it  may  be  safety  asserted  that  he  soon  succeeded  in 
making  them,  if  not  as  efficient  as  regulars,  yet  a  more  thorough 
ly  disciplined  and  efficient  army  of  volunteers  than  had  ever 
been  seen  before.  The  truth  ought  not  to  be  invidious;  and 
therefore  it  should  give  no  offense  to  state  the  fact,  that  the  dis 
cipline  of  the  Confederate  army  was  never  afterwards  so  good  as 
it  was  during  the  months  of  1861  succeeding  the  conflict  of 
Manassas.  During  the  same  important  months,  McClellan  was 
creating  by  thorough  organization  and  instructions  that  army  of 
the  United  States  which  subsequently  conquered  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  conquered  Lee,  and  conquered  the  Confederacy ;  and 
General  Meade  more  than  once  remarked  with  truth,  "  that  if 
there  had  been  no  McClellan,  there  would  have  been  no  Grant." 
The  same  remark  can  be  applied  to  Johnston  ;  who  had  the 
more  difficult  task  of  using  volunteers  as  material.  The  officers 
whose  names  afterwards  became  most  renowned  in  the  Confed 
eracy,  learned  the  art  and  trade  of  war  from  this  able  captain. 
McClellan  did  not  command  at  many  victories ;  but  the  officers 
and  soldiers  whom  he  had  trained,  and  educated,  and  formed 
into  an  army,  all  continued  until  the  end  to  ascribe  to  him  a 
large  share  of  the  success  that  attended  them  on  every  theatre 
of  the  war.  So  it  is  with  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  were 
educated  in  warfare  by  Johnston.  He  was  much  removed 
from  command ;  but  his  genius  remained  with  the  veterans  he 
had  formed,  and  those  who  best  knew  his  service  award  to  him  a 
share  in  all  the  glories  that  attended  in  its  resplendent  career 
the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

Johnston  succeeded  in  his  purpose  of  preventing  any  attempt 
ed  advance  from  the  line  of  the  lower  Potomac.  He  expected 
the  intended  advance  to  be  made  by  the  way  of  Edward's  Ferry 
and  Leesburg  on  his  left ;  and  posted  General  Evans  in  that 
quarter  with  a  force  of  2,300  men.  He  intentionally  made  it 
too  small  for  effectual  resistance  against  an  advance  in  force. 
But  he  desired  that  a  large  portion  of  the  Federal  army  making 
the  movement  should  succeed  in  effecting  a  crossing  of  the  Po 
tomac  ;  and  intended,  when  as  many  should  have  crossed  as  he 


GENEKA.L  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  365 

should  think  proper  to  permit,  to  throw  his  army  upon  them  in 
flank  and  rear,  making  an  easy  prey  of  those  who  should  have 
passed  on  the  march,  and  seizing  positions  to  prevent  reinforce 
ments  from  the  other  side  of  the  river. 

Accordingly,  when  the  affair  of  Ball's  Bluff  took  place,  on 
the  21st  October,  just  after  a  strong  reconnoissance  by  McCall  on 
Drainesville  the  day  before,  General  Johnston  was  well  pre 
pared  to  believe,  what  is  now  denied  by  writers  on  the  Federal 
side,  that  the  crossing  of  the  river  by  Stone's  command  on  that 
occasion  was  the  initiation  of  an  advance  in  force  uponManassas 
and  Eichmond  ; — and  this  impression  derived  strength  from  the 
known  presence  of  McClellan  in  person,  at  the  time,  in  that 
vicinity.  Truth  to  say,  Gen.  Johnston  found  the  inactivity  of 
his  adversary  as  difficult  of  divination  as  President  Lincoln  did 
himself.  He  supposed  that  McClellan  then  had,  as  it  turns  out 
that  he  did  have,  at  least  seventy-five  thousand  men  available 
for  another  advance  upon  Richmond,  after  sparing  full  as  many 
more  for  the  protection  of  the  capital.  So,  expecting  an  early 
movement  in  force,  and  himself  believing  that  the  route  by  Ed 
ward's  Ferry.  Leesburg  and  Ball's  Bluff  was  the  most  advisable 
one  for  the  enemy  to  select,  he  was  full  ready  to  expect  an 
early  advance  on  that  line.  It  is  true,  as  he  knew  very  well, 
that  the  opinion  then  prevailed  and  was  inculcated  in  Washing 
ton,  that  the  advance  would  be  made  by  the  Occoquan;  but 
he  was  for  that  reason  the  more  confident  that  the  real  de 
sign  was  to  move  by  his  left  He  therefore  had  purposely 
placed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Bluff  so  small  a  force  as  to 
encourage  the  belief  in  his  adversary  that  he  could  be  surprised 
on  that  side;  and  when  Gen.  Evans  made  the  gallant  defence 
which  inflicted  so  heavy  a  loss  upon  McClellan  and  so  great  a 
mortification  upon  the  whole  North — a  defence  which  effected 
a  complete  check  of  the  expected  movement — Gen.  Johnston 
could  not  help  remarking  to  a  confidential  friend  who  was  with 
him,  that  he  had  made  a  capital  mistake  in  placing  so  gallant  an 
officer  and  determined  a  fighter  as  Gen.  Evans  in  a  position 
which  he  did  not  desire  to  be  seriously  defended  at  the  begin 
ning  of  McClellan's  movement ;  for  he  considered  that  the 
splendid  conduct  of  Evans  and  his  brigade  had  forestalled  the 


366  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

Confederacy  of  another  brilliant  victor}7,  more  decisive  than  that 
which  had  been  won  just  three  months  before. 

Disappointed  of  an  advance  on  the  part  of  McClellan,  and  for 
bidden,  by  the  great  strength  of  that  General  in  his  front,  from  en 
gaging  himself  in  offensive  measures,  Gen.  Johnston  was  obliged 
to  remain  for  some  time  as  inactive,  in  all  outward  appearance, 
as  his  adversary.  The  inactivity  was  not  his  own,  but  that  of 
his  triply-stronger  opponent.  His  effective  strength  during  this 
period  scarcely  reached  fifty  thousand  men  of  all  arms,  though 
his  muster-roll  numbers  were  generally  thirty-three  per  cent, 
greater.  As  already  intimated,  both  Generals  were  bending  their 
foremost  attention  to  the  instruction  and  perfection  of  their  armies, 
content  to  amuse  the  public  with  light  affairs  in  the  field  ;  so  that 
this  period,  though  exhibiting  no  important  ostensible  events,  was 
made  busy  with  preparations  that  were  destined  to  exert  a  pro 
found  influence  upon  all  the  succeeding  operations  of  the  war. 

Thus  affairs  went  on  in  North  Virginia  until  late  in  the  winter 
of  1862  ;  chequered  only  by  subordinate  affairs  at  arms,  more 
appropriate  for  detailed  mention  by  the  circumstatial  historian, 
than  in  these  pages.  Having  withdrawn  from  Centreville  to 
Manassas,  Gen.  Johnston  had  become  aware,  by  midwinter,  that 
an  advance  by  the  Piedmont  route  of  Virginia  was  no  longer  in 
tended  at  Washington.  The  batteries  on  the  Potomac  had  there 
fore  lost  their  principal  importance.  His  own  position,  even  at 
Manassas,  was  found  too  far  advanced  for  convenience  of  sup 
plies,  and  his  opponent's  force  was  growing,  fearfully  dispropor- 
tioned  to  his  own.  As  it  became  more  probable  that  the  advance 
upon  Richmond  would  be  made  from  the  lower  waters  of  the 
Chesapeake,  it  became  more  important  that  his  own  army  should 
be  placed  in  supporting  distance  of  that  in  the  Peninsula.  He 
therefore  began  quietly  to  remove  the  cannon  that  could  be 
spared,  and  to  fill  their  places  with  blackened  logs  shaped  into 
simulation.  The  enemy  had  advanced  to  Ceutreville,  but  quite 
failed  to  discover  his  proceedings.  His  plan  was  to  place  his 
army,  when  all  valuable  property  had  been  removed  from 
Manassas,  on  the  line  of  the  Rapidan,  in  position  to  move  as 
events  might  determine.  These  preparations  began  as  early 
as  the  middle  of  February,  1862.  By  March  it  had  become 
positively  known  that  Yorktown  was  McClellan's  destination; 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  367 

and  Gen.  Johnston  went  personally  to  the  Peninsula  to  observe 
the  ground,  and  to  confer  with  Gen.  Magruder. 

On  his  return  through  Richmond,  he  held  a  council  of  war 
with  the  principal  officers  of  the  government,  at  which  were  pres 
ent,  by  his  request,  Gen.  Longstreet,  and  probably  Gen.  G.  W. 
Smith.  In  that  council  he  earnestly  advocated  the  policy  of  a 
general  concentration  of  forces.  He  thought  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  ought  not  to  be  taken  to  the  Peninsula,  but  placed 
in  position  to  be  able,  at  the  proper  moment,  to  throw  itself 
before  Richmond.  He  recommended  that  every  available  regi 
ment  of  the  Confederacy  within  reach  of  Richmond  should  be 
ordered  to  that  vicinity  without  delay.  And  he  was  of  opinion 
that  McClellan  should  not  be  seriously  opposed  in  his  landing  at 
Yorktown  and  progress  up  the  Peninsula,  but  that  he  should  be 
allowed  to  separate  himself  by  a  considerable  distance  from  his 
shipping,  and  then  strike  a  decisive  blow  with  all  the  power  of 
the  Confederacy.  His  counsels  did  not  prevail,  both  Mr.  Davis 
and  Gen.  Lee  dissenting;  and,  accordingly,  he  received  orders 
which  left  him  no  choice  but  to  march  his  army  from  the  Rapidan 
to  Yorktown.  Thus  again  was  the  policy  of  concentration  dis 
carded — only  to  be  forced  at  last  upon  the  government  by  the 
pressure  of  events. 

The  evacuation  of  Manassas,  which  had  been  effected  on  the 
8th  March,  had  been  executed  in  a  masterly  manner.  The 
enemy's  first  intelligence  of  the  event  was  the  smoke  which  arose 
from  the  burning  huts  of  the  soldiers.  All  the  material,  baggage 
and  stores  properly  appertaining  to  the  army  had  been  removed. 
Property  was  indeed  left,  but  it  was  of  the  sort  that  had  been 
accumulated  either  without  Gen.  Johnston's  knowledge  or  con 
sent,  or  was  in  the  form  of  irregular  and  volunteer  donations  of 
the  people  to  the  soldiers.  A  large  meat-curing  establishment, 
which  had  been  erected  by  the  government  in  the  vicinity,  was 
left,  with  a  considerable  supply  of  the  meat  which  it  contained : 
and  this,  with  some  of  the  stores  that  had  been  sent  by  States  and 
friends  to  the  soldiers,  and  much  baggage  of  the  soldiers  (the 
privates  then  had  trunks),  was  abandoned,  but  everything  was 
removed  that  belonged  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Chief  Quarter 
master  of  the  army.  Even  these  classes  of  property  would  have 
been  carried  away  but  for  a  deficiency  of  railroad  transportation. 


368  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

The  breaking  up  at  Manassas,  after  so  long  an  occupation,  was 
of  advantage.  After  it,  the  army  was  thoroughly  mobilized,  and 
became  like  the  athlete  when  stripped  for  combat. 

The  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  went  to  the  rear  of  the  Rapi- 
dan  ;  Gen.  E  well's  division  being  sent  to  the  aid  of  Jackson,  who 
commanded  another  portion  of  it  in  the  Yalley.  McClellan  was 
soon  engaged  in  transporting  his  army  of  150,000  men  to  the 
Peninsula.  He  arrived  at  Fortress  Monroe  in  person  on  the  2d 
April ;  on  hearing  of  which  event  Gen.  Johnston  marched  his 
army  into  the  Peninsula  and  took  position  in  Magruder's  lines. 
Here  he  expected  an  attack  from  the  formidable  army  which  vast 
fleets  were  landing  in  his  front ;  but  no  attack  was  made.  McClel 
lan  began  to  ditch,  and  resolved  to  carry  the  works  of  Magruder 
by  "  regular  approaches."  McClellan's  army,  on  the  spot  and 
within  call,  numbered  three  or  four  to  one  more  than  that  of 
Johnston.  The  latter  had  been  directed  to  take  command  of  the 
armies  of  the  Peninsula,  and  of  the  seaboard  at  Norfolk.  The 
march  into  the  Peninsula,  he  was  instructed,  was  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  time  to  Gen.  Huger  to  dismantle  the  fortifications 
of  the  latter  place,  destroy  the  naval  establishment,  and  evacuate 
the  seaboard. 

On  the  night  of  the  3d  May,  Johnston  abandoned  Magru 
der's  lines  in  consequence  of  ascertaining  that  batteries  for  about 
one  hundred  200-pounder  Parrott  guns  and  thirty  heavy  mortars 
were  ready  to  be  opened  upon  them ; — batteries  which  com 
manded  Yorktown,  but  were  out  of  reach  of  Magruder's  inferiour 
guns.  Gen.  Huger  had  now  also  effected  all  that  had  been  con 
templated  at  Norfolk.  The  evacuation  of  Yorktown  was  thor 
ough,  all  valuable  property  being  removed.  The  disappointment 
of  the  enemy's  engineers  in  being  cheated  of  an  interesting  and 
successful  cannonade  on  an  unusually  grand  scale,  was  excessive. 

Except  the  incidents  of  the  action  of  the  Confederate  rear 
guard  at  Williamsburg,  and  the  affair  of  Barhamsville,  the  re 
treat  of  Johnston  towards  Richmond  was  uninterrupted.  The 
leisurely  deliberation  with  which  he  was  allowed  to  march  his 
army  to  the  Confederate  capital  was  the  subject  of  severe  ani 
madversion  upon  McClellan ;  the  Committee  of  Congress  on  the 
Conduct  of  the  War  remarking  censoriously — "  The  distance  be 
tween  "Williamsburg  and  the  line  of  operations  on  the  Chicka- 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON".  369 

hominy  was  from  forty  to  fifty  miles,  and  the  army  was  about 
two  weeks  in  moving  that  distance." 

"When  Gen.  Johnston  arrived  before  Richmond,  that  city,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  threatened  from  several  directions.  McClel- 
lan  was  before  it  with  a  force  of  all  arms,  not  far  short  of  150,000 
strong ;  McDowell  was  at  Fredericksburg  with  an  army  of  30,000 ; 
Banks  in  the  lower  Yalley  with  16,000 ;  and  Fremont  making 
way  into  the  upper  Yalley  with  15,000  men.  The  entire  force 
of  Johnston,  near  and  distant,  including  Jackson  and  Ewell,  did 
not  much  exceed  60,000  fit  for  duty ;  of  whom  rather  more  than 
50,000  were  immediately  with  him.  It  was  of  the  utmost  impor 
tance  that  a  diversion  should  be  created  by  which  the  auxiliary 
armies  not  yet  with  McClellan  should  be  occupied  and  detained 
at  a  distance.  For  this  purpose  Johnston  had  some  time  before 
given  an  order  to  Gen.  Jackson  to  employ  his  discretion  as  to  the 
manner  of  best  accomplishing  the  object,  but  to  keep  the  Wash 
ington  authorities  in  such  alarm  by  his  operations  in  the  Yalley 
for  the  safety  of  their  capital,  as  to  fix  as  considerable  a  number 
as  possible  of  Federal  troops  within  call  of  that  city,  and  prevent 
their  coming  to  McClellan.  It  has  been  abundantly  stated  else 
where  with  what  consummate  skill  and  success  this  service  was 
performed  by  Jackson ;  but  Johnston's  share  in  the  glories  of 
this  campaign,  as  its  author,  although  popularly  overlooked,  is 
none  the  less  to  be  recognized  in  the  just  text  of  history.  These 
glories  are  ample  enough  for  distribution,  and,  after  the  so-vereign 
chaplet  is  gathered  for  Jackson,  "  the  Sword  of  the  Confederacy," 
there  is  enough  to  adorn  the  genius  of  Johnston  that  also  shone 
in  the  splendid  story,  and  claims  a  portion  of  its  honours. 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred,  notwithstanding  the  excessive 
caution  of  McClellan,  for  Johnston  himself  to  strike  an  impor 
tant  blow.  In  choosing  the  Pamunkey  river  as  his  base  of  action 
against  Richmond,  McClellan  had  thrown  himself  upon  a  field 
of  operations  which  was  divided  from  his  base  by  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  a  river  of  peculiarly  difficult  passage  for  military  pur 
poses,  being  flanked  by  wide  marshes  covered  with  thick  small- 
growth.  In  bringing  his  army  before  the  lines  which  defended 
the  city,  he  had  by  the  30th  May  thrown  two  of  his  corps — those 
of  Keyes  and  Heiritzelman — over  upon  the  right  bank  of  the 
river,  while  his  three  remaining  corps  were  still  on  the  left  bank. 

24 


370  GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 

For  the  passage  of  one  of  these  corps,  that  of  Simmer,  two  bridges 
had  been  constructed ;  and  there  was  no  practicable  means  by 
which  the  other  two  corps  could  effect  the  crossing  except  by  a 
detour  of  twenty-three  miles. 

The  opportunity  thus  presented  was  not  lost  by  Johnston. 
He  issued  orders  on  the  30th  for  a  battle  on  the  next  day.  Hnger 
was  to  assail  the  enemy  on  his  left  flank ;  Longstreet  and  D.  II. 
Hill  in  front,  and  G.  "W.  Smith  on  the  right  flank.  But  Long- 
Btreet  and  Hill  were  not  to  move  until  Huger  should  have  got 
into  position ;  and  G.  W.  Smith's  movements,  after  getting  into 
position,  were  to  be  contingent  upon  Longstreet's.  A  heavy  rain 
fell  on  the  night  of  the  30th,  which  Johnston  regarded  as  highly 
favourable,  as  tending  to  assure  the  impracticability  of  reinforce 
ments  being  sent  to  the  enemy  from  across  the  river ;  though,  by 
swelling  the  smaller  streams  and  softening  the  earth,  it  materially 
impeded  the  movement  of  his  own  columns. 

On  the  31st  the  attack  was  accordingly  made ;  but  made  after 
a  delay  of  several  hours.  Gen.  Huger  was  prevented  by  high 
water  from  reaching  the  position  assigned  him ;  and  Longstreet 
and  Hill,  after  waiting  several  hours  for  his  arrival  as  their  signal 
for  action,  moved  upon  the.  enemy's  position  without  it.  Though 
the  flank  movement  failed  to  be  made,  the  front  one  was  as  suc 
cessful  as  gallant,  and  the  enemy's  positions  were  carried  with 
heavy  loss  to  them.  The  delay  of  the  attack  in  front  had  post 
poned  Smith's  movement  upon  the  enemy's  right  flank  uatil  the 
afternoon.  It  was  then  made,  but  was  robbed  of  its  results  by 
the  arrival  from  beyond  the  river  of  a  part  of  Surnner's  corps, 
that  had  crossed  on  one  of  the  bridges  already  mentioned ;  the  other 
having  been  swept  away  by  the  swollen  waters  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy.  Thus  a  victory  was  won,  but  the  two  corps  were  not 
destroyed,  and  so  the  object  of  the  engagement  failed.  The  be 
haviour  of  the  Confederate  troops  was  excellent.  McClellan 
reported  his  loss  at  somewhat  less  than  6,000,  but  it  was  nearer 
ten  thousand.  The  Confederate  loss  was  four  thousand;  but 
among  the  dangerously  wounded  was  Gen.  Johnston  himself,  who 
was  struck  by  the  fragment  of  a  shell  upon  the  chest,  which 
broke  several  ribs,  severely  contused  the  lungs,  and  disabled  him 
for  more  than  twelve  months. 

The  action  of  the  31st  was  known  as  the  Battle  of  Seven 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  371 

Pines,  and  was  the  last  which  Gen.  Johnston  was  permitted  to 
fight  on  the  soil  of  his  native  State.  Himself  it  cost  dearly.  It 
cost  him  his  health  and  bodily  strength  for  more  than  a  year, 
during  part  of  which  time  he  took  upon  himself  the  labour  of 
responsible  service.  It  cost  him  what  he  prized  far  more  than 
health,  for  he  lost  the  command  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Yir- 
ginia,  to  the  formation  of  which  he  had  devoted  the  most  earnest 
labours  of  his  life. 


372  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Gen.  Johnston's  designs  against  McClellan. — Why  he  considered  his  wound  fortun 
ate  for  the  Confederacy. — Anecdote  of  a  dinner-party  in  Eichmond. — Gen.  John 
ston's  mission  to  the  West. — True  nature  of  his  appointment  and  powers. — 
Rather  a  Local  Secretary  of  War  than  a  Commanding-General. — Interesting  con 
ference  between  Gen.  Johnston  and  Secretary  Randolph. — He  proposes  to  make 
one  military  department  of  the  whole  Mississippi  Valley. — Gen.  Johnston's  visit 
to  Bragg's  Army. — The  defence  of  Vicksburg. — Antecedents  of  Gen.  Pember- 
ton. — Detailed  account  of  the  correspondence  and  relations  between  Gens.  John 
ston  and  Pemberton. — Gen.  Johnston's  orders  twice  disobeyed. — His  last  order, 
"  Hold  out,"  as  involving  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy. — Surrender  of  Yicksburg, 
and  its  train  of  consequences  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

IT  had  been  Gen.  Johnston's  intention  to  follow  up  the  advan 
tage  gained  on  the  31st  May  by  continuous  attack  upon  the  por 
tion  of  McClellan's  army  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Chickahominy, 
giving  him  no  time  to  intrench.  From  the  experiment  made,  it, 
had  been  found  that  the  Confederate  troops  were  in  admirable 
temper  for  aggressive  measures  ;  and  that  the  enemy,  just  arrived 
amid  strange  scenes  and  in  an  exposed  position,  were  in  a  mood 
very  favourable  for  being  beaten.  It  would  scarcely  have  been 
practicable  for  the  Federal  General-in-chief  to  send  reinforce 
ments  across  the  swollen  Chickahominy  as  rapidly  as  they  would 
have  been  required.  But  dispatch  was  of  the  essence  of  success 
to  Johnston's  plans  ;  and  his  untimely  fall  brought  the  campaign 
which  he  had  so  vigorously  initiated  to  an  abrupt  termination. 
In  the  few  days  of  delay  incident  to  a  change  in  the  chief  com 
mand,  McClellan  had  consolidated  his  army,  and  placed  it 
beyond  danger  from  assault  in  detail.  He  set  himself  again 
about  his  "  regular  approaches,"  in  which  he  was  not  molested, 
and  from  which  he  was  not  driven,  until  a  month  later,  when 
those  brilliant  offensive  operations  occurred,  under  Lee  and  his 
Lieutenants,  which  will  forever  shed  lustre  upon  the  arms  of  the 
Confederacy. 

These  notable   operations   were  rendered   practicable  by   a 


GENERAL   JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  373 

rapid  concentration  of  troops  in  Richmond  from  all  parts  of  the 
country ;  which  was  effected  during  the  month  of  June,  and 
which  began  immediately  after  the  Battle  of  Seven  Pines.  A 
friend  who  came  to  Richmond  on  receiving  intelligence  of  John 
ston's  injury,  and  who  attended  him  at  his  bedside,  told  him  of 
the  activity  he  had  observed  on  his  way,  in  the  movement  of 
troops  towards  Richmond.  Johnston's  countenance  immediately 
lighted  up  with  pleasure.  "  Then,"  said  he,  "  my  wound  was 
fortunate ;  it  is  the  concentration  which  I  earnestly  recom 
mended,  but  had  not  the  influence  to  effect.  Lee  has  made 
them  do  for  him  what  they  would  not  do  for  me." 

It  was  notorious  in  the  Confederacy  that  President  Davis  had 
conceived  a  strong  dislike  of  Gen.  Johnston.  The  sturdy  inde 
pendence  of  the  latter,  his  utter  disdain  of  all  personal  inter 
mediations,  were  not  to  the  President's  taste ;  the  vigour  and 
mathematical  precision  of  his  language  had  more  than  once  got 
the  better  of  Mr.  Davis'  high-flown  rhetoric  and  wounded  his 
vanity ;  and  his  severe  reprehension  of  official  pragmatism  and 
weakness  in  Richmond  had  drawn  upon  him  all  the  malicious 
and  intriguant  spirit  then  resident  in  the  Confederate  capital. 
Congressman  Foote,  in  a  recent  publication,  has  noticed  an  inter 
esting  social  event  which  took  place  in  Richmond  just  before 
the  battle  of  Seven  Pines.  "  I  chanced,"  relates  this  curious 
and  communicative  individual,  "  to  be  invited  to  a  dinner 
party,  where  some  twenty  of  the  most  prominent  members  of 
the  two  houses  of  the  Confederate  Congress  were  congregated, 
including  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Orr, 
of  South  Carolina,  and  others  of  equal  rank.  Gen.  Joseph  E. 
Johnston  was  also  an  invited  guest.  While  the  banquet  was 
proceeding,  Mr.  Benjamin's  gross  acts  of  official  misconduct 
becoming  the  subject  of  conversation,  one  of  the  company  turned 
to  Gen.  Johnston,  and  inquired  whether  he  thought  it  even 
possible  that  the  Confederate  cause  could  succeed  with  Mr.  Ben 
jamin  as  war  minister.  To  this  inquiry,  Gen.  Johnston,  after  a 
little  pause,  emphatically  responded  in  the  negative.  This  high 
authority  was  immediately  cited  in  both  houses  of  Congress 
against  Mr.  Benjamin,  and  was  in  the  end  fatal  to  his  hopes  of 
remaining  in  the  Department  of  War." 

The  unfortunate  wound  of  Gen.  Johnston  withdrew  him  for 


374  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

a  long  time  from  public  notice.  His  confinement  was  tedious 
and  full  of  suffering.  His  affliction  was  a  frightful  bruise,  in 
volving  the  fracture  of  several  ribs,  producing  an  obstinate  adhe 
sion  of  the  lungs  to  the  side,  and  a  constant  tendency  to  pleurisy. 
His  symptoms  required  the  most  active  treatment  with  bleed 
ings,  blisterings  and  depletions  of  the  system.  Long  after  he 
had  apparently  recovered,  and  felt  himself  restored  to  normal 
health,  exposure  or  exertion  would  produce  a  recurrence  of 
unpleasant  symptoms  in  the  weakened  parts.  It  was  not  until 
late  in  the  year  that  he  could  venture  to  report  himself  for  duty, 
which  he  did  with  distrust.  Even  as  late  as  March  in  the  fol 
lowing  year,  he  had  to  decline  the  personal  command  of  Gen. 
Bragg's  Army  of  Tennessee,  from  frail  health  ;  and  as  late  as 
May  7,  just  before  going  from  Tullahoma  to  Mississippi,  he 
wrote,  "  I  have  been  unfit  for  field  service,  and  find  that  I  can 
not  bear  rapid  motion — especially  that  of  a  horse." 

In  the  latter  part  of  1863,  when  Gen.  Bragg  had  retreated 
from  Kentucky,  much  popular  dissatisfaction  was  felt  with  that 
officer.  There  was  also  a  general  feeling  that  the  Confederate 
affairs  had  been  wretchedly  managed  throughout  the  "West ;  and 
there  was  a  wide-spread  desire  that-  some  officer  of  ability  and 
reputation  should  be  assigned  to  that  important  theatre,  who 
might  restore  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy  from  the  dilapi 
dation  into  which  they  were  falling.  Public  opinion  soon  be 
came  so  pronounced  in  favour  of  the  assignment  of  Gen.  John 
ston  to  the  West,  that  it  could  no  longer  be  deferred. 

His  appointment  was  not  agreeable  to  Mr.  Davis,  but  was 
made  under  the  coercion  of  public  opinion.  Orders  were  given 
to  Gen.  Johnston,  on  assigning  him  to  that  field,  of  a  peculiar 
and  unusual  character.  He  was  deputed  on  a  mission,  not  as 
signed  to  a  command.  As  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  he  was 
instructed  to  look  into  the  condition  of  affairs  there,  and  to  re 
lieve  Bragg  if  the  public  service  should  require  it.  As  to  the 
Department  of  Mississippi  and  East  Louisiana,  and  that  of  Ala 
bama,  embracing  the  army  at  Mobile,  his  mission  likewise  was 
supervisory.  In  his  own  language,  expressed  shortly  afterwards, 
in  a  private  letter  not  until  now  published,  "  Never  was  a  Gen 
eral  in  a  more  unsatisfactory  position  than  that  assigned  to  me. 
A  sort  of  supervisory  command  of  three  departments,  each  too 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON".  375 

weak  to  take  care  of  itself;  of  course,  therefore,  they  cannot 
help  each  other,  being  all  pressed  or  threatened  by  greatly  supe- 
riour  numbers.  Each  department  has  its  'peculiar  commander. 
The  object  of  the  government  was,  to  have  some  one  at  hand  to 
unite  the  forces  in  Mississippi  and  Tennessee  in  whichever  might 
be  first  attacked.  To  transfer  any  body  of  troops  of  useful  num 
ber  would  require  at  least  a  month,  yet  the  government  seems  to 
have  intended  to  operate  in  Napoleon's  manner,  without  consid 
ering  the  difference  between  the  extent  of  front  upon  which  he 
manoeuvred  and  the  distance  from  Tullahoma  to  Yicksburg.  Yet 
the  President  had  a  lesson  in  December  which  should  have 
taught  something.  "When  Pemberton  was  falling  back  in  Mis 
sissippi,  he  transferred  three  brigades  to  his  army  from  Bragg's. 
They  arrived  in  Mississippi  after  Grant  had  been  compelled  to 
fall  back  by  our  cavalry  operating  in  his  rear.  But  while  they 
were  on  the  way,  Kosecrans  attacked  Bragg  at  Murfreesboro. 
So,  these  troops  left  Tennessee  too  soon,  and  reached  Mississippi 
too  late;  a  sort  of  thing  that  may  always  happen  when  it  is  ex 
pected  that  armies  a  month  apart  shall  reinforce  each  other  on 
emergencies." 

Gen.  Johnston  was  thus  put  in  the  West,  not  with  a  com 
mand,  but  simply  as  an  officer  superiour  in  rank  to  each  of  those 
respectively  commanding,  in  order  to  do,  on  an  emergency,  just 
what  should  be  done  before  the  happening  of  the  emergency. 
True,  he  had  authority  to  assume  the  command  of  Bragg's  army, 
but  it  was  to  be  done  under  circumstances  so  invidious  as  not  to 
be  thought  of.  Up  to  that  time  Gen.  Bragg  had  simply  been 
unfortunate,  and  had  done  his  duty  according  to  the  best  of  his 
ability.  It  was  unusual  for  one  General  to  pass  condemnation 
upon  another  by  relieving  him  of  command  and  assuming  that 
command  himself.  It  was  to  be  both  judge  and  executioner. 
Johnston  was  incapable  of  performing  a  part  so  unchivalrous, 
ungenerous,  and  invidious,  and  of  such  hurtful  precedent  and  evil 
tendency.  When  he  reached  Bragg's  army  he  reported  credita 
bly  of  him,  and  disdained  to  rob  him  of  his  command. 

Thus  his  new  appointment  was  a  mission,  and  not  a  military 
command.  There  were  three  armies  in  an  equal  number  of  de 
partments  in  his  new  jurisdiction:  one  at  Mobile,  under  Gen. 
Maury ;  another  at  Murfreesboro',  under  Gen.  Bragg ;  and  the 


376  GENERAL   JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

third  about  Vicksburg,  under  Gen.  Pemberton.  He  was  nom 
inally  the  superiour  officer,  as  the  Secretary  of  War  was  the  chief 
of  all  the  Generals ;  but  his  real  control  was  naught.  He  could 
not  withdraw  the  armies  from  the  points  they  defended,  and  con 
solidate  them ;  he  could  only  reinforce  one  of  them  by  detach 
ments  from  another.  They  were  each  commanded  by  the  re 
spective  Generals  placed  over  them  by  the  President;  and  as 
every  reader  of  the  newspapers  saw  each  morning,  they  reported 
their  actions,  not  through  Gen.  Johnston,  but  directly  to  Rich 
mond.  Being  each  favourites  to  whom  the  President  was  partial, 
they  could  each  disobey  Johnston's  orders  with  impunity,  as  was 
sadly  and  conspicuously  proven  by  that  disobeyal  of  Pemberton 
which  resulted  in  shutting  up  his  army  in  Yicksburg  and  losing 
twenty-three  thousand  men  to  the  Confederacy.  Johnston  went 
to  the  West  somewhat  in  the  character  of  a  local  Secretary  of 
War. 

Before  receiving  the  formal  order  assigning  him  to  that  anoma 
lous  service,  he  was  invited  to  a  conference  with  the  then  Secre 
tary  of  War,  Mr.  Randolph,  in  his  chambers.  *  He  here  freely 
developed  his  opinions  on  the  situation  of  the  West.  He  thought 
the  entire  Mississippi  Valley  should  be  one  department,  under 
one  command.  The  Valley  was  a  unit ;  nor  did  the  river  affect 
its  unity.  The  measures  for  its  defence  ought  to  comprehend  the 
whole  Valley  and  both  sides  of  the  river.  It  ought  to  be  under 
one  command  and  one  head.  The  proper  defense  of  Vicksburg 
would  require  the  cooperation  of  troops  on  both  sides  of  the 
river ;  and  this  could  not  be  efficient  unless  both  armies  were 
under  the  direct  orders  of  one  superiour  officer.  These  should 

*  The  interview  with.  Secretary  Randolph  occurred  about  the  middle  of  Novem 
ber,  1862.  The  orders  assigning  Gen.  Johnston  to  the  West  were  dated  on  the  24th 
November,  1862.  In  his  letter  acknowledging  the  reception  of  these  two  orders,  he 
recommended  that  Gen.  Holmes'  troops  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  should  be  ordered 
to  the  Department  of  Mississippi.  Secretary  Randolph  had  issued  such  an  order, 
and  President  Davis,  on  hearing  of  it,  had  written  a  note  to  Mr.  Randolph,  directing 
a  suspension  or  revocation  of  it.  Secretary  Randolph  soon  resigned;  it  is  believed 
on  account  of  the  disagreement.  Gen.  Cooper,  Adjutant-General,  had  reported  the 
effective  force  under  Gen.  Holmes  at  over  fifty  thousand  men.  Grant  was  then  in 
vading  North  Mississippi,  and  there  were  no  Federal  troops  of  importance  known  to 
be  in  Holmes'  department  but  the  garrison  at  Helena.  The  orders  of  Gen.  Johnston 
for  the  "West,  as  signed  by  Secretary  Seddon  (Secretary  Randolph  having  resigned 
before  they  were  issued),  directed  him  to  make  his  headquarters  at  Chattanooga. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON".  377 

proceed  from  a  General  in  the  field,  and  near  to  the  scene  of  ac 
tion.  He  thought  that,  by  concentration,  the  offensive  should  be 
assumed  in  Tennessee.  In  these  views  Secretary  Eandolph  ex 
pressed  himself  as  fully  concurring ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  ser 
vices  of  that  sterling  officer  were  in  a  few  days  lost  to  the  Con 
federacy  by  his  resignation  and  retirement  from  the  War  Depart 
ment.  Immediately  after  this  conference,  Johnston  proceeded 
on  his  Western  mission. 

After  visiting  Bragg's  army,  and  advising  the  retention  of 
that  General  in  command,  he  proceeded  to  Alabama  and  Missis 
sippi  for  the  purpose  of  looking  personally  into  the  condition  of 
the  service ;  spending  at  first  most  of  his  time  at  Jackson.  The 
subject  here  invites  to  a  description  of  the  country  which  he  was 
to  supervise,  the  armies  which  he  was  to  look  after,  and  the 
complicated  dangers  of  which  he  was  to  admonish.  But  that 
task  belongs  to  regular  history,  and  exceeds  the  province  of  a 
memoir;  which  concerns  itself  more  immediately  with  the  man, 
and  the  impress  he  made  upon  his  times.  With  the  details  of 
military  operations  he  had  little  to  do.  Nor  were  there  any  very 
important  occurrences  that  marked  the  interim  of  winter  and  early 
spring  between  his  arrival  in  the  West  and  his  assumption  of 
command  in  the  field  before  Jackson  in  the  succeeding  May, 
under  the  painful  circumstances  about  to  be  reviewed. 

While  in  Mobile,  on  the  12th  March,  1863,  he  received  an 
order  to  repair  at  once  to  Tullahoma,  in  Middle  Tennessee,  thence 
to  order  Gen.  Bragg  to  Richmond,  and  to  take  command  of  that 
army.  He  immediately  proceeded  to  Tullahoma.  His  own 
state  of  health  proved  to  be  such  as  to  unfit  him  for  field-service , 
and  for  this  and  other  reasons,  Gen.  Bragg  could  not  be  spared. 
These  facts  he  reported  in  Richmond. 

From  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Tullahoma,  until  the  14th 
April,  the  reports  of  Gen.  Pemberton  from  Yicksburg,  all  by 
telegraph,  indicated  quietude  in  that  direction,  and  a  belief  that 
the  efforts  of  the  enemy  were  directed  against  Gen.  Bragg  rather 
than  himself.  He  seemed  to  share  the  then  prevailing  popular 
impression,  that  the  operations  of  Gen.  Grant  against  Yicksburg, 
which  had  been  unsuccessful  at  Milliken's  Bend,  above  the  city, 
had  been  suspended.  By  April  15,  this  impression  had  be 
come  so  fixed  that  Pemberton  telegraphed  to  Johnston: — "I  am 


378  GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

satisfied  Rosecrans  will  be  reinforced  from  Grant's  army.  Shall  I 
order  troops  to  Tullahoma?"  By  the  17th,  Grant  had  reappeared 
in  another  quarter,  had  changed  his  position  from  above  Yicks- 
burg,  and  gone  below,  where  he  had  recommenced  operations. 
Big  Black  River,  a  deep  sluggish  river,  flanked  by  marshes,  runs 
in  the  rear  of  Yicksburg,  and  empties  into  the  Mississippi  below 
it  at  Grand  Gulf.  Off  from  Grand  Gulf,  in  a  south-east  direc 
tion,  on  a  bayou,  is  Port  Gibson,  at  more  than  a  day's  march  dis 
tance  from  the  Mississippi.  On  the  29th,  advices  came  from 
Pemberton  that  Grant  was  at  Hard  Times,  on  the  west,  with  an 
apparent  purpose  of  crossing  to  Bruinsburg,  on  the  east  bank  of 
the  Mississippi.  On  the  1st  May,  Pemberton  advised  by  telegraph, 
that  "a  furious  battle  was  going  on  since  daylight,  just  below  Port 
Gibson."  He  continued,  "  I  should  have  large  reinforcements. 
Enemy's  movements  threaten  Jackson,  and  if  successful  [will] 
cut  off  Yicksburg  and  Port  Hudson."  Gen.  Johnston  at  once 
urged  him  to  concentrate  and  to  attack  Grant  immediately  on 
his  landing.  On  the  next  day  the  order  was  repeated  in  the  fol 
lowing  memorable  words :  "  If  Grant  crosses,  unite  all  your  troops 
to  beat  him.  Success  will  give  back  what  was  abandoned  to  win 
it."  Gen.  Johnston  remained  at  Tullahoma  long  enough  to  cor 
respond  by  telegraph  with  the  government  at  Richmond,  inform 
ing  them  that  reinforcements  could  not  be  spared  from  Bragg 
"  without  giving  up  Tennessee,"  and  urging  as  many  brigades  to 
be  spared  from  the  East  as  possible.  Hearing  by  the  5th  nothing 
of  the  battle  at  Port  Gibson,  from  Pemberton,  he  asked  by  tele 
graph,  "  what  is  the  result,  and  where  is  Grant's  army?"  but 
received  no  reply,  and  knew  nothing  of  what  was  transpiring 
until  he  reached  Jackson,  on  May  13 ;  whither  he  repaired 
with  all  speed  immediately  on  receiving  orders  to  that  effect  from 
Richmond,  dated  on  the  9th  May.  In  a  private  letter  writ 
ten  at  Tullahoma  on  May  7 —  the  same  letter  from  which  an 
extract  has  been  given  on  a  preceding  page,  and  which  should 
now  be  referred  to  as  deriving  a  greater  significance  from  the 
circumstances  which  surrounded  him — he  wrote  :  "  Mississippi  is 
invaded  by  an  army  fifty  per  cent,  greater  than  ours,  and  our 
General  can't  comprehend  that  by  attempting  to  defend  all  valu 
able  points  at  once,  he  exposes  his  troops  to  be  beaten  every 
where.  I  have  urged  him  to  concentrate  to  light  Grant ;  but 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTOtf  JOHNSTON.  379 

with  no  hope  that  he  will  regard  a  suggestion  of  mine."  It 
turned  out  that  the  invasion  was  by  an  army  more  than  two 
hundred  per  cent,  greater  than  the  opposing  one.  It  is  now  time 
to  understand  who  Lieut-Gen.  John  C.  Pemberton  was,  whom 
Gen.  Grant  had  thus  so  misled  and  surprised. 

He  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  and,  in  the  old  service,  had 
been  a  captain  without  distinction ;  had  graduated  an  engineer; 
had  become  commissary ;  and  for  some  time  had  acted  as  aide-de 
camp.  Until  his  appearance  in  Mississippi,  it  is  stated  that  he 
had  never  commanded  troops  in  action ;  not  a  regiment,  not  a 
company,  not  a  man.  Some  time  after  the  fall  of  Fort  Surnter, 
he  resigned  and  came  to  the  South ;  was  made  a  colonel,  and  be 
came  chief  of  Gen.  Huger's  artillery  at  Norfolk.  He  found  no 
opportunity  in  the  stationary  campaign  near  that  city  to  demon 
strate  a  military  superiority ;  but  he  was  soon  a  Brigadier ;  then 
a  Major-General ;  then  in  command  of  an  army,  and  of  an  inde 
pendent  post  no  less  important  than  that  of  Charleston.  Here 
he  had  no  fighting  to  do,  but  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  become 
disagreeable  to  the  country  he  was  in.  Nevertheless,  he  was 
selected  for  one  of  the  seven  great  commissions  authorized  by 
the  Confederate  Congress,  and  made  a  Lieutenant-General  over 
the  head  of  Gustavus  W.  Smith,  who  had  been  esteemed  in  the 
old  army  the  superiour  of  Gen.  McClellan  ;  over  D.  H.  Hill,  the 
hero  of  Boonsboro ;  over  A.  P.  Hill,  the  Blucher  of  Sharpsburg, 
whose  name  rose  like  a  star  in  the  bulletin  from  every  battle 
field,  until  it  went  out  with  the  lost  cause  at  the  final  battles 
before  Petersburg ;  over  all  the  brilliant  young  Southern  men 
who  had  really  done  the  fighting  of  the  war.  E"or  was  that  all, 
nor  the  worst.  To  the  astonishment  of  beholders,  he  was  placed 
over  the  Department  of  Mississippi  and  East  Louisiana,  and  in 
the  command  at  Yicksburg.  Much  was  felt,  but  nothing  was 
said  about  it  at  the  time.  The  most  serious  matters  were  then 
passed  over  without  discussion,  because  of  the  obligation  which 
all  men  felt  to  bear  and  forbear,  as  much  as  safety  would  permit, 
until  the  war  was  over.  Up  to  the  affairs  before  Yicksburg,  he 
had  inspired  no  confidence  in  the  population  of  Mississippi,  or 
in  the  troops  of  his  department.  It  has  been  shown  that  Gen. 
Johnston  gave  orders  to  him  in  no  hope  that  they  would  be  either 
understood  or  obeyed. 


380  GENERAL   JOSEPH   EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 

Gen.  Johnston  bad  been  peremptorily  ordered  to  Tullaboma 
in  March,  in  consequence  of  unpleasant  relations  which  subsisted 
between  Gen.  Bragg  and  several  of  bis  principal  officers.  From 
tbis  position  be  did  not  receive  orders  transferring  him  to  Missis 
sippi,  until  the  9th  May,  when  affairs  there  bad  grown  des 
perate.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  had  not  been  sent  sooner. 
"When  a  bad  chess-player  has  already  lost  a  game,  the  greatest 
master  cannot  always  take  his  pieces  and  redeem  it.  The  rein 
forcements  he  solicited  from  the  East  could  not  be  spared  from 
within  reach  of  Virginia ;  the  disastrous  invasion  which  culmi 
nated  at  Gettysburg  being  then  in  preparation. 

It  had  been  his  opinion,  from  the  beginning,  that  the  offensive 
should  be  assumed  in  Tennessee,  which  he  regarded  as  the  "  shield 
of  the  South ; "  and  by  May,  at  latest,  he  had  become  convinced 
that  Yicksburg  had  lost  its  chief  value,  from  the  fact  that  steam 
ers  had  already  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  most  formidable  batteries 
on  the  Mississippi,  and  had  virtually  opened  that  river  to  the 
enemy's  naval  operations.  He  had  some  time  before  remonstrat 
ed  earnestly  against  the  transfer  of  the  three  brigades  which 
have  been  mentioned,  from  Tennessee  to  Mississippi ;  and  he  went 
now  to  the  latter  State,  determined,  since  the  government  so  in 
sisted,  to  defend  Yicksburg,  but  to  do  so  by  operating  in  the  open 
field ;  and,  at  all  events,  to  save  its  army,  if  it  should  prove  out 
of  his  power  to  save  both  army  and  town.  The  secondary  object 
became  impracticable  from  the  greatly  preponderating  army  of 
Gen.  Grant,  which  proved  to  be  little  short,  all  told,  of  80,000 
men.  The  primary  object  failed,  in  consequence  of  a  fatal  diso 
bedience  of  orders  on  the  part  of  Gen.  Pemberton. 

Gen.  Johnston  learned  on  his  arrival  at  Jackson,  on  May 
13,  that  Gen.  Grant  had  beaten  Gen.  Bowen,  after  a  gallant 
resistance,  at  Port  Gibson ;  had  occupied  Grand  Gulf,  and  was 
marching  upon  the  Jackson  and  Vicksburg  railroad.  He  found 
six  thousand  men  at  Jackson,  and  learned  that  five  thousand 
others  would  join  him  the  next  day.  Gen.  Pemberton's  force 
was  at  Edward's  Ferry,  east  of  the  Big  Black,  nearer  to  Yicks 
burg  than  to  Jackson ;  the  General  himself  was  west  of  the  Big 
Black,  at  Bovina,  closer  still  to  Yicksburg.  Four  divisions  of 
the  enemy,  under  Sherman,  were  at  Clinton,  ten  miles  west  of 
Jackson,  between  Pemberton  and  the  Confederate  forces  at  Jack- 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  381 

son  ;  and  other  large  forces  of  the  enemy  were  south-west  of  Clin 
ton,  about  Raymond,  and  in  the  direction  of  Bruinsburg.  This 
situation  of  affairs  had  already  rendered  the  case  of  Yicksburg 
desperate ;  and  the  evident  policy  was  either  to  attack  Sherman, 
front  and  rear,  and  crush  him,  or  to  combine  the  two  fragments 
of  the  Confederate  army  at  some  point  north  of  the  line  of  rail 
road,  the  enemy's  army  and  base  being  on  the  south  of  it. 

Gen.  Johnston,  therefore,  on  the  night  of  his  reaching  Jack 
son,  in  the  same  dispatch  in  which  he  informed  Pemberton  of 
his  arrival,  ordered  him  to  come  upon  Sherman's  rear  at  once, 
promising  that  he  would  himself  cooperate  in  front ;  and  adding: 
"  To  beat  such  a  detachment  would  be  of  immense  value.  The 
troops  here  could  cooperate.  All  the  strength  you  can  quickly 
assemble  should  be  brought.  Time  is  all  important."  He  set 
himself  immediately  about  removing  the  public  stores  from 
Jackson,  which  he  had  effected  by  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  next  day.  The  enemy  on  that  day,  the  14th,  advanced  on 
Jackson,  from  Clinton  and  from  Raymond,  which  latter  place  is 
south-west  of  Jackson,  on  the  road  from  Grand  Gulf.  At  the 
hour  named,  it  had  become  necessary  for  Gen.  Johnston,  with 
the  commands  of  Bragg,  Gens.  Gregg  and  Maxcy,  eleven 
thousand  strong,  to  move  out  of  Jackson,  which  he  did  by  a 
northward  road,  and  encamped  six  miles  from  the  town.  Rein 
forcements  were  then  making  their  way  towards  him  from  the 
east,  which  he  hoped  would  be  able  to  prevent  the  enemy  in 
Jackson  from  drawing  supplies  from  that  direction  ;  while  his 
own  force  would  cut  off  supplies  from  the  direction  of  Panola  to 
the  north.  Of  these  facts  he  informed  Gen.  Pemberton  by  a 
dispatch  dated  on  the  afternoon  of  the  14th,  in  which,  after  allud 
ing  to  his  hope  of  driving  the  enemy  out  of  Jackson,  by  catting 
off  his  supplies  from  the  east  and  north,  he  asked: — "Can  he 
supply  himself  from  the  Mississippi  ?  Can  you  not  cut  him  off 
from,  it?  And  above  all,  should  he  be  compelled  to  fall  back  for 
want  of  supplies,  beat  him  ?  As  soon  as  the  reinforcements  are 
all  up,  they  must  be  united  to  the  rest  of  the  army.  I  am  anx 
ious  to  see  a  force  assembled  that  may  be  able  to  inflict  a  heavy 
blow  upon  the  enemy.  *  *  *  *.  Gen.  Gregg  will  move  to 
wards  Canton  to-morrow.  If  prisoners  tell  the  truth,  the  forces  at 
Jackson  must  be  half  of  Grant's  army.  It  would  decide  the 


382  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

campaign  to  beat  it,  which  can  be  done  only  ~by  concentrating, 
especially  when  the  remainder  of  the  eastern  troops  arrive ;  they 
are  to  be  twelve  or  thirteen  thousand."  In  the  same  dispatch 
he  directed  that  the  "  forces  to  supply  Yicksburg  "  should  be  so 
disposed  that  they  might  unite,  if  opportunity  to  fight  should 
present  itself.  With  the  eleven  thousand  already  with  Johnston, 
the  number  which  could  have  been  concentrated  would  have 
been  nearly  30,000 ;  the  movement  westward  was  for  the  pur 
pose  of  favouring  a  junction  with  the  twelve  thousand  additional 
troops  coming  from  the  East.  This  important  dispatch  was  not 
answered,  not  having  been  received  until  more  than  forty-eight 
hours  after  its  inditement ;  Gen.  Pemberton  having,  by  a  dis 
obedience  of  the  preceding  order,  got  entangled  into  an  unin 
tended  engagement  with  the  enemy,  which  prevented  the  possi 
bility  of  such  a  combination  of  forces  as  Johnston  had  devised, 
and  which  compelled  his  retirement  within  the  lines  of  Yicks 
burg.  On  the  15th  Johnston  marched  ten  and  a  half  miles  to 
Calhoun  station,  where  he  at  length  received  a  communication 
from  Pemberton,  which  if  it  did  not  altogether  surprise,  filled 
him  with  distress.  He  immediately  ordered  him  to  move 
directly  to  Clinton. 

General  Pemberton's  letter  was  dated  on  the  14th,  at  5.40 
P.M.,  and  read  as  follows  : — "  I  shall  move,  as  early  to-morrow 
morning  as  possible,  a  column  of  seventeen  thousand  to  Dillon's 
[which  was  in  the  direction  of  Eaymond].  The  object  is  to  cut 
off  enemy's  communications,  and  force  him  to  attack  me,  as  I  do 
not  consider  my  force  sufficient  to  justify  an  attack  on  the  enemy 
in  position,  or  to  attempt  to  cut  my  way  to  Jackson."  This  was 
written  at  Edward's  Depot,  ten  hours  after  his  receiving  John 
ston's  order  to  move  upon  Clinton  as  quickly  as  possible  ;  which 
had  been  given  with  a  view  to  a  combination  of  their  two  forces, 
which  could  have  been  effected  on  the  15th.  Instead  of  such  a 
combination,  that  day  was  to  witness  a  march  of  17,000  men  in 
a  different  direction,  involving  a  fatal  dispersion  of  forces,  fol 
lowed  by  a  train  of  irremediable  disasters.  What  made  this  dis- 
obeyal  of  orders  more  aggravating  was,  that  it  had  been  com 
mitted  after  calling  a  council  of  war,  composed  of  all  his  Gener 
als  present;  a  majority  of  whom  had  advised  obedience.  How 
prescient  had  been  the  remark  of  Johnston,  in  his  unofficial  let- 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  383 

ter  from  Tullahoma,— "  I  liave  urged  him  to  concentrate  to  fight 
Grant,  with  no  hope  that  he  will  regard  a  suggestion  of  mine !  " 

Gen.  Grant,  having  heard  of  Pemberton's  movement,  directed 
against  him  the  two  corps  of  McClernand  and  McPherson, 
and  ordered  Sherman  to  evacuate  Jackson  and  take  a  similar 
direction.  By  the  night  of  the  16th,  Pemberton  was  still 
on  the  road  to  Eaymond,  heavily  beset  by  vastly  superiour 
forces  of  the  enemy.  In  the  morning  he  had  received  Gen. 
Johnston's  second  order  to  move  directly  to  Clinton  ;  and  at  six 
P.M.  he  received  Johnston's  order  of  the  afternoon  of  the  14th, 
directing  a  concentration  of  troops  northward  of  the  railroad. 
The  order  received  in  the  morning  he  disobeyed.  On  receiving 
the  older  one  in  the  evening,  Pemberton  issued  an  order  for  a 
countermarch,  and  informed  Johnston  of  the  fact,  as  also  that 
heavy  skirmishing  was  then  going  on  in  his  front.  But  he  had 
gone  too  far ;  he  was  unable  to  retrace  his  steps ;  the  enemy 
had  cut  him  off  from  Johnston  ;  he  was  already  involved  in  the 
necessity  of  fighting  a  battle  the  next  day.  This  was  fought  in  a 
bend  of  Baker's  Creek ;  and  he  suffered  a  heavy  loss  in  brave 
men  and  able  officers,  among  whom  was  Gen.  Tilghman.  Gen. 
Loring  was  cut  off  and  made  his  way  to  Johnston,  after  losing 
his  artillery.  The  rest  were  forced  back  to  the  Big  Black,  and 
took  a  strong  position  on  the  east  bank,  in  a  bend  of  the  river. 
But  the  troops  had  become  too  much  disheartened  by  these  ap 
palling  blunders  to  make  a  fight.  They  left  their  position  at 
the  first  onset  from  the  enemy  and  went  within  the  lines  of 
Yicksburg,  leaving  eighteen  field-pieces  to  the  victors.  Pem 
berton  reports  that  the  retreat  "  became  a  matter  of  sauve  qui 
pent."  It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  the  17th  May,  that  they 
reached  the  shelter  of  the  Yicksburg  earthworks.  On  the  same 
day,  Gen.  Johnston  was  marching  fifteen  miles  westward  hoping 
to  find  them,  but  uncertain  where  they  were. 

The  fate  of  Yicksburg  was  then  sealed.  It  was  a  trap  to  have 
been  avoided,  and  not  sought.  But  with  singular  infatuation, 
Gen.  Pemberton  had  persisted  in  regarding  it  as  his  final  shelter 
from  all  disasters.  Gen.  Johnston  afterwards,  in  an  official 
report,  wrote  truly  :  "  Had  the  battle  of  Baker's  Creek  not  been 
fought,  Gen.  Pemberton's  belief  that  Yicksburg  was  his  base, 
rendered  his  ruin  inevitable.  He  would  still  have  been  besieged, 


384:  GENERAL   JOSEPH   EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 

and  therefore  captured.  The  larger  force  he  would  have  carried 
into  the  lines  would  have  added  to  and  hastened  the  catas 
trophe.  His  disasters  were  due,  not  merely  to  his  entangling 
himself  with  the  advancing  columns  of  a  superiour  and  unobserv 
ed  enemy,  hut  to  his  evident  determination  to  be  besieged  in 
"Vicksburg,  instead  of  manoeuvring  to  prevent  a  siege." 

In  reply  to  the  communication  in  which  Gen.  Pemberton  in 
formed  him  of  his  intended  withdrawal  within  the  lines  of  Vicks- 
burg,  Gen.  Johnston  wrote  at  once,  on  May  17  :  "  If  Haynes' 
Bluff  be  untenable,  Yicksburg  is  of  no  value,  and  cannot  be  held. 
If,  therefore,  you  are  invested  in  Vicksburg,  you  must  ultimately 
surrender.  Under  such  circumstances,  instead  of  losing  both 
troops  and  place,  you  must,  if  possible,  save  the  troops.  If  it  is 
not  too  late,  evacuate  Vicksburg  and  its  dependencies,  and  march  to 
the  north-east.'1'  But  Gen.  Pemberton  went  back  into  Yicksburg. 

These  events  and  records  leave  no  doubt  of  the  judgment 
proper  to  be  rendered  upon  them.  There  is  no  room  for  contro 
versy  on  the  subject,  although  until  after  Gen.  Johnston's  official 
narration  of  them  was  published,  which  was  not  permitted  until 
the  following  year,  much  was  indulged  in.  The  friends  of  Gen. 
Pemberton,  following  that  officer  himself,  laid  much  stress  upon 
the  language  employed  in  Gen.  Johnston's  dispatch  of  May  14, 
alluding  to  the  enemy's  supplies  while  at  Jackson,  and  asking  if 
Gen.  Pemberton  "  could  not  cut  him  off"  from  the  Mississippi — 
a  dispatch  which  had  not  been  received  until  the  second  day 
after  the  fatal  movement  towards  Dillon's  had  been  made,  but 
which  was  claimed  to  have  suggested  the  very  movement  which 
Gen.  Pemberton  had  resolved  upon  before  receiving  it.  But 
Gen.  Johnston  repels  this  pretension,  by  saying,  in  his  report : 
"  "When  the  enemy  was  at  Jackson,  the  letter  [of  the  14th]  sug 
gested  a  movement  for  the  sole  purpose  of  dislodging  him,  and 
so  stated.  Gen.  Pemberton's  march,  with  whatever  purpose 
made,  was  begun  after  the  enemy  had  abandoned  Jackson,  and 
was  almost  in  his  presence.  My  order  of  the  15th,  at  which  time 
I  should  have  joined  Gen.  Pemberton  to  take  immediate  com 
mand  of  the  main  army,  but  that  I  was  till  too  weak  to  attempt 
such  a  ride,  which  was  received  by  him  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  16th,  required  him  to  abandon  that  movement.  Had  he 
obeyed  it,  the  battle  of  Baker's  Creek  would  have  been  escaped." 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  385 

The  trapping  of  Gen.  Pemberton  in  Yicksburg  had  been  the 
inevitable  result  of  two  disobediences  of  orders — the  order  of  the 
13th  to  attack  Sherman  in  front  at  Clinton,  and  the  order  of  the 
15th  to  move  directly  to  Clinton,  whence  Sherman  had  removed 
to  Jackson  the  day  before.  The  loss  of  Yicksburg,  which  had 
ceased  to  be  a  position  of  peculiar  military  value,  was  thus  ren 
dered  unavoidable.  We  are  now  to  witness  another  disobedience 
of  orders,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  the  army  of  Yicksburg. 

"  Convinced,"  says  Gen.  Johnston,  "  of  the  impossibility  of 
collecting  a  sufficient  force  to  break  the  investment  of  Yicksburg, 
should  it  be  completed  ;  appreciating  the  difficulty  of  extricating 
the  garrison,  and  persuaded  that  Yicksburg  and  Port  Hudson 
had  lost  most  of  their  value  by  the  repeated  passage  of  armed 
vessels  and  transports,  I  ordered  the  evacuation  of  both  places. 
Gen.  Gordon  did  not  receive  this  order  before  the  investment 
of  Port  Hudson,  if  at  all.  Gen.  Pemberton  set  aside  this  order, 
under  the  advice  of  a  council  of  war ;  and  though  he  had  in 
Yicksburg  eight  thousand  fresh  troops,  not  demoralized  by 
defeat,  decided  that  it  was  impossible  to  withdraw  the  army  from 
the  position  with  such  morale  and  material  as  to  be  of  further 
service  to  the  Confederacy,  but  '  to  hold  Yicksburg  as  long  as 
possible,  with  the  firm  hope  that  the  Government  may  yet  be 
able  to  assist  me  in  keeping  this  obstruction  to  the  enemy's  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi  River.'  Yicksburg,"  he  went  on 
to  say,  "  was  greatly  imperilled  when  my  instructions  from 
Tullahoma  to  concentrate  were  neglected.  It  was  lost  when 
my  orders  of  the  13th  and  15th  May  were  disobeyed.  To  this 
loss  were  added  the  labour,  privations,  and  certain  capture  of  a 
gallant  army,  when  my  orders  for  its  evacuation  were  set  aside." 

The  investment  of  Yicksburg  by  Gen.  Grant,  with  an  army 
double  the  size  of  the  Yicksburg  garrison  and  of  all  under  Gen. 
Johnston's  immediate  command  combined,  was  speedily  com 
pleted.  By  a  letter  from  Gen.  Pemberton,  dated  the  17th,  at 
Yicksburg,  and  received  on  the  18th,  Gen.  Johnston  was  informed 
that  he  had  ordered  Haynes'  Bluff  to  be  abandoned,  and  that  he 
had  retired  within  the  intrenchments  of  Yicksburg.  He  added 
reproachfully,  "  I  greatly  regret  that  I  felt  compelled  to  make  an 
advance  beyond  the  Big  Black,  which  has  proved  so  disastrous 
in  its  results,"  as  if  his  army  was  not  already  at  Edward's  Depot, 

25 


386  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

seven  or  eight  miles  east  of  the  Big  Black,  expecting  a  battle 
there  as  early  as  the  12th,  a  day  before  Gen.  Johnston's  arrival 
at  Jackson. 

There  was  nothing  now  left  to  be  done  but  to  extricate  the 
garrison  ;  or,  failing  the  attempt,  to  hold  the  position  so  long  that 
disease  and  fever  should  work  such  havoc  among  the  besieging 
Lost,  as  to  make  its  capture  cost  him  more  than  victory  was  worth. 
But  Gen.  Johnston's  greatest  desire  was  to  concert  some  plan  by 
which,  his  own  army  assisting,  the  garrison  might  be  enabled  to 
eifect  its  escape.  Cooperation  was  also  hoped  for,  and,  through 
Richmond,  ordered,  from  the  troops  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  de 
partment. 

A  stringent  siege  and  vigorous  series  of  assaults  were  inau 
gurated  against  Yicksburg  by  the  besieging  army.  They  were 
repulsed  with  as  much  facility  as  gallantry.  They  were  accom 
panied  with  such  terrible  loss  to  the  assailants,  and  were  so  in 
nocuous  to  the  assailed  and  their  fortifications,  that  they  soon 
demonstrated  to  the  learned  and  unlearned  in  military  affairs, 
that  Yicksburg  was  one  of  those  places  so  fashioned  by  nature 
and  art  as  not  to  be  taken  by  assault.  The  Federal  General,  hav 
ing  satisfied  himself  of  the  inefticacy  of  all  other  methods,  soon 
determined  that  a  long  siege,  a  circumvallation  and  complete 
blockade,  were  the  only  means  by  which  the  town  could  be 
touched.  He  erected  extensive  batteries,  built  a  military  road, 
and  protected  his  external  lines  from  the  operations  of  Gen. 
Johnston  by  a  gigantic  ditch  and  abattis,  which  were  themselves 
protected  by  the  difficult  bottoms  and  channel  of  the  Big  Black 
River. 

Gen.  Johnston,  expecting  a  compliance  with  his  orders  for  the 
evacuation  of  Yicksburg,  dated  on  the  17th,  moved  with  his  force 
to  Yernon,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  junction  with  Pember- 
ton,  but  there  received  a  reply,  stating  that  a  different  course  had 
been  resolved  on.  To  this  information  he  replied :  "  I  am  trying 
to  gather  a  force  which  may  attempt  to  relieve  you.  Hold  out." 
And  then,  by  easy  marches,  he  moved  in  the  direction  of  Jack- 
eon  and  Canton,  in  order  to  reestablish  his  communications,  ex 
pecting  reinforcements  from  the  eastward. 

The  force  now  under  his  command  was  an  unprovided  body 
X)f  troops,  assembled  hurriedly  from  different  directions,  under 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  ^387 

the  pressure  of  the  occasion,  without  the  numbers,  or  consistency, 
or  any  of  the  furniture  of  an  army.  His  business  was  first  to 
create,  out  of  the  scanty  material  in  hand,  an  army  which  should 
be  capable  of  acting  offensively  against  another  three  times  its 
number,  strongly  intrenched,  furnished  with  the  most  abundant 
and  approved  appliances  of  modern  warfare,  and  posted  in  the 
rear  of  a  considerable  river.  By  the  4th  June,  the  little  force 
which  he  was  organizing  into  an  army  had  grown  to  the  dimen 
sions  of  twenty -four  thousand  infantry  and  artillery,  and  two 
thousand  cavalry.  But  it  was  still  deficient  in  artillery,  in  am 
munition  for  all  arms,  and  in  field  transportation.  It  was  pecu 
liarly  unadapted  for  operations  against  a  superiour  force  already 
intrenched,  in  an  unassailable  position. 

With  this  army,  which  was  not  materially  increased  after 
wards,  Gen.  Johnston  hoped  to  be  able  to  give  such  assistance  as 
to  create  an  opportunity  for  the  escape  of  the  garrison ;  and  he 
simultaneously  informed  both  the  Department  at  Richmond  and 
Gen.  Pemberton  that  this  was  his  only  hope  and  only  plan. 
Meantime,  Milliken's  Bend,  above  Yicksburg,  had  been  captured 
by  troops  from  the  Trans-Mississippi  army  ;  and  Gen.  Kirby  Smith, 
commanding  on  that  side,  had  instructed  Gen.  Richard  Taylor, 
at  Richmond,  Louisiana,  to  endeavour  to  open  communications 
with  Yicksburg,  with  eight  thousand  men.  On  the  22d  June 
Gen.  Johnston  got  advices  from  Gen.  Pemberton,  dated  on  the 
15th,  stating  that  he  could  hold  out  twenty  days  longer ;  to  which 
he  replied,  informing  him  of  Gen.  Taylor's  intended  movement, 
and  adding  that  he  would  in  a  day  or  two  make  a  diversion  in 
his  favour,  though  it  would  be  with  only  two-thirds  of  the  force 
which  Gen.  Pemberton  had  stated  to  be  the  least  with  which  it 
ought  to  be  attempted.  On  the  29th  of  June,  field  transportation 
and  supplies  having  been  at  length  obtained,  Gen.  Johnston 
marched  westward,  and  on  the  1st  July  encamped  near  the 
Big  Black.  While  here,  arduous  and  careful  reconnoissances 
were  made,  first  on  the  north  of  the  railroad,  and  these  proving 
unsuccessful,  then  on  the  south  of  it,  with  a  view  to  an  attack. 
On  the  3d,  intelligence  was  sent  to  Gen.  Pemberton  of  his  inten 
tion  to  attack  on  the  7th ;  but  on  the  5th  the  tidings  were  received 
of  the  memorable  surrender  which  had  taken  place  on  the  day 
before ! 


388  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON   JOHNSTON. 

As  the  officer  in  command  had  manifested  so  persistent  a  pur 
pose  to  hold  Yicksburg,  and  to  sacrifice  so  many  considerations 
to  that  one  object,  these  tidings  gave  Gen.  Johnston  a  painful 
surprise.  The  capitulation,  in  the  event  of  a  failure  of  the  gar 
rison  to  cut  its  way  out,  was  of  course  an  event  inevitable.  It 
was  so  thought  to  be  by  himself  and  the  public.  It  was  not 
supposed  that  a  position,  so  wedged  in  between  navigable  rivers, 
could  withstand  to  the  end  a  power  combined  from  every  avail 
able  resource  of  the  enemy.  It  was  the  abruptness  of  the  sur 
render  that  was  complained  of;  and  the  dissatisfaction  was 
heightened  by  the  selection  that  was  made  of  the  day  for  the 
performance  of  that  solemnity.  The  public  did  not  desire  a  use 
less  postponement  of  an  event  inevitable.  Much  was  to  be  gained 
by  chaining  Gen.  Grant  down  to  the  siege  for  as  long  a  time  as 
possible,  in  the  midsummer  of  a  most  critical  campaign.  It 
would  occupy,  for  the  time  being,  an  army  of  the  enemy  esti 
mated  at  from  60,000  to  100,000  strong.  It  would  hold  that 
army  pent  up  in  an  unhealthy  locality,  where  the  climate  would 
soon  have  put  it  in  a  condition  unfit  for  offensive  operations  for 
the  residue  of  the  campaign.  It  would  give  time  to  the  authori 
ties  of  the  Confederacy  to  organize  an  army  under  Johnston  fully 
adequate  to  the  vital  purpose  of  the  defense  of  the  Gulf  States. 
It  would  prevent  reinforcements  from  being  sent  to  Rosecrans, 
and  save  Tennessee,  that  "shield  of  the  South,"  as  the  event 
proved.  It  would  afford  time  for  Johnston  to  educate  to  his 
hand  another  constellation  of  officers,  whose  names  should  be  a 
counterpart  to  those  of  Ewell,  Jackson,  the  Hills,  Stuart,  Rodes, 
and  others,  whom  he  had  left  in  Virginia.  The  importance  of 
time  to  Gen.  Johnston's  condition  could  not  be  calculated.  It 
was  in  this  point  of  view  that  a  protracted  resistance  at  Yicks 
burg,  even  at  the  expense  of  hardship  and  privation  to  its  brave 
garrison,  had  become  a  matter  of  the  gravest  importance.  It 
could  avail,  indeed,  nothing  for  Yicksburg,  but  it  would  save  the 
Gulf  States.  Gen.  Johnston  did  not  often  waste  words.  But  in 
that  order, "  Holdout"  was  embraced  the  fate  of  the  Confederacy. 

The  tidings  of  the  fall  of  Yicksburg  gave  not  only  distress  and 
disappointment  to  the  Southern  people,  but  it  gave  offence;  and  to 
the  circumstance  that  it  was  arranged  to  occur  on  the  4th  of  July, 
was  added  the  announcement,  soon  after,  that  immense  supplies  of 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  389 

ammunition,  clothing,  bacon,  sugar,  molasses,  salt,  were  found  in 
the  place  by  the  enemy. 

The  natural  corollaries  of  the  surrender  were  numerous  and 
mournful: — the  attack  on  and  defense  of  Jackson,  and  with 
drawal  of  Johnston  to  Meridian ;  the  brilliant  but  fruitless  bat 
tle  of  Chickamauga ;  the  misfortune  of  Missionary  Ridge ;  the 
reinforcement  and  transfer  of  Sherman  to  Dalton  ;  the  Confed 
erate  retreat  into  Georgia;  the  fall  of  Atlanta;  the  desolations 
of  Georgia  and  the  Carolinas;  the  surrender  at  Chapel  Hill; 
finally,  a  lost  Confederacy. 

The  succeeding  pages  of  this  memoir  will  be  no  more  than  a 
review  of  the  consequences  of  a  surrender  which  was  at  first 
unnecessary,  and  which,  when  made  necessary,  was  then  prema 
ture. 

In  the  report  in  which  Gen.  Johnston  reviewed  the  occur 
rences  which  have  been  now  detailed,  he  said:  "I  have  been 
compelled  to  enter  into  many  details,  and  to  make  some  animad 
versions  upon  the  conduct  of  Gen.  Pemberton.  The  one  was  no 
pleasant  task,  the  other  a  most  painful  duty.  Both  have  been 
forced  upon  me  by  the  official  report  of  Gen.  Pemberton,  made 
to  the  War  Department  instead  of  to  me,  to  whom  it  was  due. 
A  proper  regard  for  the  good  opinion  of  my  government  has 
compelled  me  to  throw  aside  that  delicacy  which  I  would  gladly 
have  observed  towards  a  brother  officer,  suffering  much  unde 
served  obloquy,  and  to  show  that  in  his  short  campaign  Gen.  Pem 
berton  made  not  a  single  movement  in  obedience  to  my  orders, 
and  regarded  none  of  my  instructions ;  and,  finally,  did  not  em 
brace  the  only  opportunity  to  save  his  army — that  given  by  my 
order  to  abandon  Yicksburg." 


390  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXXIY. 

Important  supplement  to  the  story  of  Vicksburg. — President  Davis'  part  in  the 
disaster. — Radical  difference  of  military  views  of  the  President  and  of  G-en.  John 
ston. — The  disaster  of  Missionary  Ridge. — Gen.  Johnston  takes  command  of  the 
Army  of  Tennessee. — His  successful  reorganization  of  it. — Comparison  of  forces 
with  the  enemy. — Gen.  Johnston's  reasons  for  withdrawing  from  Dalton. — Sher 
man's  plan  of  campaign. — :The  retreat  towards  Atlanta  and  its  incidents.— Gen. 
Johnston  removed  from  command. — "All  hell  followed." — A  sharp  dispatch  to 
Richmond. — Injustice  of  the  government  to  Gen.  Johnston. 

WE  must  supplement  the  story  of  Yicksburg  by  an  important 
explanation.  It  has  not  been  the  design  of  the  preceding  pages 
to  impeach  the  integrity  of  Gen.  Pemberton's  intentions.  In  a 
report,  supplemental  to  the  principal  one,  which  he  made  of 
these  transactions,  he  vouched  a  paper  which  fully  justified  his 
conduct,  and  explained  his  motives.  On  the  7th  May,  the  very 
day  on  which  Gen.  Johnston  was  writing  from  Tullahoma,  by  a 
remarkable  intuition,  that  he  had  "no  hope  that  Gen.  Pember- 
ton  would  regard  a  suggestion  "  from  him,  President  Davis  tele 
graphed  Gen.  Pemberton  in  these  words : — "Want  of  transporta 
tion  of  supplies  must  compel  the  enemy  to  seek  a  junction  with 
their  fleet  after  a  few  days'  absence  from  it.  To  hold  both 
Yicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  is  necessary  to  a  connection  with 
Trans-Mississippi.  You  may  expect  whatever  it  is  in  my  power 
to  do."*  This  order  had  doubtless  been  given  to  Gen.  Pember 
ton  for  the  purpose  of  superseding  that  which  Gen.  Johnston 
had  sent  him  six  days  before,  from  Tullahoma,  directing  him  "  to 
concentrate  and  attack  Grant  immediately;"  of  which  Gen. 
Johnston  had  advised  the  War  Department. 

Here  was  a  command  superiour  to  that  of  Gen.  Johnston, 
which  Gen.  Pemberton  was  obliged  to  obey.  He  did  so,  in  the 
spirit  and  in  the  letter.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  blunders 
that  his  inexperience  in  the  field  might  have  led  him  to  commit, 
it  cannot  be  said  that  he  failed  in  fidelity  to  his  trust ;  or  that 

*  Confederate  Reports  on  Siege  of  Vicksburg,  &c.,  p.  209. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  391 

his  disobedience  to  the  orders  of  his  immediate  superiour  was  not 
excused  by  the  order  which  had  come  to  him  from  the  superiour 
of  both.  There  was  a  difference  of  opinion — an  honest  difference 
of  opinion — between  Mr.  Davis  and  Gen.  Johnston,  as  to  the  best 
policy  to  be  pursued ;  a  difference  which  not  merely  related  to 
the  case  of  Yicksburg,  but  applied  to  the  whole  conduct  of  the 
war.  Mr.  Davis  was  for  defending  a  multitude  of  positions  and 
outposts ; — a  policy  which  involved  a  dispersion  of  strength. 
Gen.  Johnston  was  for  a  system  of  field  operations,  executed  by 
consolidated  armies,  and  maximum  aggregations  of  troops.  Mr. 
Davis,  just  at  the  period  in  question,  was  in  favour  of  suffering  a 
siege  at  Yicksburg  and  Port  Hudson ;  standing  at  bay  at  Tulla- 
homa ;  and  sending  an  army  of  invasion  into  Maryland.  Gen. 
Johnston  was  in  favour  of  withdrawing  the  armies  from  the  two 
Mississippi  fortresses  into  open  field ;  assuming  the  offensive  at 
Tullahoma,  a  point  far  within  the  Confederacy ;  and  resting  con 
tent,  after  driving  the  invader  from  Virginia,  to  halt  on  her  bor 
ders.  It  was  Gen.  Peuiberton's  misfortune  to  have  to  choose  be 
tween  conflicting  orders  ;  and  yet,  by  failing  to  pursue  either 
with  decision,  he  not  only  lost  both  Yicksburg  and  its  army,  but 
lost  them  both  too  soon. 

After  the  fall  of  Yicksburg,  the  army  of  Gen.  Grant  was 
again  before  Jackson.  Here  Gen.  Johnston  had  posted  himself 
in  an  attitude  of  defence,  behind  such  imperfect  intrenchments 
as  had  been  improvised,  where  he  was  expecting  an  immediate 
attack,  But  the  enemy  began  to  intrench  and  plant  batteries, 
at  which  deliberate  work  they  spent  three  days.  On  the  12th 
of  July  a  sharp  engagement  occurred,  and  heavy  cannonading, 
which  was  gallantly  sustained  by  Johnston's  army.  By  the 
13th,  the  enemy  had  extended  his  intrenched  lines  until  both 
flanks  reached  Pearl  river,  and  had  nearly  encircled  the  city ; 
he  was,  moreover,  receiving  ammunition  for  a  heavy  bombard 
ment.  On  that  night,  therefore,  Johnston  evacuated  the  place, 
carrying  off  all  his  sick  and  wounded  and  all  public  property. 
Nothing  of  this  did  the  enemy  discover  until  the  next  day. 

Johnston  withdrew  slowly  to  Meridian,  followed  part  of  the 
way  by  the  enemy,  who  soon  after  withdrew  from  interiour 
Mississippi,  to  reappear  on  another  field,  where  Johnston  was 
again  to  confront  them. 


392  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

A  controversy  of  some  sharpness  ensued'  between  the  friends 
of  the  Richmond  administration  and  those  of  Gen.  Johnston  in 
regard  to  the  operations  antecedent  to  Vicksburg.  The  question 
was  nothing  more,  when  stripped  of  partisan  surplusage  and  per 
sonal  feeling,  than  a  comparison  of  the  policy  recommended  in 
Gen.  Johnston's  order  of  the  1st  May,  from  Tullahoma,  direct 
ing  Gen.  Pemberton  "  to  concentrate  and  fight  Grant "  on  first 
crossing  the  Mississippi,  with  the  order  of  Mr.  Davis  of  May  7, 
from  Richmond,  advising  Gen.  Pemberton,  in  effect,  to  let  Grant 
alone,  and  wait  a  siege  in  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson.  But 
whatever  might  have  been  the  issues  in  controversy,  the  public 
soon  found  occasion  to  render  a  verdict  between  the  disputants. 

The  defeat  of  Gen.  Bragg  at  Missionary  Ridge,  on  the  borders 
of  North  Georgia,  occurred  while  Gen.  Johnston  was  yet  in 
Mississippi,  which  country  was  not  then  menaced  by  the  enemy. 
Grant  had  superseded  Rosecrans  in  Tennessee,  and  was  soon  after 
to  be  promoted  to  the  general  command  of  the  Federal  armies. 
The  principal  part  of  the  army  which  had  invested  Yicksburg 
had  been  transferred  to  Missionary  Ridge ;  Tennessee,  and  the 
grazing  districts  bordering  upon  it,  was  the  principal  meat-pro 
ducing  region  of  the  Confederacy.  To  occupy  this  State  perma 
nently  was  fatally  to  embarrass  the  Confederate  commissariat ; 
and  was,  moreover,  to  obtain  a  stand-point  from  which  a  blow 
could  be  most  readily  dealt  upon  the  vital  parts  of  the  South. 
A  huge  Federal  army  had  appeared  in  front  of  Dalton,  and  im 
mense  preparations  were  making  for  a  vigorous  campaign  against 
Atlanta. 

Gen.  Bragg's  defeat  at  Missionary  Ridge,  where  he  had  suf 
fered  great  loss,  had  occurred  on  the  25th  November,  and  the 
inimical  relations  which  had  grown  up  between  himself  and  his 
principal  officers,  and  the  extreme  disfavour  into  which  he  had 
fallen  with  the  public,  had  rendered  a  change  in  the  chief  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  absolutely  necessary.  He  had, 
therefore,  been  relieved  at  Dalton  and  transferred  to  Richmond, 
where  he  was  placed  near  the  Confederate  President,  in  the  ca 
pacity,  in  short,  of  military  secretary,  adviser,  and  Aulic  strat 
egist.  There  was  but  one  sentiment  among  the  people  of  the 
"West  and  Southwest  as  to  the  person  who  should  succeed  Gen. 
Bragg  at  Dalton.  Gen.  Johnston  had  secured,  notwithstanding 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  393 

the  embarrassments  which  he  had  encountered,  the  full  confidence 
of  the  people ;  and  although  the  President  himself,  as  well  as 
Gen.  Bragg,  was  inimical  to  him,  it  had  become  necessary  that 
he  should  be  assigned  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  He  received 
orders  on  the  18th  December,  1863,  to  that  effect,  and  assumed 
command  at  Dalton  nine  days  afterwards.  He  found  the  army, 
while  excellent  in  material,  yet  wretchedly  demoralized  by  its 
recent  defeat,  and  by  its  prolonged  dissatisfaction  with  his  pre 
decessor  in  command. 

He  immediately  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  creating  an 
army  from  the  fine  material  before  him.  At  most,  there  were 
but  three  months  which  could  be  employed  in  this  necessary 
work,  and  he  devoted  himself  with  energy  and  assiduity  to  the 
task.  Of  his  success  in  this  behalf,  an  intelligent  writer,  who 
visited  Dalton  in  April,  1864,  wrote : 

u  Gen.  Johnston  is  unquestionably  a  great  captain  in  the  sci 
ence  of  war.  In  ninety  days  he  has  so  transformed  this  army 
that  I  can  find  no  word  to  express  the  extent  of  the  transformation 
but  the  word  regeneration.  It  is  a  regenerated  army.  He  found 
it,  ninety  days  ago,  disheartened,  despairing,  and  on  the  verge 
of  dissolution.  By  judicious  measures  he  has  restored  confidence, 
reestablished  discipline,  and  exalted  the  heart  of  his  army." 

In  his  official  report  of  the  campaign,  written  after  its  conclu 
sion,  referring  to  the  condition  of  his  army  at  the  close  of  the 
retreat,  Gen.  Johnston  wrote,  with  evident  pride  and  satisfaction : 
"  These  troops,  who  had  been  for  seventy-four  days  in  the  imme 
diate  presence  of  the  enemy,  labouring  and  fighting  daily,  endur 
ing  toil,  exposure,  and  danger  with  equal  cheerfulness,  more  con 
fident  and  high-spirited  than  when  the  Federal  army  presented 
itself  near  Dalton,  were  then  inferiour  to  none  who  ever  served 
the  Confederacy." 

The  effective  strength  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  when  Gen. 
Johnston  assumed  command  of  it  in  December,  was  36,826  in 
fantry  and  artillery,  and  5,613  cavalry.  On  May  1,  it  was 
40,900  infantry  and  artillery,  and  4,000  cavalry.  On  his  relin 
quishing  the  command  in  July,  it  was  41,000  infantry  and  artil 
lery,  and  10,000  cavalry.  During  the  intervening  period,  one 
brigade  of  infantry  was  added  to  and  two  taken  away  from  the 
command.  The  losses  by  casualty  during  the  campaign  nearly 


394:  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

equalled  the  accretions  which  occurred  from  the  return  of  ab 
sentees  to  duty.  His  principal  accessions  of  strength  were  of 
cavalry ;  but  this  arm  was  always  inferiour  in  strength  to  that  of 
the  opposing  force ;  too  inferiour  to  allow  of  detachments  in  suf 
ficient  number  for  effective  operations  on  the  enemy's  rear. 

The  force  opposed  to  him  was  the  army  which  Grant  had 
commanded  at  Missionary  Kidge,  estimated  to  be  80,000  strong, 
which  was  reinforced  at  different  times  by  two  corps,  one  divi 
sion,  and  several  thousand  recruits — equal,  in  the  aggregate,  to 
30,000  men,  and  making  a  grand  total  of  110,000  men.  At  the 
outset  of  the  campaign  its  strength  was  98,797,  including  15,000 
cavalry,  and  was  in  each  arm  more  than  double  the  strength  of 
Johnston's  army. 

i  With  this  force  of  45,000  against  98,000,  Gen.  Johnston  was 
strongly  urged  from  Richmond,  by  both  Mr.  Davis  and  Gen. 
Bragg,  to  inaugurate  an  offensive  campaign.  This  he  was  suffi 
ciently  anxious  to  do,  but  he  felt  no  less  keenly  the  folly  of 
attempting  it  without  numbers  adequate  to  success.  "With  a 
disproportion  of  force,  compared  with  that  of  the  enemy,  of  less 
than  one  to  two,  he  could  only  have  assumed  the  offensive  in  the 
manner  afterwards  adopted  by  Gen.  Hood  ;  that  is  to  say,  by 
avoiding  the  enemy's  front,  leaving  the  country  open  to  his  for 
ward  progress,  and  himself  marching  around  to  some  indefinite 
point  in  his  rear.  In  truth,  he  could  only  have  assumed  the 
offensive  by  resorting  to  a  species  of  flight. 

His  own  view  of  the  question  was  thus  stated  :  "  At  Dalton, 
the  great  numerical  superiority  of  the  enemy  made  the  chances 
of  battle  much  against  us,  and  even  if  beaten,  they  had  a  safe 
refuge  behind  the  fortified  pass  of  Blnggold  and  in  the  fortress 
of  Chattanooga.  Our  refuge,  in  case  of  defeat,  was  in  Atlanta, 
one  hundred  miles  off,  with  three  rivers  intervening.  Therefore, 
victory  for  us  could  not  have  been  decisive,  while  defeat  would 
have  been  utterly  disastrous.  Between  Dalton  and  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  we  could  have  given  battle  only  by  attacking  the  enemy 
intrenched,  or  so  near  intrenchments  that  the  only  result  of  suc 
cess  to  us  would  have  been  his  falling  back  into  them  ;  while 
defeat  would  have  been  our  ruin." 

During  the  winter,  while  perfecting  the  organization  and  dis 
cipline  of  his  army,  he  withdrew  the  larger  portion  of  it  from 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  395 

Dalton,  to  Rome,  in  Georgia ;  and  in  February,  a  corps  of  his 
army  was  sent  to  Mississippi  to  aid  in  the  repulsion  of  Gen.  Sher 
man,  who  was  making  the  experiment  of  a  "  movable  column  " 
midway  through  that  State.  The  detached  corps,  however,  after 
awhile  returned,  upon  the  retirement  of  the  column  that  had 
drawn  it,  to  their  quarters.  So  that,  at  no  time,  was  the  relative 
strength  of  Johnston,  compared  with  that  of  the  enemy,  materi 
ally  greater  than  it  had  been  at  the  beginning ;  and  he  was, 
therefore,  never  in  strength  to  justify  an  assumption  of  the  offen 
sive.  To  have  done  so,  would  have  been  to  discard  all  the  ideas 
of  rational  generalship,  and  to  gamble  in  the  lotteries  of  war. 

In  the  first  days  of  May,  1864:,  the  enemy,  by  concerted  arrange 
ments  for  the  East  and  the  West,  began  to  move  simultaneously 
on  Richmond  and  Atlanta,  Gen.  Grant  having  gone  to  Virginia, 
and  Gen.  Sherman  having  assumed  command  of  the  assemblage 
of  Federal  "  armies  "  that  had  been  consolidated  before  Dalton. 
By  the  5th,  Gen.  Sherman  had  begun  to  push  forward  with 
vigour.  His  plan  of  campaign  was  the  avoidance  of  pitched 
battles,  and  the  substitution  of  flank  movements,  intrenching 
always  in  these,  whether  necessary  for  defense,  or  for  driving  his 
adversary  back.  In  a  topography  distinguished  by  bold  ranges 
of  mountains,  parallel  with  the  line  of  march,  this  system  of 
operations  was  more  practicable  than  it  would  have  been  found 
to  be  in  a  country  of  open  campaign,  as  the  assailing  detach 
ments  of  the  retreating  army  were  thus  required  to  venture  upon 
more  circuitous  and  more  hazardous  detours  for  the  purpose  of 
assault.  The  sort  of  fighting  which  resulted  from  such  strategy 
was  incessant  skirmishing,  interspersed  with  spirited  actions 
between  detachments,  seldom  rising  into  a  general  engagement. 

Gen  Johnston  had,  of  course,  no  choice  but  to  conduct  a  wary 
retreat,  and  to  inflict  a  succession  of  skilful  blows  upon  the  col 
umns  of  his  adversary  when  incautiously  exposed  or  whilst  un 
protected  by  intrenchments.  The  calculation  in  which  he  in 
dulged  has  been  expressed  by  himself: 

"In  the  course  pursued,  our  troops  always  fighting  under 
cover,  had  very  trifling  losses,  compared  with  those  they  inflicted; 
so  that  the  enemy's  numerical  superiority  was  reduced  daily  and 
rapidly,  and  we  could  reasonably  have  expected  to  cope  with 
the  Federal  army  on  equal  ground  by  the  time  the  Chattahoochee 


396  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

was  passed.  Defeat  on  this  side  of  the  river  would  have  been 
its  destruction.  "We,  if  beaten,  had  a  place  of  refuge  in  Atlanta, 
too  strong  to  be  assaulted,  and  too  extensive  to  be  invested." 

His  retreat  was  along  the  line  of  the  railroad  leading  from 
Dal  ton  to  Atlanta,  a  distance  of  just  100  miles,  which  crosses 
three  considerable  rivers,  running  at  nearly  equal  intervals  apart ; 
namely,  the  Oostanaula,  the  Etowah,  and  the  Chattahoochee. 
Calhoun,  Adairsville,  and  Cassville  are  between  the  Oostanaula 
and  Etowah ;  New  Hope  Church,  Altoona,  Dallas,  and  the  3£en- 
asaw  and  Lost  Mountains  are  between  the  Etowah  and  Chatta 
hoochee.  Atlanta  is  behind  the  Chattahoochee,  at  a  distance  of 
about  fourteen  miles,  and  south  of  Peach  Tree  Creek. 

The  campaign,  though  one  of  the  most  spirited  that  has  ever 
been  recorded  in  the  annals  of  scientific  warfare,  was  marked  by 
very  few  general  engagements.  The  first  occasion  on  which  such 
an  one  might  have  happened  is  thus  described  by  Gen.  Johnston  ; 
and  the  details  of  this  affair,  as  well  as  of  one  or  two  others,  will 
be  given,  chiefly  in  order  to  introduce  the  reader  to  an  acquaint 
ance  with  the  more  distinguished  of  the  characters  who  served 
under  Gen.  Johnston.  It  occurred  on  the  19th  and  20th  May, 
near  Cassville,  which  is  half-way  between  Dalton  and  Atlanta. 
Gen.  Johnston  writes  of  it  officially: 

"  When  half  the  Federal  army  was  near  Kingston,  the  two 
corps  at  Cassville  were  ordered  to  advance  against  the  troops 
that  had  followed  them  from  Adairsville,  Hood  leading  on  the 
right.  When  this  corps  had  advanced  some  two  miles,  one  of 
his  staff-officers  reported  to  Lieut-Gen.  Hood  that  the  enemy 
was  approaching  on  the  Canton  road,  in  rear  of  the  right  of  our 
original  position.  He  drew  back  his  troops  and  formed  them 
across  that  road.  When  it  was  discovered  that  the  officer  was 
mistaken,  the  opportunity  had  passed  by,  by  the  near  approach 
of  the  Federal  army.  Expecting  to  be  attacked,  I  drew  up  the 
troops  in  what  seemed  to  me  an  excellent  position — a  bold  ridge 
immediately  in  rear  of  Cassville,  with  an  open  valley  before  it. 
The  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery  commenced  soon  after  the  troops 
were  formed,  arid  continued  until  night.  Soon  after  dark,  Lieut- 
Gens.  Polk  and  Hood,  together,  expressed  to  me  decidedly  the 
opinion  formed  upon  the  observation  of  the  afternoon,  that  the 
Federal  artillery  would  render  their  positions  untenable  the  next 


GENERAL   JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  397 

day,  and  urged  me  to  abandon  the  ground  immediately  and  cross 
the  Etowah.  Lieut-Gen.  Hardee,  whose  position  I  thought 
weakest,  was  confident  that  he  could  hold  it.  The  other  two  offi 
cers,  however,  were  so  earnest  and  unwilling  to  depend  on  the 
ability  of  their  corps  to  defend  the  ground,  that  I  yielded,  and 
the  army  crossed  the  Etowah  on  the  20th,  a  step  which  I  have 
regretted  ever  since." 

An  obstinate  engagement  was  fought  in  open  field  near  the 
New  Hope  Church,  which  ran  through  the  25th  and  three  suc 
ceeding  days  of  May.  Gen.  Johnston  thus  speaks  of  it : 

"An  hour  before  sunset  Stewart's  division,  at  New  Hope  Church, 
was  fiercely  attacked  by  Hooker's  corps,  which  it  repulsed  after 
a  hot  engagement  of  two  hours.  Skirmishing  was  kept  up  on 
the  26th  and  27th.  At  half-past  five,  P.M.,  on  the  27th,  How 
ard's  corps  assailed  Cleburne's  division,  and  was  driven  back 
about  dark  with  great  slaughter.  In  these  two  actions  our  troops 
were  not  intrenched.  Our  loss  in  each  was  about  450  in  killed 
and  wounded.  On  the  27th  the  enemy's  dead,  except  those 
borne  off,  were  counted  600.  "We,  therefore,  estimated  their 
loss  at  3,000  at  least.  It  was  probably  greater  on  the  25th, 
as  we  had  a  larger  force  engaged  then,  both  of  artillery  and  in 
fantry. 

"  The  usual  skirmishing  was  kept  up  on  the  28th.  Lieut.  - 
Gen.  Hood  was  instructed  to  put  his  corps  in  position  during  the 
night  to  attack  the  enemy's  left  flank  at  dawn  the  next  morning, 
the  rest  of  the  army  to  join  in  the  action  successively  from  right 
to  left. 

"On  the  29th  Lieut.-Gen.  Hood,  finding  the  Federal  left 
covered  by  a  division  which  had  intrenched  itself  in  the  night, 
thought  it  inexpedient  to  attack,  so  reported,  and  asked  for  in 
structions.  As  the  resulting  delay  made  the  attack  inexpedient, 
even  if  it  had  not  been  so  before,  by  preventing  the  surprise — 
upon  which  success,  in  a  great  degree,  depended — he  was  recalled." 

But  the  most  severely  contested  engagement  occurred  on  the 
27th  June,  Gen.  Johnston's  army  being  posted  on  Kenasaw  and 
Lost  Mountains,  a  few  miles  north-west  of  the  Chattahoochee. 
He  thus  describes  the  hottest  part  of  the  fight : 

"  On  the  27th,  after  a  furious  cannonade  of  several  hours,  the 
enemy  made  a  general  advance,  but  was  everywhere  repulsed 


398  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

with  heavy  loss.  The  assaults  were  most  vigorous  on  Cheatham's 
and  Cleburne'  s  divisions,  of  Hardee's  corps,  and  French's  and 
Featherstone's,  of  Loring's.  Lieut.-Gen.  Hardee  reports  that 
Cheatham's  division  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  195. 
The  enemy  opposed  to  it,  by  the  statement  of  a  staff-officer  sub 
sequently  captured,  2,000;  the  loss  of  Cleburne's  division  eleven, 
that  of  the  enemy  on  his  front,  1,000;  and  Maj.-Gen.  Loring  re 
ported  236  of  his  corps  killed,  wounded,  and  missing;  and  the 
loss  of  the  enemy,  by  their  own  estimates,  at  between  2,500  and 
3,000,  which  he  thinks  very  small." 

General  Sherman  admitted  that  this  assault  was  a  failure. 
But  this  General  continued  to  advance  by  means  of  intrench- 
ments,  until  Johnston,  on  the  night  of  the  9th  July,  crossed  the 
Chattahoochee  River,  and  began  to  prepare  for  the  final  battles  by 
which  he  had,  from  the  beginning  of  his  retreat,  intended  to  save 
Atlanta.  The  main  body  of  the  enemy  crossed  on  the  17th.  Sher 
man's  progress  had  been  at  the  rate  of  eighty-six  miles  in  seven 
ty-three  days,  or  rather  more  than  a  mile  a  day.  The  retreat  had 
been  the  masterpiece  of  Johnston's  life,  and  one  of  the  most  skilful 
and  successful  that  had  ever  been  executed.  He  had  brought 
along  everything ;  every  gun,  every  wagon,  every  camp-kettle. 
The  enemy's  losses,  if  the  reports  of  the  Northern  press  were  accu 
rate,  had  been  about  45,000  men ;  his  own,  less  than  11,000. 
He  devoted  an  active  and  laborious  week  to  the  defences  of  At 
lanta.  Seven  of  the  heaviest  rifled  cannon  had  been  obtained 
from  Mobile,  and  through  personal  solicitations  addressed  by 
him  to  Gen.  Maury,  were  now  planted  on  its  ramparts.  An 
immense  number  of  negroes  were  employed  in  its  earthworks. 
He  was  doing  the  business  thoroughly,  after  his  usual  manner,  as 
he  in  a  few  days  communicated  it  to  Gen.  Hood.  His  plan  was 
— first  to  attack  the  Federal  army  while  crossing  Peach  Tree 
Creek.  If  successful,  great  results  might  be  hoped  for,  as  the 
enemy  would  have  both  the  creek  and  the  river  to  intercept 
his  retreat.  Second,  if  unsuccessful,  to  keep  back  the  enemy 
by  intrenching,  to  give  time  for  the  assembling  of  the  State 
troops  promised  by  Governor  Brown ;  to  garrison  Atlanta 
with  those  troops,  and  when  the  Federal  army  approached  the 
town  attack  it  on  the  most  exposed  flank  with  all  the  Confed 
erate  troops. 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  899 

On  the  17th,  while  engaged  in  giving  instructions  to  his  chief 
engineer  concerning  the  fortifications  of  Atlanta,  he  was  handed 
the  following  dispatch  : 

RICHMOND,  Ya.,  July  17,  1864. 
To  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston  : 

Lieut.-Gen.  J.  B.  Hood  has  been  commissioned  to  the  tem 
porary  rank  of  General,  under  the  late  law  of  Congress.  I  am 
directed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  inform  you,  that  as  you  have 
failed  to  arrest  the  advance  of  the  enemy  to  the  vicinity  of 
Atlanta,  far  in  the  interiour  of  Georgia,  and  express  no  confidence 
that  you  can  defeat  or  repel  him,  you  are  hereby  relieved  from 
the  command  of  the  Army  and  Department  of  Tennessee,  which 
you  will  immediately  turn  over  to  Gen.  Hood. 

S.  COOPER,  A.  and  I.  Gen. 

The  order  arrested  Gen.  Johnston  in  a  work  which  was  en 
listing  all  the  energies  of  his  nature.  He  was  preparing  to 
consummate,  at  the  time  and  place  designed,  a  purpose  which 
had  been  the  end  and  aim  of  two  months  of  toil  and  strategy. 
The  surprise,  therefore,  was  severe,  and  the  disappointment 
extreme.  But  these  were  due  to  the  pride  he  took  in  his  profes 
sion,  and  the  solicitude  he  felt  for  his  country.  Aside  from  the 
professional  disappointment,  the  extraordinary  document  gave  him 
more  grief  for  the  South  than  for  himself.  The  service  had  for 
some  time  been  rendered  as  distasteful  as  the  displeasure  of  his 
superiours  could  make  it,  and  to  be  "relieved"  from  it  was  relief 
indeed.  But,  for  the  Confederacy,  it  filled  him  with  forebodings, 
because,  possessing  as  he  did  the  affectionate  devotion  of  his 
troops,  and  the  unbounded  confidence  of  his  officers  (with  but  one 
exception,  if  indeed  that  was  an  exception),  the  measure  was 
taken  at  an  untimely  moment  and  critical  place.  He  knew  what 
was  expected  of  his  successor,  and  he  knew  that  the  expectation 
involved  destruction,  both  to  that  ill-starred  army  and  to  the 
Confederacy.  The  measure  did  indeed  prove  to  be  "  the  begin 
ning  of  the  end."  Then  began  the  final  and  general  ruin.  It 
was  like  the  opening  of  the  fourth  seal,  and  the  appearance  of 
the  pale  horse  in  the  Apocalypse — "  all  hell  followed" 

He  immediately  called  for  Gen.  Hood,  and  communicated  to 
him  the  plans  he  had  been  pursuing.  The  information  of  his 


400  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

removal  was  cautiously  communicated  to  the  Generals  of  the 
higher  grade.  They  promptly  united  in  a  request  to  the  Gov 
ernment  for  a  revocation  of  the  order.  But  Gen.  Johnston  took 
leave  of  them  at  once  ;  and  veteran  commanders,  who  had  never 
blanched  before  the  enemy,  now  gave  way  to  emotions  which  do 
honour  at  times  even  to  warriors.  It  was  thought  best  to  withhold 
the  announcement  of  the  intelligence  from  the  army  until  Gen. 
Johnston  had  left  its  vicinity. 

On  the  next  day  Gen.  Johnston  sent  the  following  dispatch 
to  Richmond,  which  closed  his  service  in  the  field,  until  public 
opinion  and  the  voice  of  Congress  demanded  his  restoration 
again  to  command,  when  he  was  once  more  to  appear,  but  at  a 
time  when  he  could  only  bear  a  part  in  the  formalities  of  the 
final  dissolution.  The  dispatch  was  as  follows  : 

NEAR  ATLANTA,  July  18,  1864. 
Gen.  S.  Cooper : 

Your  dispatch  of  yesterday  received  and  obeyed.  Com 
mand  of  the  Army  and  Department  of  Tennessee  has  been  trans 
ferred  to  Gen.  Hood.  As  to  the  alleged  cause  of  my  removal, 
I  assert  that  Sherman's  army  is  much  stronger,  compared  with 
that  of  Tennessee,  than  Grant's,  compared  with  that  of  Northern 
Virginia.  Yet  the  enemy  has  been  compelled  to  advance  more 
slowly  to  the  vicinity  of  Atlanta  than  to  that  of  Richmond  and 
Petersburg,  and  has  penetrated  much  deeper  into  Yirginia  than 
into  Georgia.  Confident  language  by  a  military  commander  is 
not  usually  regarded  as  evidence  of  competency. 

J.  E.  JOHNSTON. 

Besides  the  cause  assigned  for  his  removal  in  the  official  tele 
gram  of  Gen.  Cooper,  it  was  alleged  in  the  Government  news 
papers  in  Richmond  that  Gen.  Johnston  had  disregarded  the 
instructions  and  wishes  of  President  Davis.  But  there  had  been 
no  instructions  except  those  for  assuming  the  offensive,  given  while 
at  Dalton  in  the  preceding  winter,  and  these  it  had  been  impracti 
cable  at  any  time  to  execute.  Other  than  those,  there  had  been 
no  expression  of  the  President's  wishes,  except  just  before  the 
army  had  reached  the  Chattahoochee,  which  was  a  warning  to 
Johnston  against  fighting  with  a  river  at  his  back,  as  well  as 
against  crossing  it. 


GENERAL   JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  401 

It  was  also  semi-officially  charged  that  he  had  intended  giv 
ing  up  Atlanta — a  charge  which  the  vigorous  measures  he  was  en 
gaged  in  for  strengthening  the  place,  and  the  fact  that  his  own 
family  and  effects  were  there  under  permanent  arrangements, 
disproved. 

As  to  the  reason  which  had  been  officially  alleged,  it  was 
palpably  insufficient,  as  coming  from  the  government  at  Rich 
mond,  near  which  Gen.  Lee  had,  in  a  manner  equally  masterly, 
executed  a  defensive  movement  under  the  same  necessity.  On 
this  subject,  Gen.  Johnston  wrote  unofficially,  a  few  weeks 
later : — "  After  his  experience  in  the  Wilderness,  Gen.  Lee 
adopted  as  thorough  a  defensive  as  mine,  and  added  by  it  to 
his  great  fame.  The  only  other  difference  between  our  opera 
tions,  was  due  to  Gen.  Grant's  bull-headedness  and  Sherman's 
extreme  caution,  which  carried  the  armies  in  Virginia  to  Pe 
tersburg  in  less  than  half  the  time  in  which  Sherman  reached 
Atlanta.  From  our  relative  losses,  I  might  have  expected  to  be 
very  soon  stronger  than  Sherman.  His  army  beaten  on  the 
east  of  the  Chattahoochee,  might  have  been  destroyed."  The 
same  government  which  made  this  objection  had  virtually  pro 
moted  Gen.  Bragg,  who  had  retreated  from  central  Kentucky 
into  North  Georgia,  with  a  force  far  less  disproportioned  to  that 
of  his  adversary  than  Gen.  Johnston's. 

The  effect  of  the  intelligence  of  Johnston's  removal  was  as 
depressing  upon  the  Confederate  army  before  Atlanta  as  it  was 
exhilarating  upon  that  of  the  enemy.  Sherman,  no  longer  ob 
serving  the  "  extreme  caution  "  which  had  been  the  highest 
proof  he  could  have  given  of  his  appreciation  of  Johnston's  abili 
ty,  now  became  bold  and  audacious.  And,  verily,  the  Furies 
were  at  that  time  let  loose  upon  Georgia  and  the  ill-fated  Caro- 
linas. 

26 


402  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXXY. 

The  fall  of  Atlanta  and  what  it  involved. — Gen.  Johnston  foretells  Sherman's 
"march  to  the  sea." — The  Vce  Victis. — Gen.  Johnston  restored  to  command. — 
The  North  Carolina  campaign. — Sherman's  stipulations  for  a  surrender. — Inter 
ference  from  Washington. — Qualities  of  Gen.  Johnston  as  a  great  commander. — 
His  military  peculiarities. — Compared  to  George  Washington. — His  patriotic  and 
noble  silence  nnder  censure. — His  person  and  deportment. — Literary  accom 
plishments. — His  advice  to  the  Southern  people  on  their  duties  after  the  surrender. 

THE  fall  of  Atlanta  through  the  unskilful  action  of  Gen. 
Hood  was  one  of  the  worst  calamities  of  the  war.  How  so  in 
valuable  a  prize  was  lost  on  the  part  of  the  Confederacy,  has 
been  inefFaceably  stereotyped  on  the  pages  of  history.  A  Gene 
ral  of  great  activity  had  advanced  upon  the  place,  by  observing 
an  unwearied  caution  coupled  with  sleepless  diligence,  and 
moving  with  a  force  doubly  stronger  than  that  defending  it. 
With  equal  skill  and  caution,  and  with  a  success  in  retreat  un 
surpassed  in  history,  he  had  been  resisted.  But  a  controlling 
power  at  a  distance,  in  an  evil  moment,  ordered  the  abandon 
ment,  by  the  weaker  army,  of  the  wary,  skilful,  and  safe  policy  of 
defence,  for  the  assumption  of  an  audacious  and  reckless  series 
of  aggressive  measures. 

The  dispirited  army  of  Hood  lay,  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  for  a 
month  on  the  road  to  Macon.  Visited  there  by  President  Davis, 
towards  the  end  of  September,  preparations  soon  after  began  to  be 
made  for  some  permanent  movement.  By  the  last  day  of  the  month, 
this  new  strategy  had  become  developed.  Hood  crossed  the  Chat- 
tahoochee,  and  was  marching  on  the  line  of  Sherman's  communi 
cations.  Sherman  followed  until  the  5th  of  October,  far  enough 
to  signal  the  garrison  at  Allatoona  to  hold  out  against  the  ap 
proaching  danger.  On  the  6th  of  October,  Gen.  Johnston,  living 
privately  at  Macon,  and  not  having  heard  what  Sherman  was 
doing,  wrote  unofficially  to  Richmond  :  "  It  is  said  that  our 
army  is  on  Sherman's  route  to  Chattanooga.  This  movement 
has  uncovered  the  route  through  Macon,  by  which  the  army  of 


GENERAL   JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  403 

Virginia  is  supplied,  and  the  shops  at  which  ammunition  is  pre 
pared  and  arms  are  repaired  for  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  If 
Sherman  understands  that  either  Charleston,  Savannah,  Pensa- 
cola  or  Mobile  is  as  good  a  point  for  him  as  Chattanooga,  he 
will  not  regard  Hood's  movement." 

Gen.  Hood  and  his  erratic  offensive  soon  came  to  grief.  His 
army,  after  severe  defeats  in  Tennessee,  soon  ceased  to  be,  as  an 
army,  among  the  things  of  earth.  Gen.  Sherman,  instead  of  restor 
ing,  destroyed  his  communications  with  Chattanooga,  and  returned 
to  Atlanta.  The  country  was  open  to  him  "from  the  centre  all 
round  to  the  sea."  He  could  march  'forth  at  his  pleasure.  Hav 
ing  concentrated  his  troops  at  Atlanta,  he  was  ready,  by  the  15th 
November,  to  set  forward,  in  whatever  direction  he  pleased.  One 
week  before,  on  the  8th  of  the  month,  Gen.  Johnston,  about  to 
leave  Macon,  wrote  thence  unofficially  to  Richmond :  "  I  could 
not  tell  the  public  what  I  would  have  done  if  left  in  command. 
I  do  not  hesitate  to  tell  you,  though,  that  if  I  had  been  left  in 
command  of  that  army,  it  is  very  unlikely  that  Atlanta  would 
have  been  abandoned.  At  all  events,  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
soldiers,  whose  lives  have  been  thrown  away,  would  have  been 
saved.  ISTor  would  I  have  left  Sherman,  witli  a  force  about  equal 
to  my  own,  in  the  heart  of  Georgia,  to  make  such  an  excursion 
as  our  army  is  now  engaged  in.  If  Sherman  understands  his 
game,  he  can  now  cut  off  Gen.  Lee's  supplies,  which  pass  through 
this  place,  and  break  up  all  our  establishments  for  the  repair  of 
arms  and  preparation  of  ammunition ;  and  this  without  risk, 
without  the  chance  of  being  compelled  to  h'ght — a  necessity 
which  he  can  avoid  by  marching  to  Charleston,  Savannah,  Pen- 
sacola,  or  Mobile.  At  this  season  the  country  can  furnish  his 
army  an  abundance  of  food  and  forage.  Sherman,  in  his  extreme 
caution,  may  not  venture  upon  such  a  course.  Should  he  do  so, 
he  will  win. 

"  His  army  has  been  greatly  reduced  since  his  occupation  of 
Atlanta.  It  was  formed  in  1861  for  three  years.  The  terms  of 
most  of  the  regiments  have  expired,  and  a  very  large  number 
refused  to  reenlist.  I  expected  them  to  be  discharged  during 
the  summer,  as  their  times  expired.  Sherman,  however,  made 
an  arrangement  with  them  for  their  service  until  the  capture  of 
Atlanta." 


404:  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

But  Sherman's  "  extreme  caution  "  had  been  thrown  off  with 
the  removal  of  Johnston ;  and  he  now  resolved  on  turning  his 
face  to  the  seaboard.  "What  inducements  he  offered  to  secure 
the  reenlistrnent  of  his  men,  may  be  inferred  from  the  license 
which  they  indulged  in  the  long  inarches  of  the  months  that 
followed.  Hood  had  re-created  Sherman's  army  by  exposing 
the  private  wealth  of  three  States,  as  the  tempting  booty  for  re- 
enlistment.  Then  came  the  vce  metis  /  for  it  had  been  made  a 
matter  of  contract. 

By  the  middle  of  the  succeeding  February,  Mr.  Seddon  had 
left  the  "War  Department  at  Richmond  ;  Gen.  Breckinridge  had 
taken  his  place  ;  Gen.  Lee  had  been  made  General-in-chief  of  all 
the  Confederate  forces ;  Sherman  had  subdued  Georgia  and  South 
Carolina,  and  sacked  and  burned  Columbia ;  Gen.  Beauregard, 
commanding  in  those  States,  had  failed,  from  inadequacy  of 
troops,  to  check  the  formidable  invasion  ;  Gen.  Bragg,  falling 
into  hopeless  unpopularity  at  Richmond,  had  been  assigned  to 
the  Department  of  North  Carolina,  and  had  been  in  charge  at 
"Wilmington  when  that  city  fell  under  the  operations  of  Commo 
dore  Porter  and  Gen.  Terry,  successfully  directed  against  Fort 
Fisher. 

And  now,  yielding  to  the  boldly-pronounced  wishes  of  Con 
gress,  and  the  universal  demands  of  the  people,  no  less  than  to 
the  dictates  of  his  own  spontaneous  judgment,  Gen.  Lee  called 
Gen.  Johnston  forth  from  retirement,  and  placed  him  in  com 
mand  of  all  the  troops  that  could  be  collected  from  the  two 
Carolinas  to  the  Mississippi.  Gen.  Johnston  immediately  took 
measures  for  concentrating  the  detached  forces  which  had  been 
at  Charleston  under  Hardee,  in  the  vicinity  of  Charlotte  with 
Beauregard,  in  Wilmington  under  Bragg,  and  in  other  quarters 
under  whatever  commanders ;  and  moving  them  in  the  direction 
of  Fayetteville,  North  Carolina.  On  the  other  hand,  the  enemy 
were  endeavouring  to  concentrate  in  the  same  quarter,  by  the 
union  of  Sherman  from  Columbia,  Terry  from  "Wilmington,  and 
Schofield,  who  was  approaching  from  Newbern,  through  Golds- 
boro.  By  the  18th  March,  Johnston  had  so  far  succeeded  as  to 
get  together  a  body  of  fourteen  thousand  troops,  at  Bentonville, 
North  Carolina,  and  to  plant  himself  in  the  path  of  Sherman, 
who  was  marching  from  Fayetteville  north-eastward  towards 


GENERAL  JOSEPH   EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  405 

Goldsboro.  Here  he  was  attacked  by  two  corps  of  the  advanc 
ing  army,  40,000  strong.  Hoping  only  to  cripple  the  assail 
ing  column,  he  fought  from  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
until  dark,  and  drew  off  in  the  night,  after  burying  his  dead, 
carrying  away  his  own  wounded,  and  some  of  the  enemy's.  Two 
days  afterwards,  the  converging  columns  of  the  Federal  army 
had  combined,  and  assumed  a  vigorous  offensive  against  John 
ston.  There  was  severe  fighting  until  the  22d,  Johnston  with 
drawing  all  the  while  slowly  towards  Smithfield,  in  the  direction 
of  Raleigh  and  Hillsboro.  Sherman  then  left  his  point  and 
concentrated  his  army,  nearly  100,000  strong,  near  Goldsboro. 
There  he  left  it  to  pay  a  brief  visit  to  Gen.  Grant  at  City 
Point.  Gen.  Johnston  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  recruit 
ing  and  organizing  his  army,  which,  when  near  Raleigh,  on  the 
1st  April,  numbered  18,578  in  the  total  present  for  duty,  of  which 
14,179  were  effective.  Many  were  without  arms. 

By  the  13th  April  Sherman,  having  returned  from  City  Point, 
approached  within  fourteen  miles  of  Raleigh  with  his  army.  On 
the  next  day  he  occupied  that  city,  Johnston  retiring  towards 
Hillsboro.  Having  received  news  of  Gen.  Lee's  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  which  had  occurred  six  days  before,  Gen.  Johnston 
addressed  a  communication  to  Gen.  Sherman  on  the  15th  April, 
asking  for  a  conference  looking  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  On 
the  18th,  the  two  Generals  met  at  a  farmhouse  near  Chapel  Hill 
University,  and  agreed  upon  a  convention.  The  object  avowed 
by  Johnston  was,  "  to  spare  the  blood  of  his  gallant  little  army, 
to  prevent  further  suffering  of  the  people  by  the  devastation  and 
ruin  inevitable  from  the  marches  of  invading  armies,  and  to 
avoid  the  crime  of  waging  a  hopeless  war." 

The  stipulations  which  he  secured  were  in  the  highest  degree 
favourable  to  his  army  and  country ;  so  favourable  that  they 
were  promptly  rejected  by  the  Washington  Government  when 
the  terms  were  made  known  to  it  by  Gen.  Sherman.  The  two 
armies  were  to  remain  in  statu  quo  until  notice  of  forty-eight 
hours  should  be  given  by  either  General  to  the  other.  This 
state  of  things  to  remain  while  the  following  proceedings  should 
be  had,  if  not  objected  to  by  either  of  their  governments  : 

1.  The  Confederate  armies  to  be  disbanded,  each  officer  and 
man  engaging  to  abide  the  action  of  their  State  governments  and 


406  GENEKAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

the  Federal  Government ;  their  arms  and  munitions  to  be  left  at 
the  State  capitals,  and  reported  to  Washington.  2.  The  existing 
State  governments  to  be  recognized,  upon  their  officers  taking 
the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  United  States.  3.  The  Federal  courts 
to  be  reestablished  in  the  South,  with  all  their  original  powers. 
4.  The  people  of  the  States  to  be  guarantied  their  political  rights 
and  franchises,  with  rights  of  person  and  property.  5.  The  Fed 
eral  Government  not  to  disturb  the  people  of  the  States  for  past 
acts  of  war,  so  long  as  they  should  remain  in  peace  and  quiet,  and 
obey  existing  laws.  6.  The  war,  in  general,  to  cease ;  a  general 
amnesty  to  be  proclaimed  by  the  Federal  executive,  on  condition 
of  a  disbandment  and  deposit  of  arms  by  the  Confederate  troops, 
and  their  return  to  peaceful  pursuits. 

These  terms  were  rejected  at  Washington,  and  Gen.  Grant 
was  sent  to  North  Carolina,  where  the  same  terms  were  proffered 
to  Gen.  Johnston  that  had  been  accorded  to  Gen.  Lee ;  and  these 
he  of  course  accepted.  Here  ceased  the  public  life  of  this  veteran 
soldier  and  master  of  war.  We  have  so  far  let  his  acts  portray 
his  character,  and  have  indulged  in  very  few  and  brief  commen 
taries  upon  them. 

It  has  been  well  said  that  the  great  captain  is  the  man  who 
thoroughly  understands  his  position,  and  the  temper  and  charac 
ter  of  his  own  troops ;  who  clearly  perceives  the  qualities  of  the 
enemy,  and  capacity  of  the  commander  opposed  to  him ;  who 
knows  how  to  husband  his  own  resources,  and  to  destroy  those 
of  his  enemy;  who  accurately  judges  when  to  fight  and  when  to 
retreat;  who  is  capable  of  discriminating  between  what  is  essen 
tial  to  insure  eventual  success,  and  what  is  of  only  factitious 
importance ;  and  who  has  the  moral  courage  to  forego  a  tempo 
rary  blow,  bringing  only  an  evanescent  advantage,  for  an  ulti 
mate,  substantial,  and  permanent  success. 

In  this  sense,  Gen.  Johnston  was  a  great  commander.  He 
cared  nothing  for  positions  whenever  they  had  lost  their  value  as 
places  of  safety  and  security  for  armies.  When  they  became 
dangerous  depositories  of  troops  he  could  no  longer  tolerate  the 
idea  of  holding  them.  When  urged  to  hold  Harper's  Ferry 
ra.ther  than  excite  popular  clamour  by  choosing  a  better  position, 
he  braved  the  outcry,  to  place  his  army  on  vantage-ground.  He 
withdrew  from  Yorktown,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  the  populace, 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  407 

but  far  more  to  the  regret  and  disappointment  of  Gen.  McClellan. 
"When  the  question  arose  between  saving  the  position  at  Vicks- 
burg  and  hazarding  its  great  garrison,  he  ordered  that  the  army 
should  be  saved.  During  the  campaign  before  Atlanta,  there 
was  a  popular  desire,  and  an  official  clamour,  for  an  advance  ;  but 
the  question  again  occurring  between  throwing  away  his  army, 
and  yielding  a  district  of  country,  he  again  made  the  preserva 
tion  of  the  former  his  cardinal  thought.  He  has  been  accused  of 
obstinacy ;  but  this  is  a  virtue  of  priceless  value,  when  it  sets 
out  in  the  way  of  what  is  wise  and  right ;  it  becomes  a  shocking 
fault  and  crime  when  it  takes  the  direction  of  mistake  and  folly. 
It  was  characteristic  of  Johnston  clearly  to  perceive  what  was 
proper  to  be  done,  and  he  did  not  know  how  to  play  courtier 
either  to  people  or  President.  Against  popular  clamour,  against 
executive  favour,  against  all  the  considerations  which  ordinarily 
swerve  men  into  concessions  of  principle  to  the  ends  of  policy, 
he  persistently,  obstinately,  nay,  often  indignantly,  stood  to  his 
own  just,  wise,  sterling,  deep-rooted  convictions.  It  is  difficult 
to  determine  whether  he  possessed  more  of  the  qualities  of  Fabius, 
Marlborough,  "Washington,  or  Greene. 

A  recent  popular  writer  has  pointed  out  a  strong  military 
likeness  between  Joseph  E.  Johnston  and  George  "Washington. 
Each  was  remarkable,  in  the  conduct  of  war,  for  the  little  value 
attached  to  military  positions  in  comparison  with  the  forces  that 
defended  them,  and  in  this  respect  each  showed  the  appreciation 
of  a  great  commander.  Each  regarded  masses  and  general 
results  rather  than  isolated  bodies  and  mere  temporary  effects, 
and  in  this  breadth  of  view  achieved  the  greatest  success  of  their 
arms.  For  the  great  General  sees  but  little  advantage  in  picking 
off  detached  forces  of  the  enemy,  or  in  precipitating  small  bodies 
of  men  against  each  other,  but  rather  seeks  to  husband  his  forces 
until  the  auspicious  moment  of  attack  arrives.  "When  that 
moment  did  arrive  Johnston  had  a  supreme  activity.  He  was  a 
more  vigorous  tighter  than  "Washington.  Having  attained  cer 
tain  positions,  and  accomplished  certain  results,  he  pressed 
forward  against  the  vital  point  with  a  vigour  and  resolution  that 
carried  everything  before  them  ;  and  when  his  blood  was  up, 
he  fought  with  matchless  rapidity,  and  struck  right  and  left  with 
the  blows  of  a  giant. 


408  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

There  is  a  yet  more  remarkable  parallel  between  Johnston 
and  "Washington  in  the  perfect  and  sublime  silence  of  each  under 
the  misrepresentations  of  the  populace  and  the  intrigues  of  par 
tisans.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  each  of  these  patriots  to  be  misunder 
stood  and  accused  in  their  times;  to  be  most  unjustly  criticised, 
when  explanations  might  have  readily  relieved  them,  but  such 
explanations  involved  injurious  disclosures  to  the  enemy,  and  were 
inconsistent  with  the  good  of  the  public  service.  Silence  in  such 
circumstances  is  the  most  difficult  and  highest  magnanimity.  In 
1776,  when  the  public  was  violently  misjudging  Gen.  Washing 
ton,  and  friends  appeared  to  be  falling  from  his  side,  Governor 
Livingston,  of  New  Jersey,  wrote  to  the  noble  and  distressed 
commander :  "  I  can  easily  form  some  idea  of  the  difficulties 
under  which  you  labour,  particularly  of  one  for  which  the  public 
can  make  no  allowance,  because  your  prudence  and  fidelity  to 
the  cause  will  not  suffer  you  to  reveal  it  to  the  public — an  in 
stance  of  magnanimity  superiour,  perhaps,  to  any  that  can  be 
shown  in  battle."  So  Gen.  Johnston  endured  in  silence  misrep 
resentation  and  calumny  that  a  few  words  spoken  for  self  might 
have  dispersed.  He  practised  throughout  the  war  a  supreme 
reticence  for  the  public  good.  When  he  was  almost  cruelly 
removed  at  Atlanta,  after  a  campaign  that  the  afterthought  of 
his  countrymen  now  pronounces  the  most  successful  of  his  mili 
tary  life,  he  uttered  not  a  word  of  public  complaint.  He  made 
no  unmanly  appeals  for  sympathy  to  the  soldiers  who  idolized 
him,  nor  to  the  friends  who  reposed  the  most  implicit  confidence 
in  him.  Thinking  not  of  self,  but  of  the  salvation  of  his  country, 
he  called  for  his  successor,  who  had  been  his  own  subordinate, 
explained  fully  to  him  the  condition  of  things,  the  relative  posi 
tions  of  the  two  armies,  their  strength,  etc.,  and  then  unfolded  to 
him  what  had  been  his  own  plans  and  intentions.  Every  effort 
was  made  to  enable  his  successor  to  win  those  laurels  which  had 
been  denied  to  him. 

Not  a  few  military  critics  have  considered  Johnston  superiour 
to  Lee  in  the  highest  qualities  of  generalship ;  and  perhaps  the 
best  judgment  of  the  enemy  has  designated  his  as  the  master 
military  mind  of  the  Confederacy.*  He  may  have  lacked  Lee's 

*  A  Northern  historiographer  of  the  war — Shanks— more  candid  than  his  class, 


GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON.  409 

rotundity  of  character,  its  even  development  of  qualities,  but  he 
had  a  wider  vision,  and  perhaps  a  better  military  instinct  or  sa 
gacity.  Everything  about  him  ;  his  bearing,  style  of  dress,  and 
even  his  most  careless  attitudes,  betokened  the  high-toned  and 
spirited  soldier  who  loves  his  profession.  His  person  and  deport 
ment  were  severely  military,  and  it  was  common  for  the  soldiers 
to  compare  him  to  the  game-cock,  trimmed  and  spurred  for  the 
fight.  His  erect  carriage,  his  florid  complexion,  his  neatly-trim 
med  gray  hair  and  closely-cut  beard,  divided  into  side-whiskers, 
moustache,  and  goatee,  gave  him  a  precise  and  vigorous  appear 
ance.  He  had  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  arms,  a  bold  and 
fertile  conception,  and  a  constitution  of  body  which  enabled  him 
to  bear  up  against  fatigues  which  would  have  prostrated  the 
strength  of  other  men.  In  general  intellect  and  scholarly  accom 
plishments  he  was  undoubtedly  the  superiour  of  the  five  Generals 
in  the  Confederate  army.  In  his  reports  is  to  be  found  some  of 
the  most  vigorous  English  in  the  literature  of  the  South.  He 
wrote  "  imperatoria  Irevitate"  *  His  language  was  remarkably 
precise,  and  sometimes  attained  a  degree  of  eloquence  which 
showed  that,  in  the  turmoil  of  the  camp,  he  was  not  unmindful 
of  the  graces  of  literature. 

thus  discourses  of  Johnston's  Atlanta  campaign  and  the  qualities  of  the  com 
mander  : 

"  A  more  laborious  campaign  than  that  of  Atlanta  was  never  undertaken,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  say  which  soldier  deserves  the  most  credit  for  the  movement — Sherman 
or  Joe  Johnston.  The  retreats  of  the  latter  were  not  less  admirable  than  the  flank 
marches  of  the  former.  Johnston  showed  as  clean  heels,  as  Sherman  did  a  fully 
guarded  front.  His  camps  were  left  barren ;  Sherman  found  only  smoking  camp-fires, 
but  no  spoils  were  left  behind  him.  It  was  looked  upon  by  the  officers  of  Sherman's 
army  as  the  '  cleanest  retreat  of  the  war ; '  and  it  is  very  evident  now  that  had  John 
ston  remained  in  command,  and  been  allowed  to  continue  his  Fabian  policy,  Sherman 
could  never  have  made  his  march  to  the  sea,  and  the  capture  of  Atlanta  would  have 
been  a  Cadmean  victory  to  him.  Johnston  proved  himself  a  very  superiour  soldier — 
in  fact,  the  superiour  General  of  the  Southern  armies.  If  it  could  be  said  of  any  of 
the  rebels,  it  could  be  said  of  Johnston,  that,  in  fact,  he  was 

" '  The  noblest  Roman  of  them  all : 
All  the  conspirators,  save  only  he, 
Did  what  they  did  in  envy  of  great  Caesar. 
He  only,  in  a  generous,  honest  thought, 
And  common  good  to  all,  made  one  of  them.' " 

*  A  remark  of  Tacitus  on  Piso's  address  to  his  troops. 


410  GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  proportion  as  the  military  men  of  the 
Confederacy  were  active  and  brilliant  fighters  in  the  war,  they 
have  given  pacific  and  conservative  counsels  since  its  close. 
Those  soldiers  and  officers  who  did  most  to  uphold  the  Southern 
cause  in  arms,  appear  to  be  foremost  to  recommend  prompt  and 
cheerful  acquiescence  in  the  results  of  the  issues  which  were  de 
cided  on  the  field  of  battle.  Thus  Gen.  Johnston,  who,  as  many 
of  his  countrymen  believe,  will,  when  the  whole  history  of  the 
war  comes  to  be  fairly  studied  and  written,  prove  to  have  been 
the  ablest  Confederate  commander,  writes,  the  date  being  August 
17,  1865  :  "  "We  of  the  South  referred  the  question  at  issue  be 
tween  us  and  the  United  States  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword. 
The  decision  has  been  made,  and  it  is  against  us.  We  must  ac 
quiesce  in  that  decision,  accept  it  as  final,  and  recognize  the  fact 
that  Virginia  is  again  one  of  the  United  States.  Our  duties  and 
our  interests  coincide.  We  shall  consult  the  one  and  perform  the 
other  by  doing  all  we  can  to  promote  the  welfare  of  our  neigh 
bours  and  to  restore  prosperity  to  the  country.  We  should  at 
once  commence  the  duties  of  peaceful  citizens  by  entering  upon 
some  useful  pursuit,  qualifying  ourselves  to  vote,  if  possible ;  and 
at  the  polls  our  votes  should  be  cast  for  conservative  men — men 
who  understand  and  will  maintain  the  interests  of  Virginia  as 
one  of  the  United  States.  This  is  the  course  which  I  have  re 
commended  to  all  those  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  sub 
ject,  and  that  which  I  have  adopted  for  myself  as  far  as  practi 
cable." 


LIEUT.-GEtf,  JAMES  LONGSTREET. 


CHAPTER  XXXYI. 

His  early  military  services. — Affair  of  Blackburn's  Ford.— Battle  of  Williamsburg. — 
Gallantry  at  Games'  Mills.— Incident  of  march  to  Second  Manassas. — Separate 
command  in  South  Virginia, — Desperate  fighting  at  Gettysburg. — Sobriquet  of 
"The  Bull-dog." — Decisive  part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. — Quarrel  with  Gen. 
Bragg. — Campaign  in  East  Tennessee. — Its  errours. — A  sharp  correspondence 
with  the  Federal  General  Foster. — Gen.  Longstreet  rebuked  by  President  Davis. 
— He  is  wounded  in  the  Wilderness. — Military  character  and  aptitude  of  the 
man. — Fraternal  relations  with  Gen.  Lee. — His  personal  appearance. 

GEN.  LONGSTREET  was  born  in  South  Carolina,  in  1820,  and 
entered  the  Military  Academy  at  West  .Point  in  1838,  and  grad 
uated  in  1842.  He  was  brevetted  second-lieutenant  of  the 
Fourth  Kegiment  of  Infantry,  and  in  March,  1845,  he  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  Eighth  Kegiment.  He  served  with  distinction  in 
the  Mexican  war.  After  the  battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubus- 
co,  he  was  brevetted  captain,  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  con 
duct,"  and  was,  three  weeks  after,  brevetted  major  for  "gallan 
try  "  at  the  battle  of  El  Molino  del  Key.  He  displayed  great 
courage  at  the  assault  of  Chapultepec,  and  was  named  in  Gen. 
Scott's  official  report  among  those  who  had  distinguished  them 
selves  on  this  brilliant  and  perilous  occasion. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  between  the  sundered  sections 
of  the  Union,  he  was  paymaster  in  the  United  States  Army,  with 
the  rank  of  major;  but  he  resigned  his  commission  and  was  at 
once  appointed  Brigadier-General  in  the  Confederate  army.  He 
made  an  early  appearance  in  the  history  of  the  war ;  the  first 
conspicuous  action  of  his  command  being  in  the  affair  of  Bull 
Run,  which  preceded  the  general  battle  of  Manassas,  and  took 


4:12  LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES   LONGSTREET. 

place  on  the  18th  July,  1861,  when  Tyler,  of  the  Federal  army, 
attempted  to  force  a  passage  of  the  stream.  Here  with  only 
twelve  hundred  bayonets,  afterwards  reinforced  by  two  regi 
ments  and  some  artillery,  Longstreet  held  the  enemy  in  check, 
until  the  engagement  degenerated  into  one  of  artillery,  in  which 
there  were  but  few  casualties  on  either  side.  In  his  official  re 
port  of  the  day  Gen.  Beauregard  wrote  :  "  Brig.-Gen.  Longstreet, 
who  commanded  immediately  the  troops  engaged  at  Blackburn's 
Ford  on  the  18th,  equalled  my  confident  expectations,  and  I  may 
fitly  say,  that  by  his  presence  in  the  right  place,  at  the  right 
moment,  among  his  men,  by  the  exhibition  of  characteristic 
coolness,  and  by  his  words  of  encouragement  to  the  men  of  his 
command,  he  infused  a  confidence  and  spirit  that  contributed 
largely  to  the  success  of  our  arms  on  that  day." 

In  the  subsequent  battle  of  Manassas,  Longstreet's  brigade 
was  not  actively  engaged,  but  remained  making  a  demonstra 
tion  at  Blackburn's  Ford  to  engross  the  enemy's  reserves  and 
forces.  The  plan  of  battle  prepared  by  the  Commanding  General 
had  contemplated  a  movement  on  the  enemy's  rear  and  front  at 
Centreville,  which  would  have  engaged  Longstreet;  but  the 
orders  to  this  effect  miscarried,  and  the  battle  was  fought  on  the 
Confederate  side,  fortuitously,  and  as  circumstances  developed  it. 

In  the  Peninsular  campaign  Longstreet,  who  had  been  pro 
moted  Major-General,  was  intrusted  with  defending  the  rear  of 
Johnston's  army  as  it  retreated  towards  Richmond.  He  fought 
the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  in  which  he  not  only  secured  John 
ston's  retreat,  but  won  a  brilliant  victory.  But  little  account 
was  ever  made  in  Southern  newspapers  of  this  victory,  and  yet 
it  had  some  brilliant  points.  Longstreet  engaged  nine  brigades 
of  the  Federal  army,  conquered  two  miles  of  ground,  captured 
nine  pieces  of  artillery,  inflicted  a  loss  upon  the  enemy  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  prisoners,  which  McClellan  himself  officially 
counted  as  more  than  two  thousand,  and  moved  off  the  next  day 
leaving  the  greater  portion  of  Heintzelman's  corps  stunned  be 
hind  him,  and  such  a  lesson  to  McClellan  as  to  cause  him  to 
abandon  the  pursuit. 

In  the  battles  around  Richmond,  Longstreet  fought  brilliant 
ly  and  effectively  at  Gaines'  Mills  and  at  Frazier's  Farm.  At  the 
former  place,  commanded  by  Gen.  Lee  to  make  a  diversion  in  fa- 


LIEUT.-GEN.  JAMES  LONGSTREET.  413 

vour  of  attacking  columns  on  other  parts  of  the  field,  he  took  the 
responsibility  of  changing  the  feint  into  an  attack  under  disad 
vantages  of  position  which  he  thus  describes : — "  In  front  of  me, 
the  enemy  occupied  the  wooded  slope  of  Turkey  Hill,  the  crest  of 
which  is  fifty  or  sixty  feet  higher  than  the  plain  over  which  my 
troops  must  pass  to  make  an  attack.  The  plain  is  about  a  quar 
ter  of  a  mile  wide  ;  the  further  side  of  it  was  occupied  by  sharp 
shooters.  Above  these,  and  on  the  slope  of  the  hill,  was  a  line 
of  infantry  behind  trees,  felled  so  as  to  form  a  good  breastwork. 
The  crest  of  the  hill,  some  forty  feet  above  the  last  line,  was 
strengthened  by  rifle  trenches,  and  occupied  by  infantry  and 
artillery.  In  addition  to  this,  the  plain  was  enfiladed  by  bat 
teries  on  the  other  side  of  the  Chickahominy.  I  was,  in  fact, 
in  the  position  from  which  the  enemy  wished  us  to  attack  him" 
The  attack  was  successful ;  and  as  Jackson  came  upon  the 
ground  about  the  same  time,  one  of  his  divisions  coming  in  on 
the  left  of  Longstreet,  it  occupied  the  entire  field,  and  drove  the 
enemy  in  irretrievable  rout.  "No  battle-field,"  wrote  Gen. 
Longstreet,  "  could  boast  of  more  gallantry  and  devotion." 

In  the  campaign  of  Northern  Virginia  Longstreet  had  a  con 
spicuous  part,  and  his  march  through  Thoroughfare  Gap  to  unite 
with  Jackson  on  the  plains  of  Manassas,  was  the  critical  event 
of  that  field,  where  Pope  was  overthrown,  and  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia  cleared  of  invading  armies. 

Of  this  march  an  incident  is  related  indicative  of  the  state 
of  war.  While  Longstreet  was  hurrying  forward  to  Jackson's 
relief,  several  brigades  in  advance,  on  different  roads,  were  ob 
served  to  halt,  thereby  stopping  all  further  progress  of  the  corps. 
Very  angry  at  this,  Longstreet  trotted  to  the  front,  and  was  in 
formed  that  a  courier  had  brought  orders  from  Gen.  Lee  to  that 
effect !  "  From  Gen.  Lee  ?  "  said  he,  his  eyes  glowing  with  rage. 
"  Where  is  that  courier  ?  "  he  asked.  "  There  he  goes  now,  Gen 
eral,  galloping  down  the  road."  "  Keep  your  eyes  on  him,  over 
take  him,  and  bring  him  here."  This  was  soon  accomplished. 
"  By  whose  orders  did  you  halt  my  brigade  ?  "asked  the  Brigadier 
in  advance.  "  As  I  have  already  told  you,  by  Gen.  Lee's  !  I 
have  orders  for  Longstreet,  and  must  be  off  to  the  rear !  "  "  Here 
is  Longstreet,"  said  that  General,  moving  forward.  "  Where  are 
your  orders  ?  "  The  spy  was  caught !  He  stammered,  turned 


LIEUT.-GEN.  JAMES  LONGSTREET. 

pale,  and  his  quivering  lip  condemned  him.  "  Give  this  man  ten 
minutes,  and  hang  him !  Let  the  columns  push  forward  imme 
diately."  The  order  was  obeyed,  and  the  brigades  in  the  rear 
passed  the  lifeless  body  of  the  man  dangling  from  a  tree  by  the 
roadside.  He  confessed  before  his  death  that  he  had  been  acting 
as  a  spy  for  the  enemy  for  ten  months. 

After  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  we  find  Longstreet  de 
tached  from  Gen.  Lee,  and  undertaking  an  important  separate 
command  in  South  Virginia.  In  February,  1863,  ho  was  made 
a  Lieutenant-General,  and  took  up  his  headquarters  at  Petersburg, 
to  watch  the  south-side  approaches  to  Richmond,  and  the  move 
ments  of  the  enemy  on  the  North  Carolina  coast.  The  campaign 
was  a  barren  one.  A  demonstration  was  made  upon  Suffolk,  but 
was  abandoned  after  some  desultory  fighting;  and  Longstreet 
rejoined  the  Army  of  Northern  Yirginia  on  its  ill-starred  march 
into  Pennsylvania. 

His  vigorous  part  in  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  has  already 
been  related.  Gen.  Longstreet  was  opposed  to  this  battle,  fore 
boded  the  worst  from  an  attack  on  the  enemy  in  his  strong  and 
formidable  position,  and  has  since  very  freely  criticised  the  dispo 
sitions  of  his  commander-in-chief,  especially  on  the  third  day 
when  Gen.  Lee  made  the  last  attempt  on  the  enemy's  centre  with 
not  more  than  fifteen  thousand  men.  He  thought  that  the  army 
should  have  been  more  concentrated  for  this  supreme  effort,  and 
that  it  should  have  been  made  with  at  least  thirty  thousand  men. 
When  Pickett's  column  was  mangled  and  driven  back  there  was 
some  fear  on  the  Confederate  side  that  the  enemy  would  advance 
and  pursue  the  advantage ;  an  apprehension,  however,  not  shared 
by  Longstreet,  who  appears  to  have  been  anxious  for  the  coun 
ter-attack,  and  to  have  contemplated  an  opportunity  to  give  the 
enemy  a  retaliatory  blow.  "  I  had,"  says  he,  "  Hood  and  Mc- 
Laws,  who  had  not  been  engaged  ;  I  had  a  heavy  force  of  artil 
lery  ;  I  should  have  liked  nothing  better  than  to  have  been  at 
tacked,  and  have  no  doubt  I  should  have  given  those  who  tried 
as  bad  a  reception  as  Pickett  received." 

Col.  Fremantle,  of  the  British  service,  who  was  a  spectator 
of  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  has  given  a  vivid  account  of  it, 
was  near  Longstreet  at  the  moment  when  Pickett's  troops  re 
treated  across  the  valley.  Seated  on  the  top  of  a  fence,  at  the 


LIEUT. -GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTREET.  415 

edge  of  the  wood,  and  looking  perfectly  calm,  the  commander 
was  accosted  by  Col.  Fremantle,  who  said  to  him,  in  reference  to 
the  grand  yet  fearful  scene  before  them,  "  I  wouldn't  have  missed 
this  for  anything  !  "  Longstreet  replied,  laughing,  •'  The  devil 
you  wouldn't !  I  would  like  to  have  missed  it  very  much  ;  we've 
attacked  and  been  repulsed :  look  there !  "  The  Confederates 
were  slowly  and  sulkily  returning  towards  his  position  in  small 
broken  parties,  under  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery.  "  I  could  now,*' 
says  Fremantle,  "  thoroughly  appreciate  the  term  bull-dog,  which 
I  had  heard  applied  to  him  by  his  soldiers.  Difficulties  seemed 
to  make  no  other  impression  upon  him  than  to  make  him  a  little 
more  savage." 

Some  time  after  this  battle,  when  the  theatre  of  the  war  was 
pushed  back  to  Yirginia,  Longstreet  was  transferred,  with  five 
brigades,  to  reinforce  the  Army  of  Tennessee  under  Gen.  Bragg. 
In  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he  commanded  the  left  wing  of  the 
Confederates ;  and  it  was  always  claimed  by  his  friends  that  he 
won  the  field  for  Bragg  and  made  the  decisive  action  of  the  day. 
While  this  claim  is  scarcely  to  be  accepted  to  its  full  extent,  it  is 
undoubtedly  true  that  Longstreet  held  his  ground  when  the  right 
wing  of  Polk  gave  way,  and  until  it  recovered  to  join  in  the 
general  advance  that  swept  the  field  and  finally  routed  the  en 
emy. 

After  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  a  violent  quarrel  sprang  up 
between  Gens.  Bragg  and  Longstreet,  and  the  War  Department 
at  Richmond  was  burdened  with  a  correspondence  full  of  recrim 
inations.  It  is  not  our  part  to  determine  the  merits  of  this  con 
troversy;  it  involves  questions  of  military  rather  than  personal 
interest.  It  was  stated  by  Gen.  Longstreet  that  Chickamauga 
was  one  of  the  most  complete  victories  of  the  war,  but  had  not 
been  "followed  up."  The  day  after  the  battle  Gen.  Bragg  asked 
Longstreet's  advice,  which  was  promptly  given:  "that  he  should 
immediately  strike  Burnside  a  blow;  or,  if  Burnside  escaped, 
then  to  march  on  Rosecrans'  communications  in  the  rear  of  Nash 
ville."  Gen.  Bragg  was  at  first  thought  to  be  in  favour  of  such  a 
campaign.  But  the  right  wing  had  not  marched  more  than  eight  or 
ten  miles  the  next  day  before  it  was  halted,  and  ordered  to  march 
towards  Chattanooga,  after  giving  the  enemy  two  and  a  half  days 
to  strengthen  the  fortifications.  Bragg's  army  remained  in  front 


416  LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTREET. 

of  the  enemy's  defences,  with  orders  not  to  assault  him.  The 
only  thing  the  Commanding  General  had  well  done,  said  Long- 
street,  was  to  order  the  attack  on  the  19th  September ;  everything 
else  had  been  wrong.  He  suggested  that  Gen.  Lee  might  be 
sent  there,  while  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  remained  on 
the  defensive,  to  prosecute  offensive  measures  against  Rosecran-s. 
Bragg's  army,  in  short,  was  represented  to  be  without  organiza 
tion  or  mobility,  and  the  government  was  invoked  to  interpose 
speedily  to  save  it  from  disaster. 

It  was  probably  this  serious  disconcert  between  Gens.  Bragg 
and  Longstreet,  in  which  the  Government  was  equally  tender  to 
both,  and  weakly  equivocal,  that  prompted  to  some  extent  the 
unfortunate  detachment  of  the  latter  commander  for  eccentric 
operations  in  East  Tennessee,  which  accomplished  nothing, 
deranged  the  whole  Western  campaign,  and  fatally  weakened 
the  mountain  frontier  of  Georgia,  where  should  have  been  the 
decisive  trial  of  strength.  Longstreet's  expedition  to  Knoxville 
was  a  false  and  disastrous  enterprise.  Failing  to  take  the  town 
by  assault,  and  too  weak  to  risk  the  operations  of  siege  on 
account  of  obvious  and  rapid  reinforcements  of  the  enemy, 
Longstreet  had  no  other  recourse  than  to  retreat  into  North 
eastern  Tennessee,  and  shut  himself  up  for  the  whole  winter  in 
a  wild  and  difficult  country,  where  his  command  was  completely 
isolated,  and  as  useless  to  the  Confederacy  as  if  it  had  not  existed. 
There  was  a  large  number  of  barefooted  men  in  his  command, 
and  their  sufferings  may  be  imagined  in  the  depths  of  winter, 
when  the  weather  was  extremely  cold,  and  the  mountains  cov 
ered  with  snow. 

While  his  little  army  was  thus  contained  in  the  mountains 
of  East  Tennessee,  the  Federal  authorities  contrived  to  get  into 
circulation  a  great  number  of  handbills,  for  the  purpose  of 
inducing  the  distressed  soldiers  to  desert.  Gen.  Longstreet  wrote 
a  very  handsome  letter  to  Gen.  Foster,  who  had  command  of  the 
Federal  forces  in  that  section,  to  the  effect  that  it  would  be  more 
in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  propriety  and  custom  for  the 
Federal  Government  to  communicate  any  views  it  entertained 
through  him,  instead  of  throwing  handbills  among  the  soldiers. 
To  this  very  respectful  and  dignified  letter  Gen.  Foster  returned 
a  reply  replete  with  insult  and  jest.  In  answer,  Gen.  Longstreet 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTKEET.  417 

said  :  "  You  cannot  pretend  to  have  answered  my  letter  in  the 
spirit  of  frankness  due  to  a  soldier,  and  yet  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  an  officer  commanding  an  army  of  veteran  soldiers,  on 
whose  shoulders  rest  in  no  small  degree  the  destiny  of  empires, 
could  so  far  forget  the  height  of  this  great  argument  of  arms, 
and  so  betray  the  dignity  of  his  high  station,  as  to  fall  into  a  con 
test  of  jests  and  jibes.  I  have  read  your  order  announcing  the 
favourable  terms  on  which  deserters  will  be  received.  Step  by 
step  you  have  gone  on  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  honourable 
warfare.  Our  farms  have  been  destroyed,  our  women  and  chil 
dren  have  been  robbed,  and  our  homes  have  been  pillaged  and 
burned.  You  have  laid  your  plans,  and  worked  diligently  to 
produce  wholesale  murder  by  servile  insurrection.  And  now, 
the  most  ignoble  of  all,  you  propose  to  degrade  the  human  race 
by  inducing  soldiers  to  dishonour  and  forswear  themselves.  Sol 
diers  who  have  met  you  on  so  many  honourable  fields,  who  have 
breasted  the  storm  of  battle  in  defense  of  their  honour,  their 
families,  and  their  homes,  for  three  long  years,  have  a  right  to 
expect  more  honour,  even  in  their  adversaries." 

These  severe  but  entirely  just  words  might  have  occasioned 
a  sense  of  shame  in  a  manly  breast ;  but  they  were  decidedly 
thrown  away  on  Foster,  who  was  one  of  those  Federal  com 
manders  who  illustrated  the  extreme  Northern  school  of  aboli 
tion,  and  whose  consciences  were  never  disturbed  by  any  expe 
dient,  no  matter  how  violent  or  dishonourable,  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  war. 

The  failure  of  the  assault  on  Knoxville  was  ascribed  by  Gen. 
Longstreet  to  certain  delays  on  the  part  of  Maj.-Gen.  McLaws 
in  making  the  attack,  and  was  the  occasion  of  an  unpleasant 
quarrel  in  which  it  must  be  confessed  Gen.  Longstreet  showed 
evidence  of  undue  temper.  The  charges  against  McLaws  were 
not  sustained.  On  the  papers  in  this  case,  which  created  great 
scandal  in  the  army,  President  Davis  indorsed  :  "  Gen.  Long- 
street  has  seriously  offended  against  good  order  and  military  dis 
cipline  in  rearresting  an  officer  (Gen.  McLaws)  who  had  been 
released  by  the  War  Department,  without  any  new  offence  hav 
ing  been  alleged."  The  rebuke  was  a  severe  one,  and  it  was 
thought  about  this  time  that  Gen.  Longstreet  had  shown  such 
unfortunate  evidences  of  temper  that  it  would  be  advisable  to 

27 


418  LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTREET. 

relieve  him.  He  himself  had  asked  to  be  relieved,  and  had 
expressed  impatience  that  he  should  be  held  subject  to  the  orders 
of  Gen.  Johnston,  who  had  now  taken  command  of  the  army  of 
Tennessee,  and  whose  headquarters  were  certainly  at  an  incon 
venient  distance  from  the  district  which  Longstreet  had  eccen 
trically  invaded,  and  where  he  was  practically  isolated,  so  far 
as  reinforcements  were  concerned.  Happily,  however,  the  resto 
ration  of  railroad  communications  with  Yirginia,  in  the  early 
months  of  1864,  called  him  to  a  new  and  urgent  field,  and  he 
was  enabled  to  rejoin  his  old  commander,  Gen.  Lee,  in  season  for 
the  great  campaign  of  tha.t  year,  which  decided  the  long-vexed 
fate  of  Richmond. 

A  statement  has  already  been  made  in  another  part  of  this 
work  of  the  wounding  of  Gen.  Longstreet,  by  the  misdirected 
fire  of  his  own  men,  in  the  second  day's  fight  of  the  Wilderness, 
just  at  the  time  he  was  organizing  a  general  attack  on  the  en 
emy's  works.  It  was  a  most  untimely  accident.  Gen.  Long- 
street  was  always  persuaded  that  he  would  have  inflicted  a  de 
cisive  blow — in  his  own  words,  have  "  had  another  Bull  Run  on 
the  enemy  " — but  for  the  fall  from  his  wound,  and  the  consequent 
delay  and  miscarriage  of  his  plan,  which  contemplated,  while  he 
attacked  in  front,  a  movement  on  the  Brock  road  to  cut  off  the 
enemy.  The  fire  which  wounded  him  was  from  the  flanking 
party,  which  mistook  the  cavalcade  of  the  commander  for  a  body 
of  Federal  cavalry.  Gen.  Longstreet  was  near  enough  the  men 
to  shout  to  them  to  cease  firing.  He  was  shot  through  the  neck 
and  shoulder. 

His  wound,  though  not  dangerous,  was  very  severe,  kept  him 
from  the  field  nearly  six  months,  and  produced  a  paralysis  of  the 
nerves  of  his  right  arm.  About  the  close  of  October,  1864,  he 
resumed  command  of  his  corps,  having  "  marked  with  pride  and 
pleasure  the  success  which  had  attended  their  heroic  efforts." 
In  the  last  days  of  Richmond,  his  command  was  generally  on  the 
north  side  of  the  James ;  but  he  crossed  to  Petersburg  in  time 
to  take  part  in  the  last  battle  there,  checking  the  enemy  by  a 
timely  reinforcement,  and  enabling  Gen.  Lee  to  hold  an  interiour 
line  closely  covering  the  town.  He  joined  in  the  final  retreat, 
and  was  included  in  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court  House. 

This  brief  record  of  Gen.  Longstreet's  experience  of  the  war 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTKEET.  419 

is  jet  not  so  brief  or  general  as  to  be  without  indications  of  the 
military  character  and  aptitude  of  the  man.  His  only  trials  of 
separate  commands — the  expedition  against  Suffolk  and  that 
against  Knoxville,  had  poor  results ;  and  his  reputation  was  so  en 
tirely  that  of  the  subordinate,  so  overshadowed  by  Lee's  great 
name,  that  he  may  be  said  to  have  made  but  little  separate  con 
spicuous  figure  in  the  war.  But  as  Lee's  lieutenant  he  was 
trusted,  faithful,  diligent,  a  hardy  campaigner,  a  fierce  obstinate 
fighter,  an  officer  who  devoted  his  whole  mind  to  the  war,  and, 
indeed,  seldom  gave  excursion  to  his  thoughts  beyond  the  voca 
tion  of  arms.  He  had  great  and  peculiar  control  over  his  men, 
from  a  habit  of  plain,  practical  advice,  which  made  his  general 
orders  very  unique,  and  distinguished  them  from  the  tawdry, 
rhetorical  displays  too  common  in  the  war.  Instead  of  attempt 
ing  fine  writing,  he  gave  his  men  practical  hints  about  the  use  of 
arms  and  modes  of  attack,  and  appealed  to  the  common  sense 
of  the  soldier.  On  the  eve  of  the  battles  around  Richmond,  he 
wrote  in  general  orders  to  his  troops :  "  Remember,  though  the 
fiery  noise  of  the  battle  is  indeed  most  terrifying,  and  seems  to 
threaten  universal  ruin,  it  is  not  so  destructive  as  it  seems,  and 
few  soldiers  after  all  are  slain.  This  the  Commanding  General 
desires  particularly  to  impress  upon  the  fresh  and  unexperienced 
troops  who  now  constitute  a  part  of  this  command.  Let  officers 
and  men,  even  under  the  most  formidable  fire,  preserve  a  quiet 
demeanour  and  self-possessed  temper.  Keep  cool,  obey  orders, 
and  aim  low.  Remember,  while  you  are  doing  this,  and  driving 
the  enemy  before  you,  your  comrades  may  be  relied  on  to  sup 
port  you  on  either  side,  and  are  in  turn  relying  upon  you.  Stand 
well  to  your  duty.'-' 

In  making  the  assault  on  the  enemy's  fort  at  Knoxville,  he 
sought  to  impress  his  officers  and  men  with  "  the  importance  of 
making  a  rush  when  they  once  start  to  take  such  a  position.  If 
the  troops,  once  started,  rush  forward  till  the  point  is  carried,  the 
loss  will  be  trifling ;  whereas,  if  they  hesitate,  the  enemy  gets 
courage,  or,  being  behind  a  comparatively  sheltered  position,  will 
fight  the  harder.  Beside,  if  the  assaulting  party  once  loses  cour 
age  and  falters,  he  will  not  find  courage,  probably,  to  make  a  re 
newed  effort.  The  men  should  be  cautioned  before  they  start  at 


420  LIEUT.-GEN.   JAMES  LONGSTREET. 

such  work,  and  told  what  they  are  to  do,  and  the  importance  and 
great  safety  of  doing  it  with  a  rush." 

Gen.  Longstreet  had  a  genuine  and  inimitable  sang-froid  in 
battle.  It  did  as  much  to  encourage  his  men  as  many  passionate 
displays  of  fervour,  and  was  especially  effective  in  keeping  them 
steady  in  the  most  desperate  circumstances. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Gen.  Longstreet  was  not  engaging. 
It  was  decidedly  sombre ;  his  bluish-grey  eye  was  intelligent,  but 
cold ;  a  very  heavy  brown  beard  was  allowed  to  grow  untrim- 
med ;  he  seldom  spoke  unnecessarily ;  his  weather-stained  clothes, 
splashed  boots,  and  heavy  black  felt  hat  gave  a  certain  fierceness 
of  aspect  to  the  man.  His  temper  was  high  and  combative,  and 
he  was  quick  to  imagine  slights  to  his  importance.  But  his  re 
lations  with  Gen.  Lee,  who  seems  to  have  been  most  felicitous  in 
accommodating  the  peculiarities  of  all  his  lieutenants,  were  not 
only  pleasant  and  cordial,  but  affectionate  to  an  almost  brotherly 
degree ;  an  example  of  beautiful  friendship  in  the  war  that  was 
frequently  remarked  by  the  public. 

Since  the  war  Gen.  Longstreet  has  engaged  in  commercial 
pursuits  in  New  Orleans.  The  name  of  the  firm  is  "  Longstreet, 
Owens  &  Co." 


LIEUT.-GEK  J.  E.  B,  STTIART. 


CHAPTER  XXXYII. 

Unique  figure  of  Stuart  in  the  war. — His  first  cavalry  command  in  the  Valley  of 
Virginia. — Adventure  with  Capt.  Perkins. — Complimented  by  G-en  Johnston. — 
The  action  of  Dranesville.— "  The  Ride  around  McClellan."— Adventure  at  Ver- 
diersville. — Capture  of  Gen.  Pope's  coat  and  papers. — Expedition  into  Pennsyl 
vania. — At  Predericksburg.— At  Chancellorsville. — His  characteristic  intercourse 
with  Stonewall  Jackson. — Splendid  review  at  Brandy  Station. — The  scene 
changed  into  bloodiest  battle. — G-en.  Stuart's  serious  omission  in  the  Gettysburg 
campaign. — Adventure  in  the  flanking  movement  in  North  Virginia. — Hair 
breadth  escapes  of  the  commander. — He  is  shot  down  at  Yellow  Tavern. — His 
last  moments. — Criticism  of  his  military  character. 

PERHAPS  the  best-remembered  figure  of  the  war  in  Virginia 
from  its  uniqueness  and  brilliancy  was  that  of  Stuart  and  his 
brave  troopers  scouring  the  country,  making  magnificent  sur 
prises  of  the  enemy,  always  startling  the  public  with  sudden  ap 
paritions,  and  bounding  the  most  distant  parts  of  the  chief  theatre 
of  war  with  a  luminous  track  of  romance  and  adventure.  Near 
ly  everybody  in  Northern  Virginia  had  at  some  time  or  other 
seen  the  commander,  and  obtained  the  impression  of  a  face  and 
figure  not  easily  forgotten.  The  drooping  hat,  caught  up  with  a 
star  and  decorated  with  an  ebon  plume ;  the  tall  cavalry  boots 
decked  with  golden  spurs;  the  "fighting  jacket;"  the  magnifi 
cent  charger,  mud-splashed  from  head  to  foot,  were  all  familial- 
objects — the  popular  marks  of  the  famous  cavalier.  He  had  a 
face  to  be  remembered  Beneath  a  lofty  forehead  were  brilliant 
blue  eyes,  which,  when  lighted  up,  were  piercing  and  full  of 
deep  expression.  A  heavy  beard  covered  the  lower  part  of  his 
face ;  a  huge  moustache  gave  some  fierceness  to  the  expression, 
but  curled  at  the  least  provocation  with  contagious  laughter ;  a 


422  LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

ruddy  complexion  and  dancing  eyes  told  of  high  health  and  the 
exuberant  vitality  of  the  man.  He  had  a  gay  careless  manner 
which  greeted  with  indifference  "  the  thunder  or  the  sunshine." 
Full  of  ready  jest ;  always  in  for  a  frolic ;  fond  of  practical  jokes ; 
attended  in  camp  by  the  thrum  of  the  banjo;  often  waking  up  the 
little  country  towns  on  his  march  for  impromptu  balls  and  merry 
makings  ;  as  ready  for  an  opossum-hunt  as  for  a  battle  ;  with  all 
sorts  of  odds  and  ends  in  his  train,  including  a  French  cook, 
Sweeny,  jr.,  of  the  banjo,  and  a  Prussian  adjutant;  the  idol  of 
the  country  belles  who  "  followed  his  feather,"  and  among  whom 
he  distributed  complimentary  commissions  as  his  "  lieutenants," 
there  was  an  appearance  of  lightness  in  the  young  man,  not  yet 
turned  his  thirtieth  year ;  and  in  the  midst  of  so  much  of  what 
we  must  call  downright  frivolity,  one  would  have  scarcely  recog 
nized  the  cavalry  commander  who  filled  the  whole  country  with 
the  fame  of  his  sword  and  was  the  eyes  and  ears  of  Gen.  Lee's 
army.  It  is  a  unique  figure  and  character,  in  which  we  intro 
duce  one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  exceptional  men  of  the  war. 

James  E.  B.  Stuart  was  born  in  Patrick  County,  Virginia ; 
graduated  at  West  Point  in  1854 ;  and  saw  his  first  active  mili 
tary  service  in  the  wilds  of  New  Mexico,  where  he  had  abun 
dant  opportunity  of  indulging  his  inclination  in  riding  and  fight 
ing  ;  and  no  doubt  got  much  of  the  roving,  dashing,  adventurous 
habit  apparent  in  his  future  career.  In  the  John  Brown  affair 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  he  was  acting  as  Lee's  aide,  and  it  was  his 
sword  that  brought  the  outlaw  to  the  ground.  On  accepting  the 
service  of  the  Confederate  States,  in  the  war  of  which  John 
Brown  was  messenger  and  prophet,  Stuart  was  sent  with  the 
rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  to  command  a  small  body  of  cavalry  in 
the  valley  of  Virginia,  then  within  the  department  of  Gen.  J.  E. 
Johnston.  In  this  campaign,  in  which  Johnston  foiled  Patterson 
and  succeeded  in  transferring  his  army  to  Manassas,  Stuart  did 
most  important  service,  watching  the  enemy  with  lynx-eyed 
vigilance,  moving  to  and  fro  on  his  front,  picketing  the  Poto 
mac  from  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Alleghanies,  and  hanging  on 
his  march  as  he  advanced  towards  Winchester.  On  one  occa 
sion  he  surprised  a  whole  company  of  Patterson's  green  soldiers 
in  rather  amusing  circumstances.  With  a  handful  of  horsemen 
he  came  upon  a  company  of  skirmishers  gathered  in  about  a 


LIEUT. -GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUAKT.  423 

farm-house,  the  tired  volunteers  having  stacked  their  arras  in 
the  fence  corners,  and  betaken  themselves  to  drinking  milk  and 
other  pleasant  and  nonchalant  occupations.  Stuart  rode  boldly 
up  to  the  house,  exciting  such  little  suspicion,  that  a  civil  sol 
dier,  having  no  idea  of  an  enemy  in  the  vicinity,  and  supposing 
that  he  was  obliging  a  Federal  officer,  jumped  forward  and  let 
down  the  bars  that  admitted  the  horsemen  into  the  yard.  The 
next  moment  there  was  a  yell,  a  flourish  of  drawn  pistols,  and 
the  astonished  milk-drinking  skirmishers  found  themselves  pris 
oners  of  war,  and  were  carried  off  in  sight  of  the  main  army. 

At  another  time  a  Capt.  Perkins,  of  Patterson's  army,  com 
manding  a  battery  of  light  artillery,  was  riding  carelessly  about 
half  a  mile  in  advance  of  his  battery.  He  was  suddenly  ac 
costed  by  three  officers,  one  of  whom  exclaimed  in  a  familiar 
voice  and  manner :  "  Hallo,  Perk,  I'm  glad  to  see  you  ;  what  are 
you  doing  here  ? "  The  captain,  recognizing  in  the  speaker  his 
old  West  Point  chum,  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  returned  the  salute  heart 
ily,  recalling  his  college  sobriquet :  "  Why,  Beauty,  how  are 
you  ?  I  didn't  know  you  were  with  us."  "  Nor  did  I  know  you 
were  on  our  side,"  replied  Stuart.  "  What  command  have  you  ? " 

"There's  my  command  coming  over  the  hill,"  replied  Per 
kins,  pointing  complacently  to  the  well-equipped  battery  that 
was  approaching  with  Federal  colours  displayed.  "  Oh,  the  dev 
il  !  "  exclaimed  Stuart,  wheeling  suddenly  and  plunging  into  the 
forest.  "  Good-bye,  Perk." 

The  adventurous  Confederate  might  have  taken  another  pris 
oner  here,  as  there  were  two  aides  with  him,  and  Perkins  was 
alone ;  but  it  had  been  a  mutual  mistake,  and  Stuart,  in  his  gen 
erous  and  high  humour,  forbore  to  take  advantage  of  an  old 
comrade's  inadvertency. 

After  the  battle  of  Manassas,  in  which  he  was  mentioned  by 
Gen.  Beauregard  for  "enterprise  and  ability,"  Stuart  was  made 
a  Brigadier-General,  and  did  hard  work  on  the  Fairfax  line.  He 
continued  in  Northern  Virginia  under  Gen.  Johnston,  who  had 
remarked  him  in  the  Yalley  campaign,  and  then  designated  him 
as  "  the  indefatigable  Stuart."  Such,  indeed,  was  the  confidence 
he  secured  that  when,  at  a  much  later  period  of  the  war,  Gen. 
Johnston  was  transferred  from  Virginia  to  the  Department  of  the 
West,  the  distinguished  commander  was  induced  to  exclaim: 


424  LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

"  How  can  I  eat,  or  sleep,  or  rest  in  peace,  without  Stuart  on  the 
outpost !  "  But  by  this  time  Stuart,  ascending  in  reputation,  had 
obtained  a  division,  then  a  corps,  and  was  indispensable  in  the 
great  campaigns  of  Lee,  whose  right-hand  man  he  became. 

In  December,  1861,  while  on  the  lines  of  the  Potomac,  Stu 
art  met  with  a  serious  disaster  in  an  affair  called  by  exaggeration 
the  battle  of  Dranesville,  where  the  Federals  gained  their  first 
success  since  Rich  Mountain.  He  had  set  out  with  a  large  for 
aging  force  of  about  2,500  men,  escorting  nearly  300  wagons. 
He  was  successful  in  securing  forage,  and  about  midday  of  the 
20th  December,  arrived  near  Dranesville.  On  the  same  day,  a 
foraging  force  of  the  enemy  had  marched  to  the  same  neighbour 
hood.  It  consisted  of  Gen.  Ord's  brigade — four  full  regiments  of 
"Bucktail  rifles,"  and  some  artillery — in -all,  at  least  3,500  men. 
A  rocket  shot  up  by  the  enemy  gave  to  the  Confederates  the  first 
intimation  of  their  presence.  They  were  deployed  in  heavy 
clouds  of  skirmishers  in  the  woods.  To  give  his  wagon-train  time 
to  retreat  in  safety,  Gen.  Stuart  instantly  prepared  for  battle. 
He  was  taken  at  disadvantage ;  the  enemy,  in  superiour  force,  oc 
cupied  a  strong  position,  and  was  sheltered  by  the  woods ;  the 
Confederate  artillery  could  gain  no  position  except  by  advancing 
right  up  the  road.  The  consequence  was  that  Stuart's  command 
was  thrown  into  disorder ;  and  after  an  irregular  fight,  he  ordered 
a  retreat,  having,  however,  saved  his  wagon-train,  and  the  enemy 
making  no  attempt  to  pursue  him.  His  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  was  about  200  men. 

The  adventure  which  gave  Stuart  his  first  instalment  of  bril 
liant  reputation  was  his  famous  "  ride  around  McClellan,"  on  the 
Richmond  lines.  He  had  already  done  excellent  service  in  the 
preceding  campaigns,  operating  in  front  of  the  enemy  towards 
Arlington  Heights,  and  covering  the  rear  of  Johnston's  army 
when  it  fell  back  from  Centreville.  He  had  now  become  the 
chief  cavalry  leader  of  the  war.  On  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th 
June,  1861,  with  portions  of  the  First,  Fourth,  and  Ninth  Yir- 
ginia  cavalry,  a  part  of  the  Jeff  Davis  Legion,  with  whom  were 
the  Boykin  Rangers  and  a  section  of  the  Stuart  horse  artillery, 
the  daring  commander  made  a  reconnoissance  between  the  Pa- 
munkey  and  Chickahominy  Rivers,  and  succeeded  in  passing 
around  the  rear  of  the  whole  of  the  Federal  army,  routing  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART.  425 

enemy  in  a  series  of  skirmishes,  taking  a  number  of  prisoners, 
and  destroying  and  capturing  stores  to  a  large  amount.  He  lost 
but  one  man  on  the  perilous  circuit.  On  his  return  he  came 
upon  the  Chickahorniny  below  all  the  bridges,  and  where  deep 
water  flowed.  He  found  it  impossible  to  cross  his  command. 
It  was  a  desperate  suspense.  The  enemy  had  blocked  up  all  the 
main  roads,  and  had  thousands  scouring  the  country,  eager  to 
entrap  the  daring  cavalier.  He  was  but  two  miles  from  McClel- 
lan's  headquarters.  In  the  darkness  of  night  cavalryman  after 
cavalryman  essayed  to  swim  the  river.  Not  more  than  fifty  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  over,  and  as  they  stood  on  the  opposite  bank, 
a  strange  but  friendly  voice  whispered  in  the  dark :  "  The  old 
bridge  is  a  few  yards  higher  up  ;  it  can  be  mended."  The  men 
on  the  other  side  caught  at  the  new  hope,  and  soon  found  the 
wrecked  bridge.  It  was  severe  work  ;  tree  after  tree  was  felled  ; 
earth,  and  twigs,  and  branches  were  carried  and  piled  up  on  the 
main  props  ;  old  logs  were  rolled  and  patched  across  the  stream ; 
and  after  long  and  weary  labour  the  bridge  was  built,  arid  the 
silent  procession  of  cavalry,  artillery,  prisoners,  and  spoils,  safely 
and  quietly  passed  on  the  frail,  impromptu  support,  scarcely  any 
sounds  being  heard  but  the  rush  of  waters  beneath.  Once  across, 
and  as  the  rising  sun  crimsoned  the  tree  tops,  the  command,  seek 
ing  the  shade  of  the  woods,  plunged  through  the  last  lines  of  the 
enemy,  dashed  into  the  open  ground,  and,  speeding  along  the 
Charles  City  road,  were  soon  in  sight  of  the  Confederate  pickets. 

The  audacity  of  this  enterprise  delighted  the  people  of  Rich 
mond,  and  they  were  especially  pleased  with  the  annoyance  it 
caused  the  enemy.  It  was  said  that  McClellan  had  got  "  his 
rear  well  spanked,"  and  that  the  castigation  was  a  proper  prelude 
to  his  more  severe  punishment  in  the  coming  battle.  There  is 
no  doubt  the  expedition  was  designed  by  Gen.  Lee  to  discover 
all  the  positions  of  McClellan  preparatory  to  the  decisive  battle, 
and  that  the  information  it  obtained  was  more  important  than 
the  eclat  reckoned  by  the  popular  applause. 

In  referring  some  time  afterwards  to  the  perils  of  the  expedi 
tion,  especially  when  it  confronted  the  swollen  waters  of  the 
Chickahominy,  fifteen  feet  deep,  with  an  aroused  enemy  in  the 
rear,  one  of  Stuart's  officers  said  :  "  It  was  a  tight  place,  General. 
I  expected  the  column  to  be  attacked  at  any  moment,  and  we 


426  LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.  STUART. 

might  have  been  destroyed  without  the  possibility  of  retreat !  " 
"One  thing  was  left,"  replied  Stuart.  "What?"  "To  die 
game ! " 

After  the  battles  of  Richmond,  when  Jackson  was  about  to 
make  his  famous  advance  on  Manassas,  Stuart  was  required  to 
place  his  cavalry  on  his  flanks.  Leaving  his  pleasant  headquar 
ters  in  the  grassy  yard  of  the  old  Hanover  Court-House,  he  has 
tened  to  put  his  column  in  motion  for  the  head-waters  of  the  Rapi- 
dan.  On  Jackson's  march  to  Manassas,  Stuart  was  on  the  right 
of  the  Confederate  column,  with  a  cordon  of  pickets,  and  a  net 
work  of  scouting  parties,  scouring  the  whole  region.  To  pene 
trate  his  chain  of  vedettes  in  any  important  movement  was  next 
to  impossible,  a  task  which  the  enemy  often  attempted  without 
effect. 

But  Gen.  Stuart  was  not  as  careful  of  his  personal  safety  as 
he  might  and  should  have  been,  and  in  this  respect  he  was  con 
stantly  running  the  narrowest  risks.  One  of  these  personal 
adventures  happened  on  this  expedition,  and  he  barely  escaped 
with  his  life.  Attended  by  only  a  portion  of  his  staff,  he  had 
ridden  to  Yerdiersville,  a  small  settlement  on  the  road  from 
Orange  Court-House  to  Chancellorsville,  where  he  expected  to 
be  joined  by  Fitzhugh  Lee's  brigade  of  cavalry.  Awaiting  this 
portion  of  his  command  Gen.  Stuart,  attended  by  his  few  com 
panions,  passed  the  night  in  the  village,  the  commander  sleeping 
in  the  porch  of  one  of  the  houses.  About  this  time  the  country 
was  very  much  infested  by  prowling  detachments  of  Federal 
cavalry.  In  the  early  morning,  Stuart,  who  had  just  awakened 
from  his  sleep,  descried  a  body  of  cavalry  coming  up  the  road. 
He  supposed  it  to  be  the  head  of  Fitzhugh  Lee's  column,  but,  not 
without  momentary  uneasiness,  he  called  to  Capt.  Mosby  (after 
wards  so  famous  as  a  partisan,  and  who  kept  some  of  the  upper 
counties  of  Virginia  so  clear  of  the  enemy  that  they  were  desig 
nated  "  Mosby's  Confederacy ")  to  observe  the  approaching 
horsemen.  Mosby  had  just  walked  to  the  gate  of  the  inclosure, 
when  a  volley  of  bullets  whistled  over  his  head,  and  gave  all  the 
information  that  was  desired.  By  the  time  the  cavalrymen  had 
galloped  to  the  fence  a  few  swift  steps  had  brought  Stuart  to  the 
side  of  his  favourite  mare  "  Skylark,"  grazing  in  the  yard,  and, 
.seizing  the  halter,  without  bridle  or  saddle,  on  the  bare  back  of 


LIEUT.-GEN.   J.   E.   B.   STUAKT.  427 

the  horse,  he  leaped  the  inclosure,  cleared  the  open  ground 
under  a  shower  of  bullets,  and,  digging  the  spurs  into  the  sides 
of  the  noble  animal,  shot  towards  the  to  rest  with  the  speed  of 
an  arrow,  and  was  soon  lost  in  the  cover  of  the  woods.  He  left 
behind  him,  on  the  porch  where  he  had  rested,  the  cape  of  his 
overcoat ;  and,  lying  near  it,  a  brown  hat,  looped  up  with  a  golden 
star,  and  decorated  with  a  floating  black  feather,  was  evidence  to 
the  Federal  cavalrymen  of  the  strange  and  noble  game  that  had 
escaped  them. 

Just  one  week  after  this  adventure,  when  Pope  was  hastily 
retiring  before  Lee's  column,  Gen.  Stuart  made  an  expedition  to 
the  enemy's  rear,  and  struck  the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad 
at  Catlett's  Station.  It  was  a  complete  surprise  of  the  enemy  in 
a  dark  and  stormy  night.  Without  light  enough  to  see  their  hands 
before  them,  the  attacking  column  plunged  forward  at  full  speed 
through  ditches  and  ravines,  overrunning  the  enemy's  baggage 
train,  burning  his  wagons,  and  creating  an  indescribable  confu 
sion.  As  chance  would  have  it,  Stuart  came  upon  Pope's  head 
quarters  just  in  time  to  find  that  that  General  had  fled  from  the 
scene,  in  such  hurry  and  disorder,  however,  as  to  leave  his  plans 
and  papers,  and  among  other  things,  his  uniform  coat,  which  Stu 
art  at  once  seized  in  restitution  for  the  cape  and  hat  he  had  lost 
at  Yerdiersville.  It  was  more  than  a  fair  equivalent  for  the  ad 
venture  at  the  latter  place.  The  captured  papers  were  sent  to 
Lee,  and  the  coat  reserved  for  exhibition  in  Richmond  as  a  tro 
phy  of  the  raid.  It  was  placed  in  a  shop-window  there,  with  a 
label  attached  to  it,  on  which  Stuart  wrote :  "  Taken  from  the 
man  who  said  he  never  expected  to  see  anything  but  the  backs 
of  rebels." 

After  the  exhausting  campaign  of  the  summer  of  1862,  ter 
minating  on  the  field  of  Sharpsburg,  both  armies  rested  for  a 
brief  period.  Gen.  Stuart  had  inaugurated  a  policy  of  raids  in 
these  intervals  between  the  great  contestants;  and  as  it  was  ad 
visable  to  beat  up  the  quarters  of  the  enemy,  he  was  sent  in  Oc 
tober,  with  1,800  men,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  to  essay  a 
second  ride  around  McClellan.  At  daylight  on  the  10th  Octo 
ber  he  crossed  the  Potomac,  between  "Williarnsport  and  Hancock, 
proceeded  by  a  rapid  march  to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania, 
which  he  reached  at  dark  on  the  same  day,  captured  the  place 


428  LIEUT.-GEN.   J.  E.  B.  STUART. 

and  destroyed  the  machine  shops  and  railroad  buildings,  contain 
ing  large  numbers  of  arms  and  other  public  stores.  From  Cham- 
bersburg  Gen.  Stuart  decided,  after  mature  consideration,  to  strike 
for  the  vicinity  of  Leesburg,  as  the  best  route  of  return,  partic 
ularly  as  the  enemy's  presence  would  have  rendered  the  direction 
of  Cumberland,  full  of  mountain  gorges,  exceedingly  hazardous. 
The  route  selected  was  through  an  open  country.  Of  course  the 
wily  commander  left  nothing  undone  to  prevent  the  inhabitants 
from  detecting  his  real  route  and  object.  He  started  directly 
towards  Gettysburg,  but,  having  passed  the  Blue  Ridge,  turned 
back  towards  Hagerstown  for  six  or  eight  miles,  and  then  crossed 
to  Maryland  by  Emmettsburg,  where,  as  his  troopers  passed,  they 
were  hailed  by  the  inhabitants  with  the  most  enthusiastic  de 
monstrations  of  joy. 

Taking  the  route  towards  Frederick,  Gen.  Stuart  intercepted 
some  dispatches  directed  to  Washington,  which  satisfied  him  that 
his  whereabouts  was  still  a  problem  to  the  enemy.  He  now  took 
the  bold  resolution  of  passing  entirely  around  the  Federal  army, 
and  cutting  his  way  through  to  the  ford  near  Leesburg.  Mov 
ing  with  the  utmost  rapidity,  he  reached  Hyattstown,  below 
Frederick,  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  and  pushing 
on  towards  Poolesville,  found  that  the  road  in  that  direction  was 
barred  by  Gen.  Stoneman  with  about  5,000  troops,  and  that  rail 
road  trains  were  standing  ready,  with  steam  up,  and  loaded  with 
infantry,  to  move  instantly  to  the  point  where  he  attempted  to 
cross.  Making  a  circuit  through  the  woods,  and  guarding  well 
his  flanks  and  rear,  Stuart  avoided  the  town,  and,  pushing  boldly 
forward,  met  the  head  of  the  enemy's  force  going  towards  Pooles 
ville,  at  a  point  near  White's  ford.  Quick  as  thought,  Stuart's 
sharpshooters  sprang  to  the  ground,  while  the  charging  cavalry 
cut  through  the  enemy's  lines ;  and  with  Pelham's  guns  on  a 
high  crest  screening  the  movement,  Stuart  made  a  bold  and  rapid 
stroke  for  the  ford.  The  passage  of  the  river  \vas  effected  with 
all  the  precision  of  passing  a  defile  on  drill.  All  the  results  of 
the  expedition  were  accomplished,  without  the  loss  of  a  single 
man  killed.  The  march,  in  respect  of  rapidity,  is  perhaps  with 
out  a  parallel  in  the  record  of  the  war.  The  distance  from 
Chambersburg  to  Leesburg,  ninety  miles,  was  accomplished  with 
only  one  hour's  halt,  in  thirty-six  hours,  including  a  forced  pas- 


LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART.  429 

sage  of  the  Potomac.  In  his  official  narration  of  his  success, 
Gen.  Stuart  wrote  :  "  We  seized  and  brought  over  a  large  num 
ber  of  horses,  the  property  of  citizens  of  the  United  States.  The 
valuable  information  obtained  in  this  reconnoissance,  as  to  the 
distribution  of  the  enemy's  force,  was  communicated  orally  to 
the  Commanding  General,  and  need  not  be  here  repeated.  A 
number  of  public  functionaries  and  prominent  citizens  were  taken 
captive  and  brought  over  as  hostages  for  our  own  unoffending 
citizens,  whom  the  enemy  had  torn  from  their  homes,  and  con 
fined  in  dungeons  in  the  North.  The  results  of  this  expedi 
tion,  in  a  moral  and  political  point  of  view,  can  hardly  be  esti 
mated,  and  the  consternation  among  property-holders  in  Penn 
sylvania  was  beyond  description.  *  *  *  *  Believing  that 
the  hand  of  God  was  clearly  manifested  in  the  signal  deliverance 
of  my  command  from  danger,  and  the  crowning  success  attend 
ing  it,  I  ascribe  to  Him  the  praise,  the  honour,  and  the  glory." 

In  the  battle  of  Fredericks  burg,  Stuart's  command  was  more 
conspicuous  than  it  had  ever  before  been  on  a  single  field.  Act 
ing  in  conjunction  with  Jackson,  his  horse  artillery  was  called 
into  play;  and  it  was  at  one  time  designed  by  Gen.  Jackson, 
strengthened  by  this  rapid  and  effective  arm  in  his  front,  to  make 
a  final  attempt  to  dislodge  the  enemy  into  the  river.  About  the 
close  of  the  day.  when  one  of  Gen.  Lee's  aides  rode  up  to  ascer 
tain  how  things  were  going  on  in  this  direction,  Stuart  replied : 
"  Tell  Gen.  Lee  that  all  is  right.  Jackson  has  not  advanced,  but  I 
have ;  and  I  am  going  to  crowd  them  with  artillery."  The  attack 
designed  by  Jackson  was  not  made ;  but  Stuart  did  not  retire 
his  guns  until  dark,  when  no  response  could  be  elicited  from  the 
enemy's  artillery,  and  the  Confederates  remained  masters  of  the 
bloody  field.* 

*  Fredericksburg  was  the  ghastliest  field  of  the  war.  One  of  Stuart's  staff,  who 
traversed  the  ground  with  the  burial  parties,  has  given  a  picture  of  it  that  has  not 
been  excelled  in  its  vivid  realization  of  the  horrours  of  war.  The  reader,  accustomed 
to  brilliant  views  of  war,  interwoven  with  noble  and  chivalric  deeds,  will  pause  here 
to  lift  the  embroidery  and  see  what  it  covers : 

"  On  a  space  of  ground  not  over  two  acres  we  counted  680  dead  bodies ;  and 
more  than  1,200  altogether  were  found  on  the  small  plain  between  the  heights  and 
Fredericksburg,  those  nearest  the  town  having  mostly  been  killed  by  our  artillery, 
which  had  played  with  dreadful  effect  upon  the  enemy's  dense  columns.  More  than 
one-half  of  these  dead  had  belonged  to  Meagher's  brave  Irish  brigade,  which 


4:30  LIEUT.-GEN.   J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

In  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  Stuart  cooperated  again  with 
Jackson,  his  active  horsemen  concealing  the  flank  movement  on 
the  enemy.  When  Jackson  was  shot  down  in  the  Wilderness, 
and  A.  P.  Hill  wounded  about  the  same  time,  the  command  of 
the  corps  devolved  upon  Rodes,  as  the  senior  division  com 
mander  upon  the  field ;  but  he  modestly  concurred  that  Maj.- 
Gen.  Stuart  should  be  sent  for,  and  requested  to  assume  the  di 
rection  of  affairs  until  the  pleasure  of  Gen.  Lee  should  be  known. 
When  Gen.  Jackson,  wounded  and  removed  from  the  field,  heard 
that  Stuart  had  taken  command,  he  said  :  "Tell  him  to  act  upon 
his  own  judgment,  and  do  what  he  thinks  best;  I  have  implicit 
confidence  in  him."  The  next  day  Stuart  fought  over  the  ground 
won  by  Jackson,  extending  his  line  so  as  to  approximate  the  Con 
federate  troops  on  the  south-east  of  Chancellorsville,  and  hurling 
the  infantry  impetuously  against  the  enemy.  An  eye-witness  of 
the  attack  says  that  he  "  could  not  get  rid  of  the  idea  that  Henry 
of  Navarre  had  come  back,  except  that  Stuart's  'plume'  was 
black !  Everywhere,  like  Navarre,  he  was  in  front,  and  the  men 

was  nearly  annihilated  during  the  several  attacks.  A  number  of  the  houses  which 
we  entered  presented  a  horrid  spectacle— dead  and  wounded  intermingled  in  thick 
masses.  The  latter,  in  a  deplorable  state  from  want  of  food  and  care,  were  cursing 
their  own  cause,  friends,  and  commander-in-chief,  for  the  sufferings  they  endured. 
As  we  walked  slowly  along,  Capt.  Phillips  suddenly  pressed  my  arm,  and,  pointing 
to  the  body  of  a  soldier  whose  head  was  so  frightfully  wounded  that  part  of  the  brain 
was  protruding,  broke  out  with,  "Great  God,  that  man  is  still  living!"  And  so  he 
was.  Hearing  our  steps  the  unfortunate  sufferer  opened  his  glassy  eyes  and  looked 
at  us  with  so  pitiable  an  expression  that  I  could  not  for  long  after  recall  it  without 
shuddering.  A  surgeon  being  close  at  hand,  was  at  once  called  to  the  spot  to  render 
what  assistance  was  yet  possible ;  but  he  pronounced  the  man  in  a  dying  condition, 
and  observed  that  it  was  totally  opposed  to  all  medical  experience,  and  could  only  be 
considered  in  the  light  of  a  miracle,  that  a  human  being  with  such  a  wound  should 
have  lived  through  nearly  sixty  hours  of  exposure  and  starvation." 

********** 
"  I  was  painfully  shocked  at  the  inevitably  rough  manner  in  which  the  Yankee 
soldiers  treated  the  dead  bodies  of  their  comrades.  Not  far  from  Marye's  Heights 
existed  a  hole  of  considerable  dimensions,  which  had  once  been  an  ice-house ;  and  in 
order  to  spare  time  and  labour,  this  had  been  selected  by  the  Federal  officers  to  serve 
as  a  large  common  grave,  not  less  than  800  of  their  men  being  buried  in  it.  The 
bodies  of  these  poor  fellows,  stripped  nearly  naked,  were  gathered  in  huge  mounds 
around  the  pit,  and  tumbled  neck  and  heels  into  it ;  the  dull  '  thud '  of  corpse  falling 
on  corpse  coming  up  from  the  depths  of  the  hole  until  the  solid  mass  of  human  flesh 
reached  near  the  surface,  when  a  covering  of  logs,  chalk,  and  mud,  closed  the  mouth 
of  this  vast  and  awful  tomb." 


LIEUT.-GEN.   J.   E.   B.  STUART.  431 

<  followed  the  feather.'  At  the  risk,  however,  of  spoiling  this 
romantic  picture,  and  passing  from  the  sublime  to  what  some 
persons  may  call  the  ridiculous,  an  additional  fact  may  be  stated, 
namely:  That  Gen.  Stuart,  attacking  with  Jackson's  veteran 
corps,  and  carrying  line  after  line  of  works,  moved  at  the  head 
of  his  men,  singing  '  Old  Joe  Hooker,  will  you  come  out  of  the 
Wilderness.' " 

When  Stuart  heard  of  Jackson's  death  tears  gushed  into  his 
eyes.  The  friendship  of  these  two  commanders,  so  contrasted  in 
the  meditative  air  of  the  one,  his  serious,  diffident  temper  in 
society,  and  the  gay  insouciant  manner  of  the  other,  had  been 
contracted  in  the  first  periods  of  the  war,  dated  from  the  early 
campaigns  of  the  Yailey,  and  remained  warm  and  constant  to 
the  last.  It  is  said  that  Stuart  was  the  only  one  of  Jackson's 
companions  in  arms  who  ever  ventured  to  joke  the  austere  com- 
mandeiyand  that  Jackson,  although  reddening  and  confused  at 
approaches  of  familiarity,  and  inapt  to  take  a  joke,  always  bore 
Stuart's  facetious  and  high  spirits  in  good  part,  and  sometimes 
laughed,  without  restraint,  at  his  own  expense.  One  of  Stuart's 
staif-officers,  Col.  Heros  von  Borcke,  a  Prussian,  relates  that  in 
attempting  the  English  language  to  convey  a  compliment  to  Gen. 
Jackson,  while  intending  to  say,  "  It  warms  my  heart  when  he 
talks  to  me,"  he  had  employed  the  expression,  "  It  makes  my 
heart  burn,"  etc.  Stuart,  while  calling  upon  Jackson  with  a 
number  of  visitors,  rendered  the  compliment  by  making  the 
Prussian  chevalier  say  most  absurdly  that  "  it  gave  him  the 
heartburn  to  hear  Jackson  talk,"  and  set  the  whole  company  into 
a  roar  of  laughter.  Dr.  Dabney,  the  biographer  of  Jackson, 
referring  to  a  period  when  the  army  was  in  winter  quarters,  after 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  says :  "  While  Stuart  poured  out 
his  '  quips  and  cranks,'  not  seldom  at  Jackson's  expense,  the  lat 
ter  sat  by,  sometimes  unprepared  with  any  repartee,  sometimes 
blushing,  but  always  enjoying  the  jest  with  a  quiet  and  sunny 
laugh.  The  ornaments  which  the  former  proprietor  of  Moss 
Neck  had  left  upon  the  walls  of  the  General's  quarters  gave 
Stuart  many  a  topic  for  badinage.  Affecting  to  believe  that  they 
were  of  Gen.  Jackson's  selection,  he  pointed  now  to  the  portrait 
of  some  famous  racer,  and  now  to  the  print  of  some  dog  cele 
brated  for  his  hunting  feats,  as  queer  revelations  of  the  piivate 


432  LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

tastes  of  the  great  Presbyterian.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  such  a 
scene  as  this,  one  day,  that  dinner  was  announced,  and  the  two 
Generals  passed  to  the  mess-table.  It  so  happened  that  Jackson 
had  just  received,  as  a  present  from  a  patriotic  lady,  some  butter, 
upon  the  adornment  of  which  the  fair  donor  had  exhausted  her 
housewife's  skill,  and  that  the  print  impressed  upon  its  surface 
was  a  gallant  cock.  The  servants,  in  honour  of  Gen.  Stuart's  pres 
ence,  had  chosen  this  to  grace  the  centre  of  the  board.  As  his 
eye  fell  upon  it,  he  paused,  and  with  mock  gravity  pointed  to  it, 
saying,  '  See  there,  gentlemen  !  If  there  is  not  the  crowning 
evidence  of  our  host's  sporting  tastes.  He  even  puts  his  favourite 
game-cock  upon  his  butter  ! '  The  dinner  of  course  began  with 
inextinguishable  laughter,  in  which  Gen.  Jackson  joined  with  as 
much  enjoyment  as  any." 

When  Gen.  Lee  prepared  for  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  in 
the  summer  of  1863,  all  parts  of  his  army  were  thoroughly  re 
organized,  including  the  cavalry.  This  arm  had  been  strength 
ened  by  several  brigades  from  the  South,  and  was  now  formed 
into  a  separate  corps  of  three  divisions,  commanded  by  Hampton, 
Fitzhugh  Lee,  and  William  H.  F.  Lee,  the  last  a  son  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief ;  Stuart  taking  rank  as  Lieutenant-General,  and 
commanding  the  corps,  constituting  the  largest  and  most  brilliant 
body  of  horsemen  that  had  yet  been  assembled  on  the  Confederate 
side  at  any  time  of  the  war.  It  numbered  more  than  twelve 
thousand  sabres,  and  the  famous  horse-artillery  had  been 
increased  to  twenty-four  guns.  When  this  force  was  reviewed, 
and  appeared  drawn  out  in  line  a  mile  and  a  half  long,  in  the 
open  plain  near  Brandy  Station,  it  was  a  magnificent  spectacle  ; 
and  the  thousands  of  people  who  attended  it  looked  with  pride 
upon  the  glittering  array  that  marched  gaily  through  fields  of 
sweet  clover  in  the  warm  sun  and  balmy  air  of  the  month  of 
June.  The  brilliant  and  romantic  effect  of  this  review  well 
suited  Stuart's  temper,  his  love  of  display,  and  his  fondness  of 
female  admiration.  He  was  this  day  in  his  glory.  Numerous 
visitors  had  been  invited  from  Richmond  ;  special  cars  with  the 
battle-flag  floating  from  the  locomotive  bore  the  official  and  dis 
tinguished  persons  who  had  agreed  to  honour  the  occasion  with 
their  presence ;  the  general  trains  on  the  railroad  brought  in 
crowds  of  guests  who  were  forwarded  to  their  destinations  in 


LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.  B.   STUART.  433 

ambulances  and  wagons  prepared  for  the  purpose;  the  little 
village  of  Culpeper  Court-House  was  thronged  with  ladies  from 
the  neighbourhood,  and,  from  the  porches  and  verandas  of  the 
houses,  flowers  were  showered  down  upon  groups  of  officers  who 
traversed  the  streets.  The  review  took  place  in  open  and  pictur 
esque  ground.  Gen.  Stuart  took  his  position  on  a  slight  emi 
nence,  whither  many  hundreds  of  ladies  had  gathered,  and  on  a 
splendid  charger,  decked  with  bouquets,  reviewed  the  whole 
corps  as  it  passed  in  squadrons.  Then  came  a  sham  charge  by 
regiments,  the  artillery  advancing  at  the  same  time  at  a  gallop, 
and  opening  a  rapid  fire  upon  an  imaginary  enemy.  The  joyous 
and  garish  day  wound  up  with  a  ball ;  and  gay  companies,  that 
could  not  be  elsewhere  accomodated,  danced  in  the  open  air  on 
the  turf,  by  the  light  of  wood  fires,  and  completed  the  animation 
of  the  scene. 

Little  thought  was  there  then  that  in  a  few  days  this  scene 
was  to  be  reversed  and  changed  into  bloodiest  battle,  and  that 
numbers  of  those  who  had  gaily  attended  the  review  were  to  be 
stretched  cold  and  lifeless  on  the  same  ground  ! 

While  Gen.  Hooker,  in  command  of  the  Federal  army  in  front 
of  Fredericksburg,  was  bewildered  as  to  the  main  movement  of 
Lee,  he  determined  to  send  his  whole  cavalry  corps  (15,000 
sabres)  to  break  up  Stuart's  camp  at  Culpeper  Court-House,  and 
to  discover,  if  possible,  the  intent  of  his  adversary  in  the  disposi 
tion  of  his  forces.  In  the  dawn  of  the  9th  June,  the  alarm  was 
given  that  the  enemy  was  crossing  at  Beverley's  Ford  ;  and  before 
Stuart,  surprised,  could  get  his  forces  well  in  hand,  a  dense  mass 
of  Federal  horsemen  had  driven  Jones'  brigade  a  couple  of  miles. 
No  sooner  had  he  checked  the  enemy  in  this  direction,  by  bring 
ing  up  the  brigades  of  William  Lee  and  Wade  Hampton,  than  he 
found  his  rear  attacked  by  two  brigades  of  the  enemy  which, 
crossing  at  Kelley's  Ford,  had  taken  a  circuitous  route  along  an 
unguarded  bridle-path,  and,  advancing  to  Brandy  Station,  had 
taken  possession  of  the  plateau  where  the  Confederate  head 
quarters  had  been.  Here  a  determined  combat  ensued,  in  which, 
for  the  first  time  in  the  war,  on  any  considerable  scale,  cavalry 
fought  in  legitimate  cavalry  style.  The  men  no  longer  dis 
mounted  and  used  their  carbines ;  it  was  a  fight  with  sabres, 
boot  to  boot.  A  few  moments  were  sufficient  to  decide  a  contest 

28 


434  LIEUT.-GEN.  J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

so  close.  As  the  scene  of  the  short  melee  cleared,  the  ground  was 
seen  covered  with  dead  and  wounded ;  a  Federal  battery,  every 
horse  of  which  had  been  killed,  stood  abandoned  ;  and  far  away 
a  confused  mass  of  fugitives  hurried  towards  the  river,  with  the 
shells  of  vengeful  artillery  bursting  over  their  heads.  The  suc 
cess  of  Stuart  was  four  hundred  prisoners,  and  three  pieces  of 
artillery.  It  was,  we  repeat,  the  only  legitimate  combat  of 
cavalry  in  the  war,  on  the  scale  of  a  battle,  and  in  the  novel  trial 
Stuart,  although  much  to  blame  for  the  surprise  he  suffered, 
and  the  disadvantage  at  which  he  was  taken,  bore  off  the  palm. 

We  have  already  stated  in  the  narrative  of  Gettysburg  the 
serious  omission  of  Gen.  Stuart  in  that  campaign,  in  which  in 
fact  his  whole  magnificent  force  of  cavalry  was  neutralized  by 
the  interposition  between  it  and  Gen.  Lee  of  the  enemy's  main 
army.  When  Stuart,  unable  to  impede  the  enemy's  passage  of 
the  Potomac,  deflected  eastward  and  crossed  the  river  at  Seneca, 
it  was  to  move  from  his  proper  place  on  the  enemy's  left  to 
watch  his  movements,  and  to  take  a  position  where  it  was  neces 
sary  to  make  a  circuit  of  the  entire  Federal  army  to  rejoin  Gen. 
Lee.  These  circuits  had  been  occasions  of  great  newspaper  sen 
sations  ;  they  were  admirable  enough  as  independent  move 
ments;  but  in  this  instance,  while  Stuart  was  performing  his 
accustomed  feat,  Gen.  Lee  was  left  without  information  of  the 
enemy  and  was  surprised  by  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  The  sen 
sation  of  the  circuit  was  prodigious  after  the  fashion  of  raids. 
Great  consternation  was  occasioned ;  Stuart's  troopers  were 
known  to  have  approached  within  twenty-five  miles  of  Washing- 
ington ;  the  Washington  and  Baltimore  Eailroad  was  broken  up, 
and  for  a  few  hours  the  Federal  capital  was  isolated,  not  only 
from  the  army  on  which  it  depended  for  defence,  but  from  com 
munication  with  the  North ;  stragglers  and  supply  trains  were 
captured  ;  and  thus  the  march  around  the  Federal  army  was 
made,  Stuart  reaching  Carlisle  on  2d  July,  not  until  the  bat 
tle  of  Gettysburg  had  been  opened,  and  the  benefit  of  his  infor 
mation  of  the  enemy's  movements  had  been  wholly  lost  to  Gen. 
Lee.  He  had  played  only  a  brilliant  episode  when  he  should 
have  performed  a  necessary  and  constituent  part  of  the  drama. 

The  last  of  Stuart's  peculiar  adventures  in  running  the  gaunt* 
let  of  the  enemy  occurred  in  the  campaign  of  manoeuvres  which 


LIEUT.- GEN.   J.   E.   B.   STUART.  435 

terminated  the  third  year  of  the  war  in  Virginia.  When  in 
October  of  that  year  Gen.  Lee  made  a  flank  movement,  by  which 
he  hoped  to  get  a  position  between  the  enemy  and  Washington, 
and  force  him  to  deliver  battle,  General  Stuart  took  two  brigades 
and  several  batteries  and  set  out  for  Catlett's  Station,  to  harass 
the  enemy's  flank  and  rear.  Having  passed  Auburn,  he  at 
once  discovered  that  he  was  between  the  advancing  columns  of 
the  enemy.  Enormous  lines  of  infantry,  cavalry,  artillery,  and 
baggage  wagons  were  passing  on  both  sides  of  him,  and  to  have 
attacked  them  would  have  resulted  in  heavy  loss.  Nothing  was 
left  for  Stuart  but  to  conceal  his  force  in  the  pine  thickets  ;  and 
orders  were  accordingly  issued  that  no  sound  should  be  uttered 
throughout  the  command.  He  was  completely  hemmed  in  ;  and 
the  heavy  tramp  of  the  enemy's  infantry  and  the l  rumble  of  his 
artillery  sounded  plainly  in  the  ears  of  the  concealed  soldiers. 
The  accidental  report  of  a  fire-arm  would  have  disclosed  their 
position,  and,  in  view  of  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy, 
nothing  awaited  them  but  destruction  or  surrender.  The  latter 
was  not  to  be  thought  of.  Three  scouts  were  disguised  in  the 
Federal  uniform,  and  instructed  to  cross  the  enemy's  line  of 
march,  report  the  situation  to  Gen.  Lee,  and  request  him  to 
attack  the  enemy's  left  flank  at  the  next  daybreak,  when  Stuart, 
breaking  cover,  would  attack  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  com 
plete  the  confusion.  The  adventure  succeeded.  At  dawn  Rodes 
opened  on  the  enemy  as  suggested ;  and  Stuart,  hurling  the 
thunders  of  his  artillery  from  an  opposite  direction,  in  the  very 
pitch  of  the  confusion,  limbered  up  his  guns,  and  dashed  with 
cavalry  and  artillery  through  the  hostile  ranks,  giving  them  a 
complete  surprise,  and  inflicting  upon  them  a  loss  of  several  hun 
dred  in  killed  and  wounded. 

Having  proceeded  to  Manassas  and  thence  to  Gainesville, 
Stuart,  with  a  portion  of  his  command,  was  falling  back  from  the 
latter  place,  when  Gen.  Kilpatrick  came  down  from  Bull  Run, 
determined,  as  he  said,  to  make  short  work  of  "  the  rebel  raid." 
The  Federal  commander  was  described  as  "furious  as  a  wild 
boar."  He  declared  to  a  citizen,  at  whose  house  he  stopped, 
that  "  Stuart  had  been  boasting  of  driving  him  from  Culpeper, 
and  now  he  was  going  to  drive  Stuart."  He  was  about  to  sit 
down  to  an  excellent  dinner  as  he  made  the  observation,  when, 


436  LIEUT. -GEN.   J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

suddenly,  the  sound  of  artillery  attracted  his  attention.  Gen. 
Stuart  had  played  him  one  of  those  tricks  which  are  dangerous. 
He  had  arranged  with  Fitzhugh  Eee,  whose  division  was  still 
towards  Manassas,  to  come  up  on  the  enemy's  flank  and 
rear,  as  he  pursued,  and  when  he  was  ready,  Stuart  would  face 
about  and  attack.  Everything  took  place  as  it  was  planned. 
The  signal-gun  roared,  and  (yen.  Stuart,  who,  until  then,  had 
been  retiring  before  the  enemy  towards  New-Baltimore,  faced 
around  and  charged.  At  the  same  moment  Fitzhugh  Lee  came 
up  on  the  enemy's  flank,  and  what  was  called  the  "  Buckland 
Races "  took  place,  Kilpatrick  and  his  dispersed  command  fly 
ing  for  their  lives.  To  add  to  the  misery  of  the  fugitive  General, 
he  lost  his  race-horse  "  Lively,"  a  thorough-bred  mare,  which 
flew  the  track  on  this  occasion,  and  became  the  prize  of  some  of 
Mosby's  men. 

The  perils  to  his  person  which  Gen.  Stuart  encountered  in  a 
long  series  of  adventures  were  sufficient  to  give  one  of  less  imagi 
nation  a  certain  idea  of  immunity  from  danger,  and  he  was 
heard  frequently  to  say  he  was  afraid  of  no  bullet  "  aimed  at 
him."  His  hairbreadth  escapes  were  numerous  and  remarkable. 
His  clothing  had  been  frequently  cut  by  bullets  in  various  bat 
tles,  and  one  of  his  staff-officers  gives  an  amusing  account  of 
Stuart's  extreme  distress  at  the  loss  of  half  of  his  magnificent 
moustache,  which  on  one  occasion,  in  a  spattering  fire  in  the 
woods,  a  minie  ball  had  clipped  off  as  neatly  as  the  scissors 
of  a  barber.  But  at  last  came  the  fatal  bullet,  the  winged  mes 
senger  of  Death. 

Is  was  in  the  early  days  of  the  memorable  May  of  1864,  when 
the  two  great  armies  were  locked  in  deadly  struggle  on  the  lines 
of  Northern  Virginia,  that  Richmond  was  thrown  into  a  state  of 
especial  and  immediate  alarm  by  the  rapid  advance  against  it  of 
the  Federal  cavalry  under  Gen.  Sheridan,  who  had  managed  to 
march  around  the  Confederate  lines.  The  indefatigable  Stuart, 
however,  had  followed  in  track  of  the  enemy;  and  while  the 
people  of  Richmond  momentarily  expected  that  the  outer  lines 
of  the  city  fortifications  would  become  the  scene  of  desperate 
conflict,  the  sound  of  light  guns  was  heard,  and  the  following 
cheerful,  characteristic  dispatch,  told  of  Stuart's  whereabouts  and 
reassured  the  alarmed  capital : 


LIEUT.-GEN.   J.   E.    B.   STUART.  437 

HEADQUARTERS,  ASHLAND,  May  11,  1864,  6.30  A.  M. 
To  Gen.  Bragg : 

GENERAL, — The  enemy  reached  this  point  just  before  us,  but 
were  promptly  whipped  out,  after  a  sharp  fight,  by  Fitz  Lee's 
advance,  killing  and  capturing  quite  a  number.  Gen.  Gordon  is 
in  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  I  intersect  the  road  the  enemy  is 
marching  on  at  Yellow  Tavern,  the  head  of  the  turnpike,  six 
miles  from  Richmond.  My  men  and  horses  are  tired,  hungry, 
and  jaded,  but  all  right.  J.  E.  B.  STUABT. 

The  next  day  the  prostrate,  bleeding  form  of  the  commander 
was  brought  into  Richmond,  and  the  glad  city  subdued  to  tears 
as  her  brave  defender  died  in  the  midst  of  the  people  who  loved 
and  honoured  him.  For  six  hours  he  had  fought  the  enemy  with 
1,100  men,  and  completed  at  Yellow  Tavern  the  defeat  of  Sheri 
dan's  eight  thousand.  In  the  ardour  of  pursuit  he  had  become 
separated  from  his  men,  discharging  his  revolver  at  some  dis 
mounted  Federal  cavalry  who  were  running  away  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  a  high  fence  ;  and  he  had  just  fired  his  last  shot  when 
one  of  the  fugitives  turned  upon  him,  and,  steadying  his  aim  by 
the  fence,  gave  him  a  ball  in  the  stomach  that  traversed  the 
whole  body.  Thinking  himself  mortally  wounded,  Gen.  Stuart 
turned  his  horse,  rode  back  half  a  mile  to  the  rear,  and  fell  ex 
hausted  from  the  loss  of  blood.  He  was  taken  in  an  ambulance 
to  Richmond,  and  died  there  the  next  day. 

The  last  moments  of  the  illustrious  warriour  were  of  touch 
ing  and  noble  interest.  Beneath  the  gay  manners  of  the  cava 
lier,  and  in  the  secret  chambers  of  his  soul,  there  was  a  deep, 
abiding  religious  sentiment,  which  now  shone  forth,  illuminating 
the  hero's  character,  and  giving  dignity  to  the  last  moments  of 
life.  He  repeatedly  asked  that  the  hymns  of  the  Church  should 
be  repeated  to  him.  He  was  neither  afraid  nor  loth  to  die ;  and 
when  President  Davis,  approaching  his  bedside,  and  taking  his 
hand,  asked,  "General,  how  do  you  feel?"  he  replied:  "Easy, 
but  willing  to  die,  if  God  and  my  country  think  I  have  fulfilled 
my  destiny  and  done  my  duty."  As  night  approached,  he  asked 
his  physician  if  he  thought  he  would  live  through  it ;  and  being 
told  that  death  was  rapidly  approaching,  he  nodded,  and  said : 
"  I  am  resigned,  if  it  be  God's  will ;  but  I  should  like  to  see  my 


438  LIEUT.-GEN".  J.   E.   B.   STUART. 

wife.  But  God's  will  be  done."  The  unfortunate  lady  was  in 
the  country  at  the  time.  He  then  made  his  last  dispositions,  and 
calmly  took  leave  of  all  around  him.  He  directed  that  his  golden 
spurs,  the  gift  of  some  ladies  of  Baltimore,  should  be  given  to 
Mrs.  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee,  as  a  memento  of  love  and  esteem  for  her  hus 
band.  To  his  staff-officers  he  gave  his  horses  and  other  memen 
toes.  To  his  young  son  he  left  his  sword.  He  finally  prayed  with 
the  minister  and  friends  around  him ;  and,  with  the  words,  "  I 
am  going  fast  now ;  I  am  resigned ;  God's  will  be  done,"  yielded 
his  fleeting  spirit  to  Him  who  gave  it. 

The  still  form  of  the  hero  was  laid  in  a  simple  grave  on  the 
hill-side  in  Hollywood  cemetery,  in  the  midst  of  the  roaring  of 
the  enemy's  cannon  at  Drury's  Bluff;  and  while  the  sound  of 
battle  smote  the  ears  of  the  funeral  cortege,  men  thought  pain 
fully  that  the  voice  which  had  so  often  startled  the  enemy  with 
stirring  battle-cry,  was  silent  forever.  Near  the  grave  a  short 
slight  mound  of  earth  told  where  rested  a  little  daughter  that 
had  been  the  idol  of  the  soldier's  heart.* 

The  military  character  of  Gen.  Stuart  may  be  briefly  summed 

*  Heros  von  Borcke,  a  Prussian  officer  on  Gen.  Stuart's  staff,  in  some  interesting 
memoirs  of  the  commander,  thus  relates  how  the  strong  man  was  moved  by  the 
death  of  the  little  daughter  by  whose  grave  he  now  slept,  war's  fitful  fever  over,  and 
its  glory  laid  in  the  dust : 

"  During  the  night  of  the  5th  November,  1862,  there  came  a  telegram  for  Gen. 
Stuart,  which,  in  accordance  with  his  instructions,  habitually  observed  by  me,  I 
opened  with  his  other  dispatches,  and  found  to  contain  the  most  painful  intelligence. 
It  announced  the  death  of  little  Flora,  our  chief's  lovely  and  dearly-loved  daughter, 
five  years  of  age,  the  favourite  of  her  father  and  of  his  military  family.  This  sweet 
child  had  been  dangerously  ill  for  some  tune,  and  more  than  once  had  Mrs.  Stuart 
summoned  her  husband  to  Flora's  bedside ;  but  she  received  only  the  response  of  the 
true  soldier :  '  My  duty  to  the  country  must  be  performed  before  I  can  give  way  to 
the  feelings  of  the  father.'  I  went  at  once  to  acquaint  my  General  with  the  terrible 
tidings,  and  when  I  had  awakened  him,  perceiving,  from  the  grave  expression  of  my 
features,  that  something  had  gone  wrong,  he  said,  'What  is  it,  Major?  Are  the 
Yankees  advancing  ? '  I  handed  him  the  telegram  without  a  word.  He  read  it,  and 
the  tenderness  of  the  father's  heart  overcoming  the  firmness  of  the  warriour,  he 
threw  his  arms  around  my  neck  and  wept  bitter  tears  upon  my  breast.  My  dear 
General  never  recovered  from  this  cruel  blow.  Many  a  time  afterwards,  during  our 
rides  together,  he  would  speak  to  me  of  his  lost  child.  Light-blue  flowers  recalled 
her  eyes  to  him ;  in  the  glancing  sunbeams  he  caught  the  golden  tinge  of  her  hair ; 
and  whenever  he  saw  a  child  with  such  eyes  and  hair,  he  could  not  help  tenderly  em 
bracing  it.  He  thought  of  her  even  on  his  death-bed,  when,  drawing  me  towards 
him,  he  whispered,  '  My  dear  friend,  I  shall  soon  be  with  little  Flora  again.' ' 


LIEUT.-GEN.   J.   E.   B.   STUART.  439 

up.  He  was  the  model  of  an  excellent  soldier,  but  deficient  as 
an  officer.  He  was  splendid  in  action ;  he  had  a  magnetic  pres 
ence  and  a  superb  personal  gallantry.  But  he  knew  but  little 
of  the  art  of  war.  There  was  much  in  his  conduct  that  was  vol 
atile  and  lacked  of  sufficient  seriousness.  His  character,  indeed, 
is  exceptional  in  balancing  a  disposition  so  gay  with  the  real  vir 
tues  of  the  man,  and  in  presenting  in  manners  so  light  the  stern 
stuff  of  heroic  souls.  The  bright  blue  eye  that  could  beam  with 
laughter  looked  into  the  very  face  of  death  without  a  quiver  of 
the  lid.  Ambitious,  fond  of  glory,  and  sensitive  to  blame  or 
praise,  he  was  yet  endowed  with  a  bold  and  independent  spirit 
which  enabled  him  to  defy  all  enemies.  Light-hearted  from  his 
very  indifference  to  danger,  he  has  been  likened  to  some  cheva 
lier  of  olden  days,  riding  to  battle  with  his  lady's  glove  upon 
his  helm,  humming  a  song,  and  determined  to  conquer  or  fall. 
No  braver  spirit,  no  simpler  heart,  ever  expired  in  liberty's  cause. 


LIEUT.-GEK  AMBROSE  P,  HILL, 


CHAPTEK  XXXVIII. 

His  record  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  part  in  the  battles  around  Eichmond, 
]  862. — Conspicuous  gallantry  at  Frazier's  Farm. — He  repulses  six  assaults  in  the 
second  battle  of  Manassas. — Critical  service  at  Sharpsburg. — Episode  of  Boteler's 
Ford. — Bristoe  Station. — Failure  of  General  Hill's  health.— He  resumes  command 
in  front  of  Petersburg. — Reams'  Station. — Tragic  death  of  the  Commander. — His 
virtues  and  gallantry. 

AMBROSE  P.  HILL  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  born  in  the  county 
of  Culpeper,  on  the  9th  November,  1825.  His  father,  Major 
Hill,  was  a  leading  politician  and  merchant  of  that  county.  In 
the  year  1843,  young  Hill  entered  West  Point  as  a  cadet,  and 
graduated  on  the  3d  June,  1847,  in  the  same  class  with  Gen. 
Burnside.  On  the  1st  July  he  was  brevetted  second-lieutenant 
of  the  First  Artillery,  and  on  the  22d  August  was  made  full 
second-lieutenant.  On  the  4th  September,  1851,  he  was  pro 
moted  first-lieutenant  of  the  First  Artillery,  and  afterwards  to  a 
captaincy. 

A.  P.  Hill  had  sought  the  education  of  a  soldier  with  a  fixed 
determination.  He  had  made  arms  not  only  his  profession,  but 
an  enthusiastic  study,  to  which  he  was  prompted  by  the  natural 
tastes  and  dispositions  of  his  mind. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  the  North  and 
South,  he  was  chosen  Colonel  of  the  Thirteenth  Virginia  Regi 
ment  ;  and  at  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  it  will  be  recollected, 
this  regiment,  with  the  remainder  of  Gen.  Johnston's  command, 
arrived  on  the  field  just  in  time  to  secure  and  complete  the  great 
victory  of  that  memorable  day. 

At  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  Gen.  Hill  had  risen  to  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.   AMBROSE  P.   HILL.  441 

rank  of  Brigadier-General ;  and  in  that  fight  he  exhibited  an 
extraordinary  spirit  and  energy,  which  were  recognized  by  all 
who  observed  his  behaviour  on  that  field,  and  drew  the  eyes  of 
the  public  upon  him. 

But  he  made  his  greatest  reputation  by  his  conspicuous  part 
in  the  seven  days'  battles  around  Richmond,  in  the  summer  of 
1862.  Having  then  been  made  Major-General,  he  occupied,  with 
his  division,  the  extreme  left  of  the  Confederate  position  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Meadow  Bridge.  He  was  put  in  command  of 
one  of  the  largest  divisions  of  the  Army  of  Richmond,  his 
division  being  composed  of  the  brigades  of  Anderson,  Branch, 
Pender,  Gregg,  Field,  and  Archer.  He  rapidly  brought  his 
division  to  perfection  in  organization.  It  was  made  his  duty  to 
cross  at  Meadow  Brigde,  and  make  the  first  attack  upon  McClel- 
lan's  forces.  He  performed  this  duty  alone,  without  waiting  for 
other  movements ;  and,  unassisted  by  a  portion  of  his  command 
(for  Gens.  Branch  and  Gregg  did  not  come  up  until  late  in  the 
evening),  he  sustained  a  terrible  conflict  with  the  enemy,  encour 
aging  his  troops  by  examples  of  personal  audacity,  which  kept 
him  constantly  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire. 

That  position  of  the  enemy  gained,  the  division  of  Gen.  Hill 
followed  his  subsequent  movements,  being  placed  first  on  the 
line  of  the  advance,  and  bearing  the  brunt  of  the  action  to  Fra 
zier's  Farm.  Here  occurred  the  memorable  engagement  in  which 
his  command,  composed  of  his  own  and  one  division  of  Long- 
street,  fought  a  largely  superiour  force,  and  achieved  a  success 
which  broke  the  spirit  of  the  enemy,  and  completed  the  circuit 
of  our  victories. 

In  this  series  of  battles  the  division  of  Hill  lost  3,870  men, 
killed  and  wounded ;  drew  the  first  blood  at  Mechanicsville ; 
fought  five  hours  at  Gaines'  Mills ;  travelled  a  circuitous  route  of 
forty  miles;  won  the  field  at  Frazier's  against  the  greatest  odds 
of  the  seven  days'  conflict ;  took  fourteen  pieces  of  artillery  and 
two  stands  of  colours — a  record  of  endurance  and  valour  that  at 
once  made  the  reputation  of  the  division,  and  placed  the  star  of 
its  commander  in  the  ascendant.  Of  the  desperate  circum 
stances  in  which  the  victory  of  Frazier's  Farm  was  wrested  from 
the  enemy,  Gen.  Hill  writes :  "  Two  brigades  of  Longstreet's 
division  had  been  roughly  handled  and  had  fallen  back.  Archer 


442  LIEUT.-GEN.   AMBROSE   P.   HILL. 

was  brought  up  and  sent  in,  and,  in  his  shirt-sleeves  leading  his 
gallant  brigade,  affairs  were  soon  restored  in  that  quarter.  About 
dark  the  enemy  were  pressing  us  hard  along  our  whole  line,  and 
my  last  reserve,  Gen.  J.  R.  Anderson,  with  his  Georgia  brigade, 
was  directed  to  advance  cautiously  and  be  careful  not  to  fire  on 
our  friends.  His  brigade  was  formed  in  line — two  regiments  on 
each  side  of  the  road — and,  obeying  my  instructions  to  the  letter, 
received  the  fire  of  the  enemy  at  seventy  paces  before  engaging 
them.  Heavy  reinforcements  to  the  enemy  were  brought  up  at 
this  time,  and  it  seemed  that  a  tremendous  effort  was  being  made 
to  turn  the  fortunes  of  the  battle.  The  volume  of  fire  that,  ap 
proaching,  rolled  along  the  line  was  terrific.  Seeing  some  troops 
of  Wilcox's  brigade  who  had  rallied,  with  the  assistance  of  Lieut. 
Chamberlaine  and  other  members  of  my  staff,  they  were  rapidly 
formed,  and,  being  directed  to  cheer  long  and  loudly,  moved 
again  to  the  fight.  This  seemed  to  end  the  contest,  for  in  less 
than  five  minutes  all  firing  ceased  and  the  enemy  retired."  The 
fact  was  that  Gen.  Hill  had  ridden  to  the  rear,  to  Wilcox's  brig 
ade — which,  however,  had  not  retired  under  pressure  of  the 
enemy,  but  had  been  placed  in  position  by  its  commander,  under 
Longstreet's  orders — and  by  personal  appeals,  so  ardent  that 
tears  started  to  his  eyes,  he  besought  them  to  save  the  day,  and 
to  come  up  to  the  front  to  make  a  last  effort  to  check  the  advance 
of  the  now  confident  enemy.  Catching  the  spirit  of  the  com 
mander,  the  brave  but  jaded  men  moved  up  to  the  front,  reply 
ing  to  the  enemy's  cheers  with  shouts  and  yells.  At  this  demon 
stration,  which  the  enemy  no  doubt  supposed  signified  heavy 
reinforcements,  he  stopped  his  advance,  and  surrendered  the  torn 
and  bloody  field.  It  was  a  victory  narrowly  won,  and  marked 
the  last  effort  of  McClellan  to  recover  a  position  short  of  James 
River. 

Frazier's  Farm  ought,  indeed,  to  have  been  the  last  fight 
against  McClellan,  and  was  so  designed.  Jackson  on  the  ene 
my's  rear,  Huger  on  his  right  flank,  Longstreet  and  Hill  in  front 
of  him  on  the  Long  Bridge  Road,  and  Holmes  and  Magruder 
pushing  him  on  the  Malvern  Hill  side — such  were  the  disposi 
tions  of  Gen.  Lee.  They  constituted  a  perfect  plan ;  they  should 
have  led  to  the  capture  and  destruction  of  McClellan ;  but, 
unfortunately,  the  only  Generals  up  to  time  were  Longstreet  and 


LIEUT. -GEN.   AMBROSE- P.   HILL.  443 

Hill,  and  what  was  designed  as  decisive  proved  only  a  partial 
field,  adorned,  however,  with  a  crowning  exhibition  of  courage 
and  devotion. 

In  the  campaign  of  Northern  Virginia,  the  division  of  A.  P. 
Hill  was  sent  to  reinforce  Stonewall  Jackson,  who  had  been  dis 
patched  to  check  the  advance  of  Pope.  "With  this  illustrious 
commander  it  continued  to  operate  during  the  remainder  of  his 
brilliant  career;  and  among  the  last  words  of  Jackson,  in  the  de 
lirium  of  death,  was  the  habitual  phrase :  "  A.  P.  Hill,  prepare 
for  action  !  "  At  the  battle  of  Cedar  Run,  Hill  gallantly  main 
tained  the  prestige  he  had  already  won ;  his  division  strongly 
supporting  E well's  division  and  making  a  vigourous  fight.  In 
the  subsequent  operations,  he  bore  a  conspicuous  part,  marching 
with  Jackson  on  his  flank  movement  towards  the  Rappahannock 
and  Manassas.  j  && 

At  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  he  repeated  something  of 
the  desperate  drama  of  Frazier's  Farm.  In  the  first  day  of  the 
action,  the  evident  intention  of  the  enemy  was  to  turn  the  Con 
federate  left  and  overwhelm  Jackson's  corps  before  Longstreet 
came  up ;  and,  to  accomplish  this,  the  most  persistent  and  furi 
ous  onsets  were  made,  by  column  after  column  of  infantry,  ac 
companied  by  numerous  batteries  of  artillery.  Soon  Hill's  re 
serves  were  all  in,  and  up  to  six  o'clock,  his  division,  assisted  by 
the  Louisiana  brigade  of  Gen.  Hays,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Forno,  with  a  heroic  courage  and  obstinacy  almost  beyond  par 
allel,  had  met  and  repulsed  six  distinct  and  separate  assaults,  a 
portion  of  the  time  the  majority  of  the  men  being  without  a 
cartridge.  The  reply  of  the  gallant  Gregg  to  a  message  of  the 
commander  is  worthy  of  notice,  "  Tell  Gen.  Hill  that  my  ammu 
nition  is  exhausted,  but  that  I  will  hold  my  position  with  the 
bayonet."  The  enemy  prepared  for  a  last  and  determined  at 
tempt.  Their  seried  masses,  overwhelming  superiority  of  num 
bers,  and  bold  bearing,  made  the  chance  of  victory  to  tremble 
in  the  balance ;  Hill's  own  division,  exhausted  by  seven  hours' 
unremitted  fighting,  hardly  one  round  of  ammunition  per  man 
remaining,  and  weakened  in  all  things  save  its  unconquerable 
spirit.  Casting  about  for  help,  fortunately  it  was  here  reported 
to  Gen.  Hill  that  the  brigades  of  Gens.  Lawton  and  Early  were 
near  by,  and,  sending  for  them,  they  promptly  moved  to  the 


444:  LIEUT. -GEN.  AMBROSE   P.   HILL.      • 

front  at  the  most  opportune  moment,  and  the  last  charge  of  the 
enemy  met  the  same  disastrous  fate  that  had  befallen  those  pre 
ceding  it. 

The  next  day  (August  30,  1862,)  Hill's  division  was  again  en 
gaged,  and  late  in  the  evening  it  was  ordered  by  Jackson  to  ad 
vance  in  echelon  of  brigades.  This  order  was  promptly  carried 
out :  Pender,  Archer,  Thomas,  and  Branch  steadily  advancing. 
These  brigades  held  together,  and  drove  everything  before  them, 
capturing  two  batteries,  many  prisoners,  and  resting  at  night  on 
Bull  Kun. 

At  Sharpsburg  we  find  a  record  of  brilliant  service  on  the 
part  of  A.  P.  Hill  unsurpassed  in  the  war.  Having  been  delay 
ed  at  the  surrender  of  Harper's  Ferry,  he  did  not  arrive  upon 
the  battle-field  of  Sharpsburg  until  half-past  two  in  the  afternoon, 
when  he  reported  to  Gen.  Lee,  and  was  ordered  to  take  position 
on  the  right.  His  troops  were  not  in  a  moment  too  soon.  The 
enemy  had  already  advanced  in  three  lines,  had  broken  through 
Jones'  division,  captured  Mclntosh's  battery,  and  were  in  the 
full  tide  of  success.  With  a  yell  of  defiance,  Archer  charged 
them,  retook  Mclntosh's  guns,  and  drove  them  back  pell-mell. 
Branch  and  Gregg,  with  their  old  veterans,  sternly  held  their 
ground,  and  pouring  in  destructive  volleys,  the  tide  of  the  en 
emy  surged  back,  and  breaking  in  confusion,  passed  out  of  sight. 
During  this  attack  Pender's  brigade  was  moved  from  the  right 
to  the  centre,  but  the  enemy  were  driven  back  without  actively 
engaging  this  brigade.  The  three  brigades  of  the  division  ac 
tively  engaged  did  not  number  over  2,000  men,  and  these,  with 
the  help  of  the  splendid  batteries,  drove  back  Burnside's  corps 
of  15,000  men. 

After  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  when  Gen.  Lee  determined 
to  withdraw  from  Maryland,  Hill's  division  was  directed  to  cover 
the  retreat  of  the  army ;  and  in  the  performance  of  this  duty 
enacted  one  of  the  most  terrible  episodes  of  the  war.  The  story 
of  Boteler's  Ford  is  one  at  which  the  imagination  shudders.  It 
taught  the  enemy  the  danger  of  pressing  a  retreating  army  ol 
veterans.  On  the  20th  September,  1862,  Lee's  army  was  well 
across  the  Potomac,  when  it  was  ascertained  that  some  brigades 
of  the  enemy  had  ventured  to  cross  during  the  preceding  night, 
and  were  making  preparations  to  hold  their  position.  Gen.  Jack- 


LIEUT. -GEN.   AMBROSE   P.   HILL.  445 

son  at  once  ordered  A.  P.  Hill  to  take  his  division  and  drive  the 
enemy  back.  The  Federals  had  lined  the  opposite  hills  with 
some  seventy  pieces  of  artillery ;  and  the  infantry,  who  had 
crossed,  lined  the  crest  of  the  high  banks  on  the  Virginia  shore. 
Hill's  lines  advanced  simultaneously  and  soon  encountered  the 
enemy.  The  advance  was  made  in  the  face  of  a  tremendous  fire 
of  artillery.  The  infantry  opposition  in  front  of  Gregg's  centre 
and  right  was  but  trifling  and  soon  brushed  away.  The  enemy, 
however,  massed  in  front  of  Fender,  and,  extending,  endeavoured 
to  turn  his  left.  Gen.  Fender  became  hotly  engaged,  and  in 
forming  Archer  of  his  danger,  he  (Archer)  moved  by  the  left 
flank,  and,  forming  on  Fender's  left,  a  simultaneous  daring  charge 
was  made,  and  the  enemy  driven  pell-mell  into  the  river.  "  Then," 
writes  Gen.  Hill,  describing  the  action  with  graphic  pen,  "  com 
menced  the  most  terrible  slaughter  that  this  war  has  yet  wit 
nessed.  The  broad  surface  of  the  Fotomac  was  l)lue  with  the 
floating  bodies  of  our  foe.  But  few  escaped  to  tell  the  tale. 
By  their  own  account  they  lost  3,000  men  killed  and  drowned 
from  one  brigade  alone  !  "  In  this  battle  Gen.  Hill  did  not  use 
a  piece  of  artillery  ;  but,  relying  on  the  musket  and  bayonet,  he 
punished  the  enemy  beyond  precedent,  and  repaid,  in  one  tri 
umphant  hour,  all  the  suffering  and  injuries  of  a  campaign. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Gen.  Hill  is  so  merged  in  the  gen 
eral  record  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  as  scarcely  to  claim 
particular  notice.  In  May,  1863,  he  was  made  Lieutenant-General, 
and  commanded  one  of  the  three  corps  into  which  Gen.  Lee's 
army  was  then  divided.  In  the  Pennsylvania  campaign  his 
was  the  first  corps  in  action  at  Gettysburg.  In  Gen.  Lee's  flank 
movement  of  the  same  year  to  get  between  Meade  and  Washing 
ton  city,  A.  F.  Hill  sustained  the  only  reverse  of  his  career,  and 
experienced  his  first  defeat ;  he  having  fallen  upon  a  superiour 
force  of  the  enemy  at  Bristoe  Station,  concealed  by  the  railroad 
embankment,  and  in  a  vain  effort  to  dislodge  it  losing  several 
hundred  killed  and  wounded,  and  five  pieces  of  artillery.  It  is 
said  that  in  the  27th  North  Carolina  infantry,  out  of  464  officers 
and  men  who  went  into  this  battle,  upwards  of  300  were  killed 
and  wounded,  in  a  less  time  than  fifteen  minutes.  In  the  momen 
tous  campaign  of  1864,  Gen.  Hill  was  again  conspicuous,  his 
corps,  with  that  of  Ewell,  opening  the  action  in  the  Wilder- 


446  LIEUT.-GEN.   AMBROSE   P.    HILL. 

ness.  A  few  days  thereafter  his  Feeble  health  gave  way  com 
pletely,  and  he  was  unable  to  remain  on  duty,  when  Gen.  Early 
was  assigned  to  the  command  of  his  corps.  It  was  then  composed 
of  Heth's,  Wilcox's  and  Mahone's  (formerly  Anderson's)  divisions 
of  infantry,  and  three  battalions  of  artillery  under  Col.  Walker ; 
the  infantry  numbering  about  13,000  muskets  for  duty. 

After  the  scenes  of  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  Gen.  Hill  re 
ported  for  duty,  resumed  command  of  his  corps,  and  fought  it  to 
the  last  day  in  front  of  Petersburg.  His  next  important  service 
of  this  period  was  the  battle  of  Ream's  Station,  where,  on  the  25th 
August,  1864,  he  attacked  the  enemy  in  his  intrenchments,  and 
at  the  second  assault  carried  his  entire  line.  Seven  stands  of 
colours,  2,000  prisoners,  and  nine  pieces  of  artillery  were  taken ; 
and  the  thanks  of  Gen.  Lee  were  obtained  for  the  gallant 
action.  The  command  of  Hill  engaged  in  this  assault  was  Cook's 
and  McRea's  North  Carolina  brigades,  under  Gen.  Heth,  and 
Lane's  North  Carolina  brigade  of  Wilcox'  division,  under  Gen. 
Connor,  with  Pegram's  artillery. 

-  In  the  last  battle  of  Petersburg,  Gen.  A.  P.  Hill  fell  in  the 
flower  of  his  youth  and  at  the  summit  of  his  fame,  having  achieved 
a  name  wholly  identified  with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
and  terminating  his  career  with  melancholy  fitness  in  the  closing 
scenes  of  that  army's  existence.  He  had  desired  to  obtain  a 
nearer  view  of  a  portion  of  the  enemy's  line  during  the  attack 
of  the  2d  April,  1864,  and  leaving  his  staff  behind  in  a  place  of 
safety,  rode  forward,  accompanied  by  a  single  orderly,  and  soon 
came  upon  a  squad  of  Federals,  who  had  advanced  along  a 
ravine  far  beyond  their  lines.  He  immediately  ordered  them  to 
surrender,  which  they  were  on  the  point  of  doing,  under  the  sup 
position  that  a  column  of  troops  were  at  his  heels.  They  soon 
discovered  he  was  nearly  unattended,  and  shot  him  through  the 
heart.  In  the  following  night  his  body  was  hastily  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  Petersburg ;  and  while  the  darkness  was  rifted  with 
explosion  after  explosion  of  magazines  taken  up  all  along  the 
line  to  Richmond,  and  while  through  pillars  of  fire  the  retreating 
army  took  its  way  into  the  great  hollowness  of  the  night,  and 
while  conflagrations  and  horrid  sights  streamed  on  the  troubled 
air,  a  few  men  tarried  around  the  dead  form  of  the  warriour  and 
made  him  a  grave  in  peaceful  and  consecrated  ground. 


LIEUT. -GEN.   AMBROSE  P.   HILL.  447 

Gen.  Hill  was  of  slender  frame  and  delicate  health,  but  of 
a  handsome  person  and  strangely  fascinating  manners.  He  had  a 
quick  and  retentive  intellect,  a  cordial  and  affectionate  disposi 
tion,  and  sensibilities  of  rare  refinement.  Of  his  untiring  devo 
tion  to  the  cause  of  the  South,  and  able  services  in  the  field,  it  is 
unnecessary  to  speak.  To  his  ceaseless  care  of  his  men,  every 
veteran  of  his  command  will  testify  ;  and  to  his  honour  be  it  said, 
in  every  position  he  held,  the  health,  comfort  and  safety  of  his 
brave  comrades  were  considered  as  inferiour  only  to  the  impera 
tive  call  of  the  country.  His  own  life  was  held  no  more  sacred 
than  a  private's ;  and  at  Williamsburg,  where  he  commanded  so 
ably,  and  won  a  Major-General's  wreath,  he  twice  saved,  by  his 
own  hand,  an  unknown  private  who  was  struggling  in  personal 
combat.  During  many  campaigns,  Gen.  Hill  was  too  feeble  to 
continue  on  horseback,  and  was  dragged  from  field  to  field,  yet 
unwilling  to  be  absent  from  the  post  of  duty  and  danger.  In  the 
campaign  of  the  last  year  of  the  war,  this  was  the  case,  though 
his  attending  physicians  were  then  urging  his  family  to  use  their 
influence  to  save  his  services  to  his  country,  by  inducing  him  to 
rest.  But  no  entreaty  could  avail;  the  iron  will  of  the  brave 
man  spared  not  his  feeble  frame.  He  had  returned  from  a  fur 
lough  coerced  by  his  Commanding  General,  in  the  hope  of  re 
cruiting  his  health,  on  Friday  before  the  fatal  Sunday  on  which 
he  fell.  In  his  death,  the  South  lost  a  noble  defender,  and  the 
State  of  Virginia  not  the  least  of  her  many  military  ornaments 
in  the  war. 


LIEUT.-GEN.  DANIEL  H.  HILL. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

"Bethel"  Hill  a  curiosity  as  well  as  celebrity  of  the  war. — His  Revolutionary  ances 
try. — Services  in  Mexico. — His  adventures  as  a  Professor  and  literateur. — Curiosi 
ties  of  "  Hill's  Algebra."— The  affair  of  Bethel  and  its  exaggeration.— Gen.  Hill's 
account  of  McClellan's  retreat  from  Richmond. — His  most  memorable  and  heroic  ser 
vice  at  South  Mountain  Pass. — G-en.  Hill's  criticism  of  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg. — 
Heroic  record  of  a  North  Carolina  regiment. — Gen.  Hill  at  Chickamauga.— Removed 
from  command. — His  literary  exploits  and  eccentricities. 

THE  name  of  Daniel  H.  Hill—"  Bethel "  Hill,  as  he  was  some 
times  called  in  the  carnp — a  native  of  South  Carolina,  but  an  ar 
dent  citizen  of  North  Carolina,  a  devoted  lover  of  his  adopted 
State,  belongs  to  the  curiosities  as  well  as  to  the  celebrities  of  the 
war.  His  personal  eccentricities,  his  literary  whims,  and  his  ad 
ventures  in  the  English  language,  furnished  a  stock  of  curiosity 
and  amusement  in  the  war.  He  had  the  somewhat  equivocal 
reputation  of  a  man  who  "had  peculiar  notions";  he  was  fre 
quently  charged  with  insubordination ;  but  doubtful  as  were  some 
of  the  parts  of  his  military  career,  he  was  a  grim  and  obstinate 
fighter,  and  on  one  occasion,  as  we  shall  see,  he  was  engaged  in 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  critical  actions  of  the  war,  which 
saved  the  campaign  in  Maryland,  made  his  reputation,  and  enti 
tled  him  to  at  least  one  conspicuous  record  in  history.  Whatever 
the  adverse  criticism  or  unpleasant  remark  that  may  be  made 
upon  the  commander,  the  splendid  service  is  not  to  be  forgotten, 
when  he  held  McClellan's  whole  army  in  check  at  South  Moun 
tain  Pass,  covered  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  saved  Gen. 
Lee's  army  from  an  attack  that  would  have  divided  it,  and  per 
haps  have  destroyed  it  in  detail. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL.  449 

D.  H.  Hill  was  born  about  the  year  1820,  in  York  District, 
South  Carolina,  at  a  place  called  Hill's  Iron  Works,  owned  by 
Hill  &  Hayne — the  latter  of  whom  was  brother  of  the  revolu 
tionary  hero  of  Charleston  fame.  The  British  troops  burned 
these  works  in  a  spirit  of  revenge,  especially  on  account  of  the 
active  participation  in  the  Revolutionary  war  of  the  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  who  was  then  a  rebel  colonel,  and, 
besides  other  titles  to  fame,  obtained  the  credit  of  having  plan 
ned  the  famous  battle  of  King's  Mountain.  D.  H.  Hill  was  the 
youngest  of  six  sons.  All  of  them  obtained  distinction  in  differ 
ent  careers,  and  furnish  an  uncommon  example  of  social  and 
professional  success  in  an  entire  family.  Graduating  at  West 
Point  with  honour,  in  1842,  D.  H.  Hill  entered  the  United  States 
Army,  and  remained  in  it  until  after  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
War.  He  was  brevetted  captain  for  gallant  and  meritorious  con 
duct  in  the  battles  of  Contreras  and  Churubusco.  He  afterwards 
obtained  another  brevet,  that  of  major,  at  the  storming  of  Cha- 
pultepec ;  and  here  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  was  the  second 
man  on  the  American  side  that  mounted  the  ramparts.  In  1849 
he  resigned  his  position  in  the  army  to  accept  a  professorship  in 
Washington  College.  Virginia,  where  he  filled  for  six  years  the 
chair  of  Mathematics  and  Military  Tactics,  a  place  honoured  by 
the  special  endowment  of  George  Washington,  and  called  the 
"  Cincinnati  Chair."  His  failing  health  compelled  a  change  of 
climate,  and  he  accepted  a  professorship  in  Davidson  College, 
North  Carolina,  where  he  continued  several  years.  He  left  this 
position  to  become  the  President  of  the  North  Carolina  Military 
Institute,  located  at  Charlotte ;  and  from  this  flourishing  school 
was  culled  much  of  the  generous  youth  that  perished  in  the  war. 

The  associations  of  Professor  Hill  at  Washington  College, 
Virginia,  was  the  occasion  of  his  advice  being  sought  by  the  vis 
itors  of  the  adjoining  Military  Institute  in  filling  the  vacancy  of 
one  of  the  chairs  of  that  school ;  and  he  strongly  recommended 
u  Stonewall"  Jackson,  and  probably  his  influence  secured  his  ap 
pointment  over  the  claims  of  several  more  pretentious  and  per 
sistent  candidates.  The  relations  of  these  two  men  were  very 
affectionate  and  honourable.  *  Their  attachment  commenced  at 
West  Point ;  they  served  together  in  Mexico  in  many  and  varied 
scenes  of  danger ;  they  were  brothers  in  feeling  and  affection  long 

29 


4:50  LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL. 

before  they  married  sisters,  and  contracted  in  reality  a  fraternal 
tie.  They  both  married  daughters  of  Rev.  Dr.  Morrison,  son  of 
a  Revolutionary  patriot,  and  himself  one  of  the  most  gifted,  ac 
complished,  and  talented  men  North  Carolina  ever  produced. 

Before  winning  historic  renown  in  the  recent  war,  D.  H.  Hill 
had  some  adventures  as  a  literary  author,  and  gave  evidence  that 
he  had  not  devoted  all  his  time  and  talents  to  military  science. 
He  was  the  author  of  two  theological  works — "  The  Sermon  on 
the  Mount,"  and  "  The  Crucifixion."  These  works  were  pub 
lished,  six  or  seven  years  ago,  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Pub 
lication,  and  were  well  received  in  the  Christian  literary  world. 
The  character  of  the  man  was,  however,  better  displayed,  and 
his  strong  eccentricities  cropped  out  in  an  attempt  at  some  ele 
mentary  educational  works,  "  a  Southern  Series."  In  his  design 
of  instruction  for  the  youth  of  Davidson  College,  an  element  of 
Yankee-phobia  was  curiously  incorporated,  and  lessons  of  "  South 
ern  spirit "  taught  with  a  remarkable  ingenuity.  One  would 
think  it  rather  difficult  to  give  mathematical  instruction  such  a 
form  as  to  imbue  pupils  with  contempt  and  hatred  for  the  North. 
But  Hill  attempted  the  work,  and  produced  some  curiosities  of 
arithmetic  not  to  be  found  in  the  ordinary  text-books.  He  framed 
problems  beginning  in  the  following  style  : 

"  A  Yankee  mixes  a  certain  quantity  of  wooden  nutmegs, 
which  cost  him  one-fourth  cent  apiece,  with  a  quantity  of  real 
nutmegs,  worth  four  cents  apiece,"  etc. 

"A  Northern  railroad  is  assessed  $120,000  damages  for  con 
tusions  and  broken  limbs  caused  by  a  collision  of  cars." 

"The  years  in  which  the  Governors  of  Massachusetts  and 
Connecticut  send  treasonable  messages  to  their  respective  legis 
latures,  is  expressed  by  four  digits." 

"The  field  of  battle  of  Buena  Yista  is  six  and  a  half  miles 
from  Saltillo.  Two  Indiana  volunteers  ran  away  from  the  field 
of  battle  at  the  same  time.  &c.  &c. 

Hill  commenced  his  career  in  the  war  as  Colonel  of  the  First 
North  Carolina  Regiment,  and  fought  his  first  action  at  Big 
Bethel,  which  was  magnified  into  a  great  affair  by  the  newspa 
pers,  taken  as  a  test  of  u  relative  manhood,"  and  treated  as  a 
considerable  victory,  until  larger  actions  of  the  war  displaced  it 
in  public  attention,  and  put  it  almost  out  of  the  memory  of  men. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL.  451 

The  action,  indeed,  was  of  no  significance.  It  is  amusing,  in  the 
light  of  subsequent  events,  to  read  the  grandiose  official  report 
of  this  action,  in  which,  on  the  side  of  the  Confederates,  "  one 
man  and  a  mule  were  killed,"  and  the  two  forces  were  never  in 
contact,  and  to  note  the  expressions  of  repulsing  "  desperate  as 
saults,"  and  pursuing  "  till  the  retreat  became  a  rout,"  &c.,  when 
the  fact  was  the  Confederates,  after  the  action,  retired  from  the 
ground,  and  were  satisfied  to  have  checked  Butler's  column  by 
their  batteries.  But  the  extravagant  laudation  of  this  affair  took 
place  when  the  whole  country  was  in  the  fever  of  high  expecta 
tions,  and  inclined  to  catch  at  any  passing  event  as  the  true  com 
mencement  of  the  great  procession  of  hostilities ;  and  the  Con 
federate  commander  at  Bethel  undoubtedly  felt  the  influence  of 
the  excitement,  and  may  be  pardoned  somewhat  for  writing  un 
der  its  inspiration. 

In  the  battles  around  Richmond,  Hill,  now  promoted  a  Ma 
jor-General,  made  a  bloodier  record,  and  lost  3,955  men.  In 
these  battles  he  was  temporarily  joined  with  Stonewall  Jackson, 
and  suffered  greatly  at  Malvern  Hill,  where  he  attacked  prema 
turely,  and  without  the  supports  he  had  expected.  In  his  quaint, 
and  sometimes  strong  language,  he  wrote  in  his  official  report: 
"  The  Yankees  retreated  in  the  night,  leaving  their  dead  unburied, 
their  wounded  on  the  ground,  three  pieces  of  artillery  aban 
doned,  and  thousands  of  superiour  rifles  thrown  away.  The 
wheat-fields  at  Shirley  were  all  trampled  down  by  the  frightened 
herd.  Numerous  wagons  and  ambulances  were  found  stuck  in 
the  mud,  typical  of  Yankee  progress  in  the  war"  The  seven 
days'  battles  he  declared  had  u  resulted  in  lifting  the  Young  Na 
poleon  from  his  intrenchments  around  the  city,  and  setting  him 
down  on  the  banks  of  the  James  River,  twenty-five  miles  fur 
ther  off." 

The  most  memorable  service  of  Gen.  Hill,  to  which  we  have  al 
ready  referred,  occurred  in  the  Maryland  campaign,  and  is  written 
in  ineffaceable  characters  of  glory.  He  had  been  left  at  Petersburg 
when  Gen.  Lee  moved  into  Northern  Yirginia,  and  joined  the 
main  army  at  Chantilly,  a  few  days  after  the  battles  of  second 
Manassas,  when  he  was  given  command  of  McLaws'  division  and 
three  brigades  of  his  own  division.  In  the  movement  into  Mary 
land,  when  Jackson  was  diverted  to  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry, 


452  LIEUT.-GEKT.   DANIEL  H.   HILL. 

Hill  was  ordered  to  guard  the  pass  in  the  Bine  Ridge,  near  Boone- 
boro.  On  the  14th  September,  1862,  it  was  discovered  that 
McClellan  was  attempting  this  pass  with  the  bulk  of  his  army,  and 
Gen.  Lee  at  once  directed  the  larger  portion  of  Longstreet's  force 
to  proceed  to  the  scene  of  action.  But  before  this  reinforcement 
arrived,  D.  H.  Hill  had  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the  enemy's  attack, 
and  for  five  hours  he  held  his  ground  and  clung  to  the  critical 
position  against  odds  which  had  not  yet  occurred  in  the  war.  It 
was  perhaps  well  for  him  that  McClellan  and  his  subordinates 
were  unaware  of  the  small  force  which  presented  so  bold  a  front. 
Franklin  pressed  forward  on  the  left,  Reno  in  the  centre,  and 
Hooker  on  the  right ;  whilst  the  two  corps  under  Sumner's  com 
mand  were  moved  up  in  support.  The  main  brunt  of  the  action 
fell  on  Franklin  and  Reno,  but  the  battle  was  fought  in  a  great 
measure  with  artillery,  and  took  place  under  the  eyes  of  Gens. 
McClellan  and  Burnside,  who  were  in  rear  of  the  centre  column. 
About  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Longstreet  reached  the 
ground  and  threw  his  jaded  troops  into  the  action.  It  continued 
until  nightfall,  neither  side  obtaining  any  advantage.  But  Hill 
had  accomplished  all  that  was  required — the  delay  of  McClellan's 
army  until  Harper's  Ferry  could  not  be  relieved.  The  position  had 
been  held  until  Jackson  had  completed  the  capture  of  this  place  ; 
and  as  the  Federals  prepared  to  renew  the  attack  on  the  follow 
ing  morning,  they  were  disconcerted  by  the  cessation  of  firing  in 
that  direction,  proclaiming,  as  they  well  knew,  the  surrender  of 
the  place. 

The  battle  of  South  Mountain,  as  far  as  the  division  of  D.  H. 
Hill  is  concerned,  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  remarka 
ble  and  creditable  of  the  war.  The  division  had  marched  all  the 
way  from  Richmond,  and  the  straggling  had  been  enormous,  in 
consequence  of  heavy  marches,  deficient  commissariat,  want  of 
shoes,  and  inefficient  officers.  Owing  to  these  causes,  the  divi 
sion  numbered  less  than  five  thousand  men  on  the  morning  of  the 
14th  September,  and  had  five  roads  to  guard,  extending  over  a 
space  of  as  many  miles.  This  small  force  successfully  resisted, 
without  support,  for  five  or  six  hours,  the  whole  of  McClellan's 
army,  arid  when  its  supports  were  beaten,  still  held  the  roads,  so 
that  retreat  was  effected  without  the  loss  of  a  gun,  a  wagon,  or  an 
ambulance.  During  the  night  Hill  retired  towards  Sharpsburg, 

- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL.  453 

where  Gen.  Lee  was  collecting  his  forces  arid  putting  them  in 
line  for  a  decisive  battle.* 

Of  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  has  made  a 
caustic  criticism.  He  says  :  "  It  was  a  success,  so  far  as  the  fail 
ure  of  the  Yankees  to  carry  the  position  they  assailed.  It  would, 
however,  have  been  a  glorious  victory  for  us,  but  for  three  causes. 
1.  The  separation  of  our  forces.  Had  McLaws  and  K.  H.  An 
derson  been  there  earlier  in  the  morning  the  battle  would  not 
have  lasted  two  hours,  and  would  have  been  signally  disastrous 
to  the  Yankees.  2.  The  bad  handling  of  our  artillery.  This 
could  not  cope  with  the  superior  weight,  calibre,  range,  and  number 
of  the  Yankee  guns.  Hence  it  ought  only  to  have  been  used 
against  masses  of  infantry.  On  the  contrary,  our  guns  were  made 
to  reply  to  the  Yankee  guns,  and  were  smashed  up  or  withdrawn 
before  they  could  be  effectually  turned  against  massive  columns  of 
attack.  An  artillery  duel  between  the  Washington  artillery  and 
the  Yankee  batteries  across  the  Antietarn,  on  the  16th,  was  the 
most  melancholy  farce  in  the  war.  3.  The  enormous  straggling. 
The  battle  was  fought  with  less  than  thirty  thousand  men.  Had 
all  our  stragglers  been  up,  McClellan's  army  would  have  been 
crushed  or  annihilated.  Doubtless  the  want  of  shoes,  want  of 
food  and  physical  exhaustion  had  kept  many  brave  men  from  be 
ing  with  the  army.  But  thousands  of  thieving  poltroons  had 
kept  away  from  sheer  cowardice.  The  straggler  is  generally  a 
thief  and  always  a  coward,  lost  to  all  sense  of  shame ;  he  can 
only  be  kept  in  the  ranks  by  a  strict  and  sanguinary  discipline." 

To  the  behaviour  of  one  of  his  North  Carolina  regiments — the 
Fourth — Gen.  Hill  paid  an  extraordinary  tribute.  He  said :  "This 
gallant  regiment,  which  has  never  been  surpassed  by  any  troops 

*  And  yet  in  this  action,  so  shameful  to  McClellan,  that  commander  had  the  hardi 
hood  to  claim  a  victory,  and  to  dispatch  to  "Washington  the  following  absurd  stuff: 

HEAD-QUARTERS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  POTOMAC,  Sept.  15,  1862,  8  A.M. 
To  Henry  W.  HallecJc,  Commander-in- Chief : 

I  have  just  learned  from  General  Hooker,  in  the  advance,  who  states  that  the  in 
formation  is  perfectly  reliable,  that  the  enemy  is  making  for  the  river  in  a  perfect 
panic;  and  General  Lee  stated  last  night,  publicly,  that  he  must  admit  they  had  been 
shockingly  whipped.  I  am  hurrying  everything  forward  to  press  their  retreat  to  the 
utmost. 

GEORGE  B.  MCCLELLAN. 


454  LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL   H.    HILL. 

in  the  world,  for  gallantry,  subordination  and  propriety,  was  com 
manded  by  the  heroic  Captain  Marsh,  and,  after  his  fall,  by  the 
equally  heroic  Captain  Latham,  who  shared  the  same  fate.     All 
the  officers  of  this  noble  regiment,  present  at  Sharpsburg,  were 
killed  or  wounded." 

In  July,  1863,  D.  H.  Hill  was  made  a  Lieutenant-General ; 
but  his  promotion  was  shortly  followed  by  a  fall  from  executive 
favour  that  practically  terminated  his  military  career.  In  the 
fore-part  of  this  year  he  had  been  operating  with  Longstreet  in 
South  Virginia,  and  for  some  time  held  the  defences  of  Eichmond; 
and  thence  he  was  sent  to  reinforce  Bragg  in  the  West,  and  to 
take  an  unfortunate  part  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  where  the 
division  of  Cleburne  and  that  of  Breckinridge,  having  come  up 
from  the  Mississippi,  was  assigned  to  his  corps.  In  this  action 
Hill  was  charged  by  Gen.  Bragg  with  a  contumacious  disobedi 
ence  of  orders;  he  refusing  to  attack,  in  conjunction  with  Hind- 
man,  a  corps  of  the  enemy  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  gaps  of  the 
mountains,  which  the  Commanding  General  had  designated  for 
destruction,  and  again  delaying  to  open  the  battle  under  Polk  as 
wing  commander.  On  the  subject  of  these  charges  there  has 
been  much  recrimination,  and  no  little  confusion  in  the  statement 
of  the  facts.  Of  his  failure  to  come  to  time  in  the  second  day's 
battle,  Gen.  Hill  makes  the  following  explanation  in  his  offi 
cial  report :  "  About  midnight,  Lieut.-Col.  Anderson,  Adjt.-Gen., 
reported  that  my  corps  had  been  placed  under  command  of  Lieut.- 
Gen.  Polk,  as  wing  commander,  and  that  the  General  wished  to 
see  me  that  night  at  Alexander's  Bridge  (three  miles  distant.)  I 
was  much  exhausted,  having  been  in  the  saddle  from  dawn  to 
midnight,  and  resolved  to  rest  till  three  o'clock.  At  that  hour  I 
went  to  Alexander's  Bridge,  but  failing  to  find  the  courier  whom 
Gen.  Polk  had  placed  there  to  conduct  me  to  his  tent,  I  rode  for 
ward  to  the  line  of  battle,  which  I  reached  a  little  after  day 
light  on  the  20th.  Gen.  Breckinridge  had  not  yet  got  into  posi 
tion,  as  Gen.  Polk  had  permitted  him  to  rest  the  night  before  on 
account  of  the  wearied  condition  of  the  men.  Repeated  and 
urgent  orders  had  been  issued  from  the  corps  headquarters,  in 
regard  to  keeping  rations  for  three  days  constantly  on  hand.  But 
owing  to  difficulties,  and  possibly  to  want  of  attention,  some  of 
the  men  had  been  without  food  the  day  before,  and  a  division 


LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL.  455 

had  its  rations  for  that  day  unissued,  but  cooked  and  on  hand. 
Orders  were  given  for  their  prompt  issue. 

"  At  Y.25  A.  M.,  an  order  was  shown  me,  just  received  from 
Lieut.-Gen.  Polk  and  addressed  to  my  division  commanders,  and 
directing  them  to  advance  at  once  upon  the  enemy.  The  reason 
given  for  the  issue  of  the  order  directly  to  them  was' that  he  (Gen. 
Polk)  had  not  been  able  to  find  the  corps  commander.  I  imme 
diately  replied  to  the  note,  saying  that  Brig.-Gen.  Jackson's  brig 
ade,  of  his  corps,  was  at  right  angles  to  my  line,  that  my  men 
were  getting  their  rations,  and  that  they  could  finish  eating 
while  we  were  adjusting  the  line  of  battle.  Gen.  Polk  soon  after 
came  on  the  field,  and  made  no  objection  to  this  delay." 

The  merits  of  the  controversy  which  cost  Gen.  Hill  his  com 
mand  we  do  not  propose  to  determine,  although  we  think  we  may 
safely  risk  the  general  remark  that  the  penalty  of  relief  from  his 
command  was  out  of  proportion  to  his  offence.  His  past  record 
entitled  him  to  consideration ;  he  had  fought  hard  and  done  mer 
itorious  service ;  and  it  must  have  been  exceedingly  painful  to 
find  himself  reduced  to  a.  figure  commanding  State  and  local 
forces,  and  utterly  lost  to  public  attention  in  the  last  periods  of 
the  war. 

The  literary  exploits  of  Gen.  Hill  made  him  curiously  noticed 
in  the  war,  and  we  cannot  fail  to  observe  a  hunt  after  rude  and 
shallow  eccentricities.  In  his  official  reports  he  carefully  es 
chewed  the  ordinary  style  of  such  documents,  and  worried  the 
War  Department  with  conceits  and  puns  to  which  they  were  lit 
tle  used  in  the  literature  of  the  war.  The  enemy  he  officially 
designated  as  "  Yankees,"  sometimes  "  infernal  Yankees,"  occa 
sionally  "  the  pirates  and  scoundrels."  Of  an  attempt  of  the 
Yankees  to  cross  the  river  at  Fredericksburg  (1862),  he  wrote  to 
the  War  Department :  "  Finding  the  fire  too  hot  for  them,  they 
fled  back  to  town,  where  they  were  sheltered  from  Carter's  fire. 
Hardaway  continued  to  pelt  them  ;  and  to  stop  his  fire  (as  is  sup 
posed)  the  ruffians  commenced  shelling  the  town,  full  of  women 
and  children.  The  town  was  partially  destroyed,  but  a  merciful. 
God  kindly  protected  the  inoffensive  inhabitants.  A  dog  was 
'killed  and  a  negro  wounded ;  no  other  living  being  was  injured. 
Finding  that  Hardaway's  fire  did  not  slacken,  the  pirates  fled 
down  the  river.  From  Yankee  sources  we  learned  that  the 


456  LIEUT.-GEN.   DANIEL  H.   HILL. 

pirates  lost  six  killed  and  twenty  wounded.  Whether  they  over 
estimated  or  under-estimated  their  loss  I  do  not  know.  They 
sometimes  lie  on  one  side,  and  sometimes  on  another"  Occa 
sionally  a  pun  was  employed  to  put  the  enemy  to  ridicule — such 
as  would  have  caused  Dr.  Johnson  to  button  up  his  pockets  in  a 
hurry,  and  doubtless  were  but  little  relished  by  the  severe  and 
ascetic  Mr.  Seddon,  the  Secretary  of  War.  When  he  held  Kich- 
mond  against  some  demonstrations  of  Gen.  Dix  on  the  Penin 
sula,  he  once  dispatched  to  the  War  Department  that  the  ene 
my's  "  Army  of  the  Pamunkey,"  or  "  the  Monkey  Army"  was 
retiring.  In  another  official  correspondence  he  recommended 
that  engineers  be  put  to  work,  with  orders  to  leave  their  "  kid 
gloves  behind."  At  other  times  the  literary  affectation  of  Gen. 
Hill  broke  out  into  strangely  coined  words — a  jargon  that  had  no 
place  in  the  dictionaries.  Stonewall  Jackson  was  described  as 
having  a  good  deal  of  "  outcome  "  in  him  ;  musicians  were  denied 
furloughs  on  the  ground  that  "  fighters  were  to  be  preferred  to 
footers;  "  and  on  one  occasion  the  unclean  conceit  was  expressed 
that  soldiers  should  be  allowed  to  go  home  for  short  periods  and 
visit  the  women  of  the  country  for  fear  that  "  the  stay-at-homes  " 
would  propagate  a  race  of  cowards  ! 

These  literary  crudities  and  conceits  are  coarse  and  unpleas 
ant  enough.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  such  faults  were  brushed 
from  a  character  which  is  said  to  contain  much  ingrained  good, 
a  real  and  hearty  benevolence,  which,  backed  by  and  attesting 
the  manhood  of  North  Carolina,  achieved  a  Thermopylae  in  the 
war,  which  had  no  small  claim  on  the  gratitude  of  the  South, 
and  asserted  a  place  in  tender  and  proud  memories  of  the  lost 
cause. 

On  the  return  of  peace  Gen.  Hill  betook  himself  to  literary 
pursuits,  and  has  since  edited  at  Charlotte,  in  North  Carolina,  a 
magazine,  designated,  by  a  singular  figure  of  rhetoric,  "  The  Land 
We  Love"  In  person  the  General  is  about  the  medium  height 
and  well  proportioned.  He  has  dark  eyes  and  hair,  which  is  be 
coming  slightly  tinged  with  gray.  He  has  a  serious  military 
bearing,  and  carried  through  the  war  the  reputation  of  a  very 
rigid  disciplinarian. 


LIEUT.-GEN,  RICHARD  S.  EWELL 


CHAPTER  XL. 

Gen.  Ewell  as  the  companion  and  friend  of  Stonewall  Jackson. — His  military  life  an- 
teriour  to  1861. — Curious  apparition  at  Fairfax  Court-House. — His  share  in  Jack 
son's  Valley  campaign.— Cross  Keys.— Port  Republic. — Compliment  to  "the  Mary 
land  Line." — Gen.  Ewell  wounded  at  Groveton. — He  succeeds  to  Stonewall  Jack 
son's  command. — Enacts  part  of  the  old  drama  at  "Winchester. — Services  hi  1864. — 
He  commands  the  Department  of  Henrico. — Burning  of  the  city  of  Richmond. 

THE  companion-in-arms  and  trusted  friend  of  Stonewall  Jack 
son  ;  the  successor  to  the  command  of  the  dead  hero,  leading  it 
from  Chancellorsville  to  other  brilliant  fields  of  service;  the 
maimed  and  worn  hero  of  memorable  battles,  Eichard  S.  Ewell, 
was  one  of  the  galaxy  of  stars  that  illuminated  the  history  of  Lee's 
army ;  one  of  that  extraordinary  company  of  Virginians  who  wrote 
their  names  and  that  of  their  State  high  in  the  most  glorious  records 
of  the  war. 

In  1836  Ewell  entered  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
and  graduated  on  the  30th  June,  1840,  receiving  an  appointment 
as  brevet  second-lieutenant  of  cavalry  on  the  1st  July.  On  the 
10th  September,  1845,  he  was  made  first-lieutenant,  and  with  that 
rank  went  into  the  Mexican  war,  serving  in  Col.  Mason's  dragoons, 
and  obtained  promotion  to  a  captaincy  for  gallant  conduct  at  Con- 
treras  and  Cherubusco.  He  afterwards  served  in  New  Mexico. 
When  the  State  of  Virginia  seceded,  he  returned  there,  and  offered 
his  sword  to  the  Confederate  cause.  A  brother,  one  of  the  most 
amiable  and  intelligent  scholars  of  the  South,  the  honoured  Presi 
dent  of  William  and  Mary  College,  and  a  classmate,  we  believe, 
of  Gren.  Lee  at  West  Point,  also  assumed  the  military  office,  and 
saw  some  of  the  hardest  service  of  the  war  on  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Johnston. 


458  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  S.   EWELL. 

The  first  appearance  of  Kichard  S.  Ewell  in  the  war  occurred 
in  a  surprise  by  the  enemy  of  Fairfax  Court-House,  a  village  eigh 
teen  miles  from  Washington,  and  was  attended  by  some  ludicrous 
circumstances.  In  the  night  of  the  31st  May,  1861,  a  body  of 
Federal  cavalry  dashed  into  the  village  and  surprised  the  Warren- 
ton  Eifles  there,  who,  badly  armed,  and  with  rifles  without  bay 
onets,  had  to  encounter  United  States  regulars,  armed  with  sabres, 
carbines,  and  revolvers.  The  enemy  galloped  through  the  streets, 
and  fired  at  the  quarters  of  the  troops,  a  random  shot  killing  Capt. 
Marr,  as  he  was  selecting  ground  on  which  to  form  his  troops. 
The  darkness  of  the  night  added  to  the  confusion,  which  was  at  its 
height,  when  a  figure,  only  partly  dressed,  dashed  forward,  placing 
himself  at  the  head  of  forty-three  members  of  the  Warren  ton  Kifles, 
who  were  already  drawn  up  to  receive  the  enemy.  Having  de 
ployed  the  men  behind  a  fence,  he  advanced  towards  the  Federal 
cavalry,  who  were  galloping  back  and  firing  right  and  left  in  the 
darkness.  In  a  moment  they  were  called  upon  to  "Halt !  "  by  the 
new  leader  of  the  Confederates,  who  was,  in  fact,  none  other  than 
Colonel,  afterwards  Lieutenant-General  Ewell.  He  had  rushed 
from  his  bed  without  stopping  to  complete  his  attire  ;  but,  in  the 
blackness  of  the  night,  his  white  shirt  proved  a  sure  mark.  A  ball 
wounded  him  in  the  shoulder,  and  disabled  him ;  when  Ex-Gover 
nor  Smith  ("  Extra  Billy  "),  who  was  also  accidentally  in  the  vil 
lage,  took  the  command  and  completed  the  discomfiture  of  the 
enemy,  who  fled  by  a  cross-road  to  Alexandria. 

At  Manassas,  1861,  Ewell  commanded  a  brigade,  which,  how 
ever,  was  not  actively  engaged  in  that  first  important  conflict  of 
arms.  His  efficient  and  distinguished  service  commenced  when  he 
was  sent  to  reinforce  Jackson  in  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah ; 
and  to  this  campaign  he  made  a  most  important  contribution, 
fairly  dividing  its  honours  with  his  superiour.  At  Cross  Keys, 
with  Elzey's,  Trimble's  and  Stewart's  brigades — Taylor's  brigade 
having  been  ordered  to  Port  Eepublic — short  of  five  thousand 
men,  he  engaged  Fremont's  army  ;  and  unaided  by  Jackson's  pres 
ence,  without  any  support  whatever  from  him,  and  with  the  pos 
sibility  of  retreat  barred  by  a  river  in  his  rear,  he  fought  a  most 
difficult  battle,  and  achieved  the  twin  decisive  victory  of  the  cam 
paign.  The  general  features  of  the  ground  on  which  he  fought 
were  a  valley  and  rivulet  in  his  front,  woods  on  both  flanks,  and 


LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD   S.   EWELL.  459 

a  field  of  some  hundreds  of  acres  where  the  road  crossed  the  centre 
of  his  line.  In  this  well-selected  position  he  repulsed  the  enemy 
with  signal  loss,  and  broke  the  combination  to  intercept  Jackson's 
retreat.  At  the  close  of  the  action,  the  order  of  march  of  Gen. 
Fremont  was  found  on  a  staff-officer  who  had  been  taken  prisoner. 
It  showed  seven  brigades  of  infantry,  besides  numerous  cavalry. 
Ewell  had  had  only  three  small  brigades  during  the  greater  part 
of  the  action,  and  no  cavalry  at  any  time.* 

At  Port  Kepublic  Gen.  Jackson  finally  carried  the  day  by 
taking  a  commanding  position  crowned  by  the  enemy's  artillery; 
but  previous  to  this  assault  there  had  been  a  crisis  in  which  the 
enemy  had  nearly  pierced  the  centre  of  Jackson's  feeble  line,  and 
the  timely  arrival  of  Ewell  made  a  saving  diversion,  his  impetuous 
advance  and  fierce  action  recovering  the  field  when  it  was  to  all 
appearances  lost.  When  Gen.  Ewell,  crossing  the  South  Eiver, 
hurried  to  the  front,  he-  found  Winder  forced  back,  and  two  brig 
ades  of  the  enemy  advancing  through  the  Confederate  centre. 
He  at  once  launched  against  the  flank  of  the  attacking  column  two 
regiments — the  44th  and  58th  Virginia — and  poured  in  a  galling 
fire,  driving  the  enemy  back  for  the  first  time  that  day,  and  en 
abling  Winder's  scattered  infantry  to  reform,  while  the  batteries 
of  Chew,  Brockenborough,  Courtenay  and  Eains  reinstated  the 
battle. 

These  services  of  Ewell  in  the  Valley  campaign  were  of  the 
last  importance,  and  it  is  easily  seen  how  much  Gen.  Jackson  was 
indebted  to  them,  especially  in  the  extrication  of  his  army.  In 
his  official  account  of  the  campaign,  Gen.  Ewell  makes  a  generous 

*  Mr.  John  Esten  Cooke,  in  one  of  his  admirable  sketches  of  the  war,  thus  writes 
of  "  Cross  Keys  "  and  its  hero. 

"  It  was  one  of  the  '  neatest '  fights  of  the  war.  It  may  be  said  of  the  soldier  who 
commanded  the  Southerners  there  that  he  thought  that  '  war  meant  fight,  and  that 
fight  meant  HIV  He  threw  forward  his  right,  drove  the  enemy  half  a  mile, 
brought  up  his  left,  was  about  to  push  forward,  when,  just  at  nightfall,  Jackson 
sent  him  an  order  to  withdraw,  with  the  main  body  of  his  command,  to  Port  Re 
public. 

"Ewell  obeyed,  and  put  his  column  in  motion,  leaving  only  a  small  force  to  ob 
serve  the  enemy.  He  was  the  last  to  leave  the  field,  and  was  seen  helping  the 
wounded  to  mount  upon  horseback.  To  those  too  badly  hurt  to  be  moved  from  the 
ground,  he  gave  money  for  their  necessities  out  of  his  own  pocket. 

"  Health  to  you,  General  1  wherever  you  may  be.  A  heart  of  steel  beat  in  your 
breast  in  old  days,  but  at  Cross  Keys  the  groans  of  the  wounded  melted  it." 


460  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  S.   EWELL. 

remark,  which  should  not  be  omitted  here,  as  it  contains  a  tribute 
to  the  Maryland  soldiers  in  his  command,  who,  there  is  reason  to 
believe,  never  obtained  their  just  dues  of  praise  in  the  war.  It  is 
undeniable  that  they  were  often  grudgingly  mentioned  by  the 
officers  from  other  States  who  commanded  these  noble  expatriated 
men,  who,  defeated  and  embarrassed  in  the  organization  of  a 
"  Maryland  Line,"  and  mixed  in  other  commands,  had  but  little 
opportunity  to  illustrate  the  gallantry  of  their  State.  Gen.  Ewell 
said :  "The  history  of  the  Maryland  regiment,  gallantly  com 
manded  by  Colonel  Bradley  T.  Johnson  during  the  campaign  of 
the  Valley,  would  be  the  history  of  every  action  from  Front 
Royal  to  Cross  Keys.  On  the  6th  June,  1862,  near  Harrisonburg, 
the  58th  Virginia  regiment  was  engaged  with  the  Pennsylvania 
"Bucktails,"  the  fighting  being  close  and  bloody.  Colonel  John 
son  came  up  with  his  regiment  in  the  hottest  period  of  the  affair, 
and,  by  a  dashing  charge  in  flank,  drove  the  enemy  off  with 
heavy  loss,  capturing  the  lieutenant  colonel  (Kane)  commanding. 
In  commemoration  of  their  gallant  conduct,  I  ordered  one  of  the 
captured  bucktails  to  be  appended  as  a  trophy  to  their  flag.  The 
gallantry  of  the  regiment  on  this  occasion  is  worthy  of  acknowl 
edgment  from  a  higher  source,  more  particularly  as  they  avenged 
the  death  of  the  gallant  Gen.  Ashby,  who  fell  at  the  same  time. 
Two  colour-bearers  were  shot  down  in  succession,  but  each  time 
the  colours  were  caught  before  reaching  the  ground,  and  were 
finally  borne  by  Corporal  Shanks  to  the  close  of  the  action." 

At  Cedar  Run,  Gen.  Ewell  was  again  conspicuously  cooperat 
ing  with  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  won  additional  laurels  on  that 
field.  He  thence  marched  towards  Manassas ;  and  in  the  battle 
of  Groveton  that  preceded  the  severer  conflicts  on  these  historic 
plains,  he  was  shot  down  and  desperately  wounded.  A  rifle-ball 
struck  his  knee,  and  the  joint  was  so  shattered  that  amputation 
was  necessary  to  save  his  life.  During  the  remainder  of  Jackson's 
career  Ewell  was  unable  to  return  to  the  field  and  fight  by  the 
side  of  the  great  commander  who  had  honoured  him  with  all  of 
his  confidence,  and  openly  and  officially  credited  him  with  a  large 
share  of  the  victories  ascribed  to  himself. 

On  the  29th  May,  1863,  Ewell  was  able  to  rejoin  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia  at  Hamilton's  Crossing,  near  Fredericksburg. 
He  had  been  made  a  Lieutenant-General,  and  had  now  command 


LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  S.    EWELL.  461 

of  one  of  the  three  large  corps  (Jackson's  old  corps  incorporated 
with  him)  into  which  Lee's  army  had  been  divided.  It  was  emi 
nently  fit  that  he  should  succeed  to  the  command  of  his  great 
guide  and  friend ;  and  the  presence  of  the  maimed  body  of  the 
determined  commander  strapped  on  his  horse,  or  moving  with 
difficulty  on  crutches  when  dismounted,  was  an  inspiration  to  the 
troops,  in  which  it  was  not  difficult  to  imagine  a  visitation  of  the 
dead  warriour  to  his  former  comrades.  The  newspapers  described 
him  as  a  re-animate  Jackson,  when,  leading  the  van  of  Lee's  army 
into  Pennsylvania,  he  burst  into  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah, 
and  reenacted  part  of  the  old  drama  there  in  capturing  Winches 
ter,  and  paralyzing  the  enemy  as  by  an  apparition  from  the  dead. 
He  had  succeeded  to  much  of  Jackson's  spirit  in  other  things  than 
the  quickness  and  ardour  of  his  strokes  in  battle.  To  the  influence 
and  Christian  conversation  of  this  leader  Gen.  Ewell  is  said  to 
have  owed,  under  God,  his  remarkable  conversion  from  the  reckless 
and  profane  habits  of  the  camp  to  a  life  of  great  piety  and  close 
communion  with  the  Church. 

In  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  and  in  the  hardest  battles  of 
1864,  E well's  corps  was  generally  in  advance,  and  always  in 
conspicuous  positions,  making  a  record  of  honour,  and  identifying 
its  name  with  the  most  brilliant  passages  of  the  war.  In  the  Wil 
derness,  more  than  a  thousand  of  the  enemy's  dead  lay  immediately 
in  front  of  his  lines,  testifying  his  bloody  work  on  that  field.  At 
Spottsylvania  Court-House,  he  was  posted  in  the  Confederate  cen 
tre  ;  and  although  the  division  of  Gen.  Edward  Johnson  was  dis 
comfited,  the  remainder  of  the  corps  held  its  ground,  and  covered 
its  front  with  the  enemy's  slain.  In  Gen.  Lee's  retrograde  from 
this  position,  several  affairs  occurred  with  the  enemy,  in  one  of 
which  Gen.  Ewell  had  his  horse  shot  under  him,  and  received  a 
severe  fall.  He  tried  the  next  day  to  reach  his  saddle,  but  his 
maimed  body  and  shattered  constitution  were  plainly  unequal  to 
further  tasks  of  the  field,  and  he  was  compelled  to  relinquish  his 
command.  His  last  record  in  the  war  was  that  of  commander  of 
the  Department  of  Henrico,  having  charge  of  the  immediate  de 
fence  of  Kichmond. 

In  the  last  months  of  the  war,  the  people  of  the  city  were 
familiar  with  the  spectacle  of  a  worn  and  mutilated  man  looking 
prematurely  old,  mounted  on  a  white  horse  that  had  often  snuffed 


462  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  S.   EWELL. 

the  battle  with  defiance,  but  was  now  scarcely  more  than  a  halting, 
crippled  skeleton.  Sometimes  the  veteran  drove  through  the  streets 
in  a  dilapidated  sulky.  It  was  a  sorrowful  picture ;  but  a  nearer 
view  disclosed  a  man  remarkable  even  in  the  ruin  of  health  and 
constitution,  whose  gray  eye  was  as  sharp  and  fierce  as  ever,  and 
whose  precise  conversation  showed  that  the  vigour  of  his  mind 
was  as  yet  untouched.  His  defence  of  the  capital  was  never  put 
to  the  test ;  but  he  was  to  the  last  equal  to  everything  required 
of  him.  Some  malicious  or  thoughtless  accusations  were,  indeed, 
made  that  Gen.  Ewell  unnecessarily  fired  Eichmond  when  he  was 
ordered  to  join  Gen.  Lee's  final  retreat;  but  explanations  since 
furnished  showed  that  he  acted  under  the  imperative  command  of 
his  superiours,  without  choice  or  discretion  to  save  this  great  calam 
ity.  In  the  retreat  towards  Appomattox  Court- House,  he  was  cap 
tured  in  the  affair  of  Sailor's  Creek  ;  and,  for  reasons  never  known, 
he  was  cruelly  imprisoned  for  several  months  in  Fort  Warren. 
On  his  release,  in  August,  1865,  from  a  confinement  which  was 
fast  destroying  what  remained  of  his  physical  constitution,  he  re 
moved  to  his  wife's  home  in  Tennessee,  and  has  since  remained 
there  in  studious  retirement,  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  in  well-deserved 
and  honoured  ease. 


agTaired  expressly  for  "Lee  ami  ]ii.s  Lieutenants" 
£.B.Xreal  &  C1?  Publishers  .  654  Rroaiway.  lew  Kit. 


LIEUT.-GEK  JUBAL  A.  EARLY. 


CHAPTER   XLL 

His  early  life  as  a  soldier  and  politician. — His  "  Union"  sentiments  in  the  Virginia 
Convention. — Why  he  became  an  actor  in  the  war. — Reflections  upon  the 
Unionists  and  Secessionists. — Gen.  Early's  services  in  1862. — The  disaster  of 
Eappahannock  Station. — His  different  commands  in  the  last  year  of  the  war. — 
His  independent  campaign  into  the  Valley  and  Maryland. — Outrages  of  the 
enemy  in  the  Valley. — G-en.  Early's  advance  upon  "Washington  City. — "Why  he 
did  not  attack  it. — His  return  to  the  Valley. — Battle  of  Winchester. — The  dra 
matic  story  of  Cedar  Creek. — Failure  of  the  Valley  campaign. — The  affair  of 
Waynesboro. — Narrow  escape  of  Gen.  Early. — Gen.  Lee's  letter  relieving  him 
from  command.— Review  of  the  operations  in  the  Valley. — Remarkable  character 
of  Gen.  Early. — The  "bad  old  man." — His  jokes  and  peculiarities. — Anecdotes 
of  the  camp. — Escape  of  Gen.  Early  across  the  Mississippi  River. — His  choice 
of  exile. 

JUBAL  A.  EARLY  is  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  belongs  to  a  family 
whose  names  are  familiar  in  the  public  records  of  the  Common 
wealth,  and  in  its  popular  history  for  several  generations.  He  re 
ceived  a  military  education  and  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1837. 
Of  the  same  class  and  above  him  were  Gens.  Bragg  and  Towns- 
end;  and  below  him  in  the  same  class  were  Grens.  D.  H.  Hill, 
Sedgwick,  Pemberton,  Hooker,  and  Walker  (first  Confederate  Se 
cretary  of  War)'. 

He  was  promoted  second-lieutenant  in  the  Third  Artillery, 
1837;  again,  first-lieutenant,  1838;  but  in  that  year  he  resigned 
his  position  in  the  army,  and  appears  to  have  abandoned  the  idea 
of  a  military  career.  We  next  find  him  making  his  residence  in 
Franklin  county,  Virginia,  and  universally  regarded  as  one  of  the 
ablest  lawyers  in  the  State.  His  profession  naturally  inclined  him 
to  politics.  The  family  to  which  he  belonged  was  always  Wash- 


464  LIEUT. -GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EAKLY. 

ingtonian  in  its  ideas  of  Federal  authority.  They  held  jacobin 
ism  and  cant  in  detestation.  They  were  Federalists,  but  fought  in 
the  Eevolution  and  war  of  1812 ;  Republicans,  but  hostile  to 
democratic  ideas.  As  Whigs,  they  opposed  Jackson  and  adored 
Clay ;  as  Union  men,  they  opposed  secession. 

For  several  terms  Early  held  a  seat  in  the  Legislature  of  Vir 
ginia.  In  the  Mexican  War  there  occurred  in  his  life  a  brief 
interlude  of  military  service ;  be  being  appointed  Major  of  the  1st 
Eegiment  of  Virginia  Volunteers,  and  serving  in  Mexico  from  June 
7,  1847, -to  August  3,  1848. 

Just  before  the  troubles  between  the  North  and  South  cul 
minated  in  war,  Virginia  called  a  State  Convention  of  her  ablest 
men,  and  Jubal  A.  Early  was  elected  a  member  of  this  historic  as 
sembly.  There  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  and  most 
obstinate  Union  men,  and  drew  many  censures  upon  his  head. 
He  worked  and  spoke  and  voted  against  the  ordinance  of  seces 
sion.  He  went  so  far,  perhaps,  as  to  say  that  he  would  offer  no 
resistance  to  the  Federal  forces  who  should  go  to  South  Carolina 
to  enforce  the  laws.  When,  however,  Virginia  spoke  through  the 
ballot-box,  and  decided  to  take  the  perils  of  war,  this  whole  family, 
father  and  sons,  rallied  to  her  call.  The  old  man  abandoned  his 
estate  on  the  Kanawha  to  experience  all  the  trials  of  a  refugee. 
Three  sons  from  Missouri  entered  the  army,  one  or  two  of  them 
never  to  return  alive.  Those  in  Virginia — one  of  them  above  the 
military  age — volunteered,  and  with  collateral  relatives  enough  to 
have  formed  almost  a  company,  they  entered  the  army  and  fought 
as  faithfully  through  the  war  as  any  men  that  were  in  it. 

Of  the  change  of  opinion  which  made  him  one  of  the  most  de 
termined  actors  of  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  South,  Gen.  Early 
has  written  an  explanation,  in  which  he  declares :  "  As  a  member 
of  the  Virginia  Convention,  I  voted  against  the  ordinance  of  seces 
sion  on  its  passage  by  that  body,  with  the  hope  that,  even  then, 
the  collision  of  arms  might  be  avoided,  and  some  satisfactory  ad 
justment  arrived  at.  The  adoption  of  that  ordinance  wrung  from 
me  bitter  tears  of  grief;  but  I  at  once  recognized  my  duty  to  abide 
the  decision  of  my  native  State,  and  to  defend  her  soil  against 
invasion.  Any  scruples  which  I  may  have  entertained  as  to  the 
right  of  secession,  were  soon  dispelled  by  the  mad,  wicked,  and 
unconstitutional  measures  of  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and 


LIEUT.-GEN".   JUBAL   A.   EARLY.  465 

the  frenzied  clamour  of  the  people  of  the  North  for  war  upon 
their  former  brethren  of  the  South.  I  then,  and  ever  since  have, 
regarded  Abraham  Lincoln,  his  counsellors  and  supporters,  as  the 
real  traitors  who  had  overthrown  the  constitution  and  government 
of  the  United  States,  and  established  in  lieu  thereof  an  odious 
despotism ;  and  this  opinion  I  entered  on  the  journal  of  the  Con 
vention  when  I  signed  the  ordinance  of  secession.  I  recognized 
the  right  of  resistance  and  revolution  as  exercised  by  our  fathers 
in  1776,  and  without  cavil  as  to  the  name  by  which  it  was  called, 
I  entered  the  military  service  of  my  State,  willingly,  cheerfully, 
and  zealously.  When  the  State  of  Virginia  became  one  of  the 
Confederate  States,  and  her  troops  were  turned  over  to  the  Con 
federate  Government,  I  embraced  the  cause  of  the  whole  Con 
federacy  with  equal  ardour,  and  continued  in  the  service,  with  the 
determination  to  devote  all  the  energy  and  talent  I  possessed  to 
the  common  defense.  I  fought  through  the  entire  war  without 
once  regretting  the  course  I  had  pursued;  with  an  abiding  faith  in 
the  justice  of  our  cause ;  and  I  never  saw  the  moment  when  I 
would  have  been  willing  to  consent  to  any  compromise  or  settle 
ment  short  of  the  absolute  independence  of  my  country." 

In  this  conversion  of  the  early  sentiment  against  secession  into 
a  fierce  and  bitter  war  upon  the  authorities  at  Washington,  Gen. 
Early  was  not  singular  or  exceptional.  His  was  the  case  of  thou 
sands;  he  represented  nearly  the  whole  of  his  party;  and  he  illus 
trated  what  was  of  constant  remark  in  the  war,  that  the  original 
Unionists,  perhaps  from  superiour  sincerity  and  purity  of  motive, 
rendered  to  it  the  most  earnest  and  brilliant  service  that  marked 
its  annals.  On  the  first  field  of  Manassas,  Early  appeared  at  the 
head  of  a  regiment.  From  that  day  until  the  surrender  at  Appo- 
mattox  Court-House,  he  never  looked  back.  He  devoted,  exclu 
sively,  all  his  talents  and  energy  to  the  success  of  the  Confederate 
army,  and  rose  gradually  to  the  second  rank  in  the  Confederate 
service. 

In  the  campaign  of  1862,  extending  from  the  Richmond  lines  to 
the  field  of  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  Early  commanded  a  division  whose 
exploits  were  illustrated  by  losses  which  he  has  commemorated  as 
follows :  "  The  division  lost  in  killed,  565 ;  in  wounded,  2,284  ;  and 
missing,  seventy ;  making  an  agregate  of  2,919— showing  the  severity 
of  the  conflicts  in  which  it  engaged.  Its  loss  at  Sharpsburg  alone 

30 


466  LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EAKLY. 

was  199  killed;  1,115  wounded;  and  thirty-eight  missing;  being 
an  aggregate  loss  of  1,352,  out  of  less  than  3,500,  with  which  it  went 
into  that  action.  I  hope  I  may  be  excused  for  referring  to  the  rec 
ord  shown  by  my  own  brigade,  which  has  never  been  broken  or 
compelled  to  fall  back,  or  left  one  of  its  dead  to  be  buried  by  the 
enemy,  but  has  invariably  driven  the  enemy  when  opposed  to  him, 
and  slept  upon  the  ground  on  which  it  has  fought,  in  every  action, 
with  the  solitary  exception  of  the  affair  at  Bristoe  Station,  when  it 
retired  under  orders,  covering  the  withdrawal  of  the  other  troops." 

At  Rappahannock  Station,  in  November,  1863,  Gen.  Early 
lost  a  large  portion  of  his  command — 1,629  men  of  Hoke's  brigade 
— by  a  surprise  of  the  enemy,  which  cut  them  off  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river.  Of  this  unfortunate  occurrence  there  is  to  be  found 
some  excuse  in  the  circumstances  that  the  enemy  was  aided  by  a 
valley  in  front  of  the  Confederates  in  concealing  his  advance  from 
view,  and  that  a  very  high  wind  effectually  prevented  his  move- 
•ments  from  being  heard.  Gen.  Lee  declared,  with  characteristic 
generosity,  that  "  the  courage  and  good  conduct  of  the  troops  en 
gaged  had  been  too  often  tried  to  admit  of  question." 

It  was  Gen.  Early's  fortune  to  participate  in  most  of  the  great 
military  operations  in  which  the  Confederate  army  in  Virginia  was 
engaged.  In  the  last  year  of  the  momentous  struggle,  he  com 
manded,  at  different  times,  a  division  and  two  corps  of  Gen.  Lee's 
army,  in  the  campaign  from  the  Rapidan  to  James  Eiver,  and  sub 
sequently  a  separate  force,  which  marched  into  Maryland,  threat 
ened  Washington  City,  and  then  went  through  an  eventful  cam 
paign  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  This  independent  campaign  was 
an  event  so  principal  and  marked  in  the  career  of  Gen.  Early,  so 
important  a  part  of  the  great  military  drama  of  1864  in  Virginia, 
so  unique  in  its  features,  and  so  remarkable  an  example  of  the 
odds  and  disadvantages  against  which  the  Confederate  power  strug 
gled  in  the  last  desperate  stages  of  its  existence,  as  to  require  a  dis 
tinct  and  enlarged  narrative. 

The  campaign  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  with  the  effort 
to  intercept  Hunter's  column  marching  on  Lynchburg,  and  to 
defeat  Grant's  combination  of  this  force  and  Sheridan's  cavalry  in 
an  ultimate  operation  against  Richmond. 

In  the  early  part  of  June,  1864,  while  the  Second  Corps 
(Ewell's)  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  was  lying  near  Games' 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  467 

Mills,  in  rear  of  Hill's  line  at  Cold  Harbour,  Gen.  Early  received 
verbal  orders  from  Gen.  Lee  to  hold  the  corps,  with  two  of  the 
battalions  of  artillery  attached  to  it,  in  readiness  to  move  to  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  Subsequently  written  instructions  were  given 
Early  by  Gen.  Lee,  by  which  he  was  directed  to  move,  with  the 
force  designated,  for  the  Valley,  by  the  way  of  Louisa  Court- House 
and  Charlottesville,  and  through  Brown's  or  Swift  Run  Gap  in  the 
Blue  Ridge,  as  he  might  find  most  advisable ;  to  strike  Hunter's 
force  in  the  rear,  and,  if  possible,  destroy  it ;  then  to  move  down 
the  Valley,  cross  the  Potomac  near  Leesburg  in  Loudon  County,  or 
at  or  above  Harper's  Ferry,  as  he  might  find  most  practicable,  and 
threaten  Washington  City.  He  was  further  directed  to  communi 
cate  with  Gen.  Breckenridge,  who  would  cooperate  with  him  in 
the  attack  on  Hunter  and  the  expedition  into  Maryland. 

At  this  time  the  Second  Corps  numbered  a  little  over  8,000 
muskets,  for  duty.  It  had  been  on  active  and  arduous  service  in  the 
field  for  forty  days,  and  had  been  engaged  in  all  the  great  battles 
from  the  Wilderness  to  Cold  Harbour,  sustaining  very  heavy  losses 
at  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  where  it  lost  a  great  part  of  an 
entire  division,  including  its  commander,  Major-General  Johnson, 
who  was  made  prisoner.  Of  the  Brigadier-Generals  with  it  at  the 
commencement  of  the  campaign,  only  one  remained  in  command 
of  his  brigade.  Two  (Gordon  and  Ramseur)  had  been  made  Major- 
Generals ;  one  (G.  H.  Steuart)  had  been  captured ;  four  (Pegram, 
Hays,  J.  A.  Walker,  and  R.  D.  Johnston)  had  been  severely 
wounded  ;  and  four  (Stafford,  J.  M.  Jones,  Daniel,  and  Doles)  had 
been  killed  in  action. 

With  this  small  but  veteran  force  Gen.  Early  made  rapid  time 
to  Lynchburg,  arriving  there  on  the  17th  June,  luckily  anticipat 
ing  Hunter's  movement,  and  manning  the  defences  of  the  city  be 
fore  the  enemy  had  made  his  appearance.  The  delay  in  Hunter's 
march,  so  fatal  to  his  enterprise,  Gen.  Early  attributes  to  the  fact 
that  "  indulgence  in  petty  acts  of  malignity  and  outrage  upon  pri 
vate  citizens  was  more  congenial  to  his  nature  than  bold  operations 
in  the  field."  He  had  defeated  Jones'  small  force  at  Piedmont, 
about  ten  miles  from  Staunton,  on  the  5th,  and  united  with  Crook 
on  the  8th ;  yet  he  did  not  arrive  in  front  of  Lynchburg  until  near 
night  on  the  17th  June.  The  route  from  Staunton  to  Lynchburg 
by  which  he  moved,  which  was  by  Lexington,  Buchanan,  the 


468  LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL   A.   EARLY. 

Peaks  of  Otter,  and  Liberty,  is  about  one  hundred  miles  in  dis 
tance.  It  is  true  McCausland  had  delayed  his  progress  by  keeping 
constantly  in  his  front,  but  an  energetic  advance  would  have 
brushed  away  McCausland's  small  force,  and  Lynchburg.  with  all 
its  manufacturing  establishments  and  stores,  would  have  fallen 
before  assistance  arrived.  Subsequently,  when  Gen.  Early  passed 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  route  pursued  by  the  enemy  towards 
Lynchburg,  he  found  abundant  evidences  to  verify  his  theory  of 
the  occasions  of  his  delay.  His  own  pen  has  described  the  atroc 
ities  which  attended  Hunter's  march,  with  military  bluntness  and 
without  any  effort  at  rhetorical  efforts.  "  Houses,"  he  writes.  "  had 
been  burned,  and  helpless  women  and  children  left  without  shelter. 
The  country  had  been  stripped  of  provisions,  and  many  families 
left  without  a  morsel  to  eat.  Furniture  and  bedding  had  been  cut 
to  pieces,  and  old  men  and  women  and  children  robbed  of  all  the 
clothing  they  had  except  that  on  their  backs.  Ladies'  trunks  had 
been  rifled,  and  their  dresses  torn  to  pieces,  in  mere  wantonness. 
Even  the  negro  girls  had  lost  their  little  finery.  We  now  had 
renewed  evidences  of  the  outrages  committed  by  Hunter's  orders  in 
burning  and  plundering  private  houses.  We  saw  the  ruins  of  a 
number  of  houses  to  which  the  torch  had  been  applied  by  his 
orders.  At  Lexington  he  had  burned  the  Military  Institute,  with 
all  its  contents,  including  its  library  and  scientific  apparatus; 
and  Washington  College  had  been  plundered,  and  the  statue  of 
Washington  stolen.  The  residence  of  Ex-Governor  Letcher  at 
that  place  had  been  burned  by  orders,  and  but  a  few  minutes 
given  Mrs.  Letcher  and  her  family  to  leave  the  house.  In  the 
same  county  a  most  excellent  Christian  gentleman,  a  Mr.  Creigh, 
had  been  hung,  because,  on  a  former  occasion,  he  had  killed 
a  straggling  and  marauding  Federal  soldier  while  in  the  act  of 
insulting  and  outraging  the  ladies  of  his  family.  These  are  but 
some  of  the  outrages  committed  by  Hunter  or  his  orders,  and  I 
will  not  insult  the  memory  of  the  ancient  barbarians  of  the  North 
by  calling  them  *  acts  of  vandalism.'  " 

These  outrages  were  deplorable  enough  in  a  general  sense. 
But  they  diverted  and  embarrassed  Hunter's  march  ;  they  cheated 
him  of  the  grand,  important  result  of  his  enterprise  ;  and  they  se 
cured  to  the  Confederates  the  narrow  chance  of  time  that  saved 
Lynchburg,  with  its  stores,  foundries  and  factories,  so  neces- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL   A.   EARLY.  469 

sary  to  the  army  at  Eichmond.  Hunter  did  not  even  make  an 
attack,  to  contest  fortune  or  to  cover  defeat ;  finding  Lynchburg  no 
easy  and  unresisting  prey,  as  he  had  imagined,  he  resolved  to  re 
treat;  and  in  the  night  of  the  19th  June,  he  withdrew  from  the 
front  of  the  city,  directing  his.  retreat  through  the  mountains  of 
Western  Virginia,  where  there  was  no  possibility  of  intercepting 
him,  and  where  a  stern-chase  by  infantry  would  probably  be  in 
effective.  This  devious  line  of  retreat  opened  the  Shenandoah 
Valley  to  Early  ;  and  now,  joined  by  Breckinridge,  he  prepared  for 
the  second  step  of  the  campaign  in  the  direction  of  Washington 
City. 

The  force  he  collected  for  this  high  and  daring  enterprise  con- 
isted  of  about  10,000  infantry,  and  about  2,000  mounted  men 
for  duty  in  the  cavalry.  Heading  rapidly  for  the  Potomac, 
by  way  of  Lexington  and  Winchester,  he  crossed  that  boun 
dary  of  the  Confederacy,  and  defeating  Wallace  at  Monocacy 
with  Gordon's  division,  he  appeared,  on  the  llth  July,  in  front  of 
Washington  with  his  wearied  little  army.  It  was  stated  in  North 
ern  newspapers  that  if  Early  had  been  one  day  sooner  he  would 
have  entered  the  Federal  capital  almost  without  resistance.  But 
on  the  9th  July  he  was  fighting  at  Monocacy,  thirty-five  miles 
from  Washington,  a  force  which  he  could  not  leave  in  his  rear ; 
and  after  disposing  of  that  force,  and  moving  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible,  he  did  not  arrive  in  front  of  the  fortifications  until  after  noon 
of  the  llth,  when  his  troops  were  so  exhausted  that  he  was  sure 
he  could  not  carry  more  than  one-third  of  them  into  action.  His 
little  army  had  been  seriously  diminished  by  rapid  marching, 
which  had  broken  down  a  number  of  the  men  who  were  bare 
footed,  or  weakened  by  previous  exposure ;  and  he  scarcely  had 
more  than  8,000  muskets  in  front  of  Washington.  But  he  had 
forty  pieces  of  excellent  artillery. 

In  the  evening  a  consultation  of  officers  was  held.  The  neces 
sity  was  plain  of  doing  something  immediately,  as  the  probability 
was  that  the  passes  of  the  South  Mountain  and  the  fords  of  the 
upper  Potomac  would  soon  be  closed  against  Gen.  Early's  retreat 
into  Virginia.  It  was  unanimously  determined  to  make  an  assault 
on  the  enemy's  works  at  daylight  next  morning.  But  during  the 
night,  information  came  that  dashed  all  the  expectations  of  the 
morrow ;  and  it  was  ascertained  by  a  dispatch  from  Gen.  Bradley 


4:70  LIEUT.-GEN.  JUBAL  A.    EARLY. 

Johnson,  from  near  Baltimore,  that  two  corps  had  arrived  from 
Grant's  army  to  defend  Washington,  and  were  already  in  the  works. 
The  next  morning  "  retreat "  was  the  order ;  and  Gen.  Early  was 
compelled  to  give  up  all  hopes  of  capturing  Washington,  after  he 
had  arrived  in  sight  of  the  dome  of  the  capitol,  and  given  the 
Federal  authorities  one  of  the  most  terrible  frights  of  the  war.  Of 
this  abandonment  of  the  great  object  of  the  campaign,  just  at  the 
moment  when  it  seemed  about  to  be  attained,  Gen.  Early  writes : 
"  I  had  made  a  march,  over  the  circuitous  route  by  Charlottesville, 
Lynchburg,  and  Salem,  down  the  Yalley,  and  through  the  passes 
of  the  South  Mountain,  which,  notwithstanding  the  delays  in  deal 
ing  with  Hunter's,  Sigel's,  and  Wallace's  forces,  is,  for  its  length 
and  rapidity,  I  believe  without  a  parallel  in  this  or  any  other 
modern  war — the  unopposed  marauding  excursion  of  the  freebooter 
Sherman  through  Georgia  not  excepted.  My  small  force  had 
been  thrown  up  to  the  very  walls  of  the  Federal  capital,  north  of 
a  river  which  could  not  be  forded  at  any  point  within  forty  miles, 
and  with  a  heavy  force  and  the  South  Mountain  in  my  rear,  the 
passes  through  which  mountain  could  be  held  by  a  small  number 
of  troops.  A  glance  at  the  map,  when  it  is  recollected  that  the 
Potomac  is  a  wide  river,  and  navigable  to  Washington  for  the 
largest  vessels,  will  cause  the  intelligent  reader  to  wonder,  not  why 
I  failed  to  take  Washington,  but  why  I  had  the  audacity  to  ap 
proach  it  as  I  did,  with  the  small  force  under  my  command." 

On  his  return  to  Virginia,  Gen.  Early  remained  in  the  vicinity 
of  Winchester.  Here  he  established  his  encampment,  and  occu 
pied  his  time  and  his  troops  in  marching  and  countermarching ; 
in  making  short  raids  into  Maryland ;  in  sending  one  avengeful 
one  on  horse  to  destroy  Chambersburg ;  and  in  puzzling  and  tri 
fling  with  his  bewildered  opponent,  Sheridan.  Gen.  Lee  still  enter 
tained  the  idea  of  relieving  the  Kichmond  lines  by  a  campaign 
in  the  Yalley,  and  Kershaw's  division  was  sent  to  reinforce  Early  ; 
but  it  was  afterwards  withdrawn,  leaving  the  latter  commander 
with  not  more  than  8,500  muskets  fit  for  duty,  and  about  1,700 
mounted  men.  The  odds  were  fearful.  Sheridan  had  at  least 
10,000  of  the  finest  cavalry  that  had  yet  been  trained  in  the  war, 
and  three  corps  of  infantry,  which  Gen.  Early  estimates  at  35,000 
men.  The  Confederate  commander  led  a  forlorn  hope  against  an 
army  greater  than  that  which  Gen.  Lee  had  at  Richmond.  The 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  471 

disproportion  of  numbers  was  suggestive  only  of  disasters ;  and 
they  came  thick  and  fast. 

The  first  disastrous  day  was  the  19th  September,  when  the 
battle  of  Winchester  was  fought.  The  first  heavy  gun  was  fired  at 
the  first  dawn.  From  that  moment  until  night  did  Early's  little 
army  contend  with  and  repulse  the  ever-renewed  and  onward- 
pressing  Federal  hosts.  The  Confederate  heroism  of  that  day  was 
never  surpassed.  It  was  only  when  the  immense  column  of  caval 
ry  came  like  a  torrent  upon  the  left  flank  and  swept  it  away, 
that  the  Confederate  lines  were  broken.  At  night,  Gen.  Early's 
army  retreated  through  Winchester,  having  left  many  of  its  sol 
diers  on  the  field,  and  nearly  as  many  Federal  dead  and  wounded 
as  it  had  numbered  altogether  when  the  fight  began.  It  was  a 
dearly-bought  victory  for  Sheridan ;  but  for  Early  the  disaster  was 
never  retrieved. 

Fisher's  Hill  followed,  three  days  after — a  rout  without  a  battle. 
A  month  after,  on  the  19th  October,  unable  to  remain  quiet  on 
account  of  the  failure  of  quartermaster  and  commissary  stores,  and 
impatient  to  wipe  out  the  disgrace  of  the  last  defeats,  Gen.  Early 
assumed  the  offensive  from  Fisher's  Hill.  By  an  attack  at  daylight, 
bold  and  brilliant  in  its  conception  and  execution,  he  forced  the 
passage  of  Cedar  Creek  at  three  points,  pierced  the  camps  of  the 
enemy,  surprised  and  routed  two  corps,  capturing  camps  and  camp 
equipage,  many  prisoners,  and  much  artillerj^.  But  his  little  army 
was  unequal  to  its  successes.  Reduced  by  battle  and  straggling,  de 
moralized  by  plunder,  thinking  the  work  of  the  day  already  done, 
it  fell  short  of  a  great  victory ;  and  Sheridan,  with  the  Sixth  Corps, 
and  what  remained  organized  of  the  other  two,  came  down  in  wrath 
upon  the  feeble  band,  and  routed  it  disastrously.  It  was  certainly 
a  strange  and  unfortunate  omission  of  Gen.  Early  not  to  have  fol 
lowed  up  the  success  of  the  morning  ;*  but  there  must  have  been 
considerable  demoralization  among  the  troops  to  account  for  their 
feeble  resistance  and  readiness  to  retreat  at  the  close  of  the  day. 

"It  was,"  says  Gen.  Early,  "the  case  of  a  glorious  victory 
given  up  by  my  own  troops  after  they  had  won  it,  and  it  is  to  be 
accounted  for  on  the  ground  of  the  partial  demoralization  caused  by 
the  plunder  of  the  enemy's  camps,  and  from  the  fact  that  the  men 

*  See  account  of  this  battle  in  Life  of  Maj.-Geu.  J.  B.  Gordon. 


472  LIEUT. -GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY. 

undertook  to  judge  for  themselves  when  it  was  proper  to  retire. 
Had  they  but  waited,  the  mischief  on  the  left  would  have  been 
remedied.  I  have  never  been  able  to  satisfy  myself  that  the  enemy's 
attack  in  the  afternoon,  was  not  a  demonstration  to  cover  his  re 
treat  daring  the  night.  It  certainly  was  not  a  vigourous  one,  as  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  very  small  force  with  which  Kamseur 
and  Goggin  held  him  in  check  so  long ;  and  the  loss  in  killed  and 
wounded  in  the  division  which  first  gave  way  was  not  heavy,  and 
was  the  least  in  numbers  of  all  but  one,  though  it  was  the  third  in 
strength,  and  its  relative  loss  was  the  least  of  all  the  divisions.  I 
read  a  sharp  lecture  to  my  troops,  in  an  address  published  to  them 
a  few  days  after  the  battle,  but  I  have  never  attributed  the  result 
to  a  want  of  courage  on  their  part,  for  I  had  seen  them  perform 
too  many. prodigies  of  valour  to  doubt  that.  There  was  an  indi 
viduality  about  the  Confederate  soldier  which  caused  him  to  act 
often  in  battle  according  to  his  own  opinions,  and  thereby  impair 
his  own  efficiency ;  arid  the  tempting  bait  offered  by  the  rich  plun 
der  of  the  camps  of  the  enemy's  well-fed  and  well-clothed  troops, 
was  frequently  too  great  for  our  destitute  soldiers,  and  caused  them 
to  pause  in  the  career  of  victory." 

The  battle  of  Cedar  Creek  may  be  said  to  have  closed  the 
Yalley  campaign,  and  to  have  terminated  Gen.  Early's  military 
career.  There  were  afterwards  some  affairs ;  and  a  few  weeks  be 
fore  the  final  scenes  around  Kichmond,  a  remnant  of  Early's  com 
mand,  about  1,000  men,  were  overrun  and  dispersed  at  Waynes- 
boro,  the  General  escaping  by  riding  aside  into  the  woods,  and 
making  his  way  to  Charlottes ville  with  about  a  dozen  companions. 
But  the  action  of  Cedar  Creek  was  the  decisive  event.  The  fitful 
flash  of  that  morning  when  Early  surprised  the  enemy  and  broke 
two  of  his  corps,  was  the  last  Confederate  victory  in  the  Valley  of 
Virginia — a  region  so  glorious  with  Confederate  triumphs,  that  it 
had  been  called  by  the  Federals  the  "Valley  of  Humiliation."* 

*  In  a  printed  memoir  of  his  campaign,  G-en.  Early  makes  the  following  compari 
son  between  his  own  operations  and  the  earlier  ones  of  the  war  that  achieved  such 
triumphs  on  the  fields  he  had  to  abandon. 

"  Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  compare  my  campaign  in  the  Valley  with  that 
of  G-en.  Jackson  in  the  same  district,  in  order  to  cast  censure  on  me,  but  such  com 
parison  is  not  necessary  for  the  vindication  of  the  fame  of  that  great  leader,  and  it  is 
most  unjust  to  me,  as  the  circumstances  under  which  we  operated  were  so  entirely 
dissimilar.  It  was  my  fortune  to  serve  under  Gen.  Jackson,  after  his  Valley  cam- 


LIEUT.-GEN".   JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  4:73 

For  his  reverses  in  the  Valley  Gen.  Early  had  to  suffer  severely. 
The  press  and  people,  impatient  for  victories,  and  seized  by  feel 
ings  of  desperation  when  the  Confederate  cause  was  evidently 
lapsing,  condemned  him  unmercifully.  He  was  charged  chiefly 
with  drunkenness ;  but  there  were  a  number  of  officers  who  had 
been  with  him  on  the  field  in  every  battle  of  1864,  who  were  able 
to  testify  that  they  had  never  once  seen  him  under  the  influence  of 
liquor.  Some  other  charges  were  equally  unfounded.  But  his 
errours  were  so  magnified  and  multiplied  by  popular  accusation, 
and  so  urgent  became  the  demand  for  his  removal,  that  Gen.  Lee, 
although  with  unwavering  confidence  in  the  ability  of  hisrlieuten- 
ant,  felt  compelled  to  relieve  him  from  command. 


paign  until  his  death,  and  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  enjoyed  his  con 
fidence,  which  was  signally  shown  in  his  last  official  act  towards  me ;  and  no  one 
admires  his  character  and  reveres  his  memory  more  than  I  do.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
with  any  view  to  detract  from  his  merits,  that  I  mention  the  following  facts,  but  to 
show  how  improper  it  is  to  compare  our  campaigns  with  a  view  of  contrasting  their 
merits.  1st.  Gen.  Jackson  did  not  have  the  odds  opposed  to  him  which  I  had,  and 
his  troops  were  composed  entirely  of  the  very  best  material  which  entered  into  the 
composition  of  our  armies — that  is,  the  men  who  came  out  voluntarily  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war;  while  my  command,  though  comprising  ah1  the  principal  organiza 
tions  which  were  with  him,  did  not  contain  1,500  of  the  men  who  had  participated  in 
the  first  Yalley  campaign,  and  there  was  a  like  falling  off  in  the  other  organizations 
with  me  which  had  not  been  with  Gen.  Jackson  in  that  campaign.  This  was  owing 
to  the  losses  in  killed  and  disabled,  and  prisoners  who  were  not  exchanged.  Besides 
the  old  soldiers,  whose  numbers  were  so  reduced,  my  command  was  composed  of  re 
cruits  and  conscripts.  2nd.  Gen.  Jackson's  cavalry  was  not  outnumbered  by  the 
enemy's,  and  it  was  far  superior  in  efficiency — Ashby  being  a  host  in  himself;  while 
my  cavalry  was  more  than  trebled  in  numbers,  and  far  excelled  in  arms,  equipments, 
and  horses,  by  that  of  the  enemy.  3rd.  The  Yalley,  at  the  time  of  his  campaign,  was 
teeming  with  provisions  and  forage  from  one  end  to  the  other ;  while  my  command 
had  very  great  difficulty  in  obtaining  provisions  for  the  men,  and  had  to  rely  almost 
entirely  on  the  grass  in  the  open  fields  for  forage.  4th.  "When  Gen.  Jackson  was 
pressed  and  had  to  retire,  as  well  when  he  fell  back  before  Banks  in  the  spring  of 
1862,  as,  later,  when  he  retired  before  Fremont  to  prevent  Shields  from  getting  in  his 
rear,  the  condition  of  the  water-courses  was  such  as  to  enable  him  to  stop  the  advance 
of  one  column  by  burning  the  bridges,  and  then  fall  Upon  and  defeat  another  column ; 
and,  when  hard  pressed,  place  his  troops  in  a  position  of  security,  until  a  favourable 
opportunity  offered  for  attacking  the  enemy;  while  ah1  the  water-courses  were  low 
and  fordable,  and  the  whole  country  was  open  in  my  front,  on  my  flanks,  and  in  my 
rear,  during  my  entire  campaign.  These  facts  do  not  detract  from  the  merits  of  Gen. 
Jackson's  campaign  in  the  slightest  degree,  and  far  be  it  from  me  to  attempt  to  ob 
scure  his  well-earned  and  richly-deserved  fame.  They  only  show  that  I  ought  not  to 
be  condemned  for  not  doing  what  he  did." 


474  LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  Gen.  Early  had 
written  a  letter  to  Gen.  Lee,  stating  his  willingness  to  be  relieved 
from  command,  if  the  latter  deemed  it  necessary  for  the  public 
interests.  The  suggestion  was  not  acted  upon  for  several  months ; 
and  it  was  just  before  the  closing  scenes  of  the  war  that  Gen.  Lee 
wrote  the  following  letter,  terminating  the  military  career  of  Early, 
but  putting  upon  his  record  of  public  services  a  seal  of  approba 
tion,  an  expression  of  personal  confidence,  of  which  the  veteran 
commander  might  well  be  proud. 

HEADQUARTERS,  CONFEDERATE  STATES  ARMIES, 

30th  March,  1865. 
Lieut.- Gen.  J.  A.  Early,  Franklin  Co.,  Va.: 

GENERAL, — My  telegram  will  have  informed  you  that  I  deem 
a  change  of  commanders  in  your  Department  necessary ;  but  it  is 
due  to  your  zealous  and  patriotic  services  that  I  should  explain 
the  reasons  that  prompted  my  action.  The  situation  of  affairs  is 
such  that  we  can  neglect  no  means  calculated  to  develop  the 
resources  we  possess  to  the  greatest  extent,  and  make  them  as 
efficient  as  possible.  To  this  end,  it  is  essential  that  we  should 
have  the  cheerful  and  hearty  support  of  the  people,  and  the  full  con 
fidence  of  the  soldiers,  without  which  our  efforts  would  be  embar 
rassed  and  our  means  of  resistance  weakened.  I  have  reluctantly 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  you  cannot  command  the  united  and 
willing  cooperation  which  is  so  essential  to  success.  Your 
reverses  in  the  Valley,  of  which  the  public  and  the  army  judge 
chiefly  by  the  results,  have,  I  fear,  impaired  your  influence  both 
with  the  people  and  the  soldiers,  and  would  add  greatly  to  the  dif 
ficulties  which  will,  under  any  circumstances,  attend  our  military 
operations  in  Southwestern  Virginia.  While  my  own  confidence 
in  your  ability,  zeal,  and  devotion  to  the  cause  is  unimpaired,  I 
have  nevertheless  felt  that  I  could  not  oppose  what  seems  to  be  the 
current  of  opinion  without  injustice  to  your  reputation  and  injury 
to  the  service.  I  therefore  felt  constrained  to  endeavour  to  find  a 
commander  who  would  be  more  likely  to  develop  the  strength  and 
resources  of  the  country,  and  inspire  the  soldiers  with  confidence ; 
and,  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  I  thought  it  proper  to  yield  my 
own  opinion,  and  to  defer  to  that  of  those  to  whom  alone  we  can 
look  for  support. 

I  am  sure  that  you  will  understand  and  appreciate  my  motives, 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.    EARLY.  475 

and  no  one  will  be  more  ready  than  yourself  to  acquiesce  in  any 
measures  which  the  interests  of  the  country  may  seem  to  require, 
regardless  of  all  personal  considerations. 

Thanking  you  for  the  fidelity  and  energy  with  which  you  have 
always  supported  my  efforts,  and  for  the  courage  and  devotion  you 
have  ever  manifested  in  the  service  of  the  country, 
I  am,  very  respectfully  and  truly, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

K.  E.  LEE,  General. 

Gen.  Lee  knew  better  than  the  general  public  did  the  difficul 
ties  which  confronted  Early  in  the  notable  campaign  of  1864,  and 
he  knew  and  took  into  account  that  disproportion  of  numbers 
which  made  the  campaign  "  a  forlorn  hope  "  in  view  of  the  enemy's 
resources.  Indeed,  when  history  reveals  this  disproportion,  it 
shows  that  Sheridan  ought  to  have  accomplished  more  than  he 
actually  did  with  one-half  his  numbers ;  and  that  even  then  he 
would  have  deserved  not  more  than  a  tithe  of  the  popular  reputa 
tion  he  gained. 

After  the  campaign  in  the  Valley  Gen.  Early  had  proceeded 
to  Lynchburg,  to  reorganize  what  remained  of  his  command  :  and 
thence  he  had  joined  Gen.  Echols,  who  was  operating  near  the  State 
line  between  Virginia  and  Tennessee.  Having  received  at  Abing- 
don  Gen.  Lee's  order  directing  him  to  turn  over  the  command  in 
Southwestern  Virginia  to  Gen.  Echols,  he  rode  to  Marion,  in  Smy  the 
County.  From  the  exposure  of  the  journey  he  contracted  a  cold 
and  cough  so  violent  as  to  produce  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs,  and 
prostrate  him  for  several  days  in  a  very  dangerous  condition. 
While  he  was  in  this  situation,  a  heavy  cavalry  force  under  Stone- 
man,  from  Thomas's  army  in  Tennessee,  moved  through  North 
Carolina  to  the  east,  and  a  part  of  it  came  into  Virginia  from  the 
main  column,  and  struck  the  Virginia  and  Tennessee  Eailroad  at 
New  River,  east  of  Wytheville ;  whence,  after  destroying  the 
bridge,  it  moved  east,  cutting  off  all  communication  with  Rich 
mond,  and  then  crossed  over  into  North  Carolina.  As  soon  as  Gen. 
Early  was  in  a  condition  to  be  moved,  he  was  carried  on  the  railroad 
to  Wytheville,  and  was  proceeding  thence  to  his  home  in  an  ambu 
lance,  under  the  charge  of  a  surgeon,  when  he  received,  most  unex 
pectedly,  the  news  of  the  surrender  of  Gen.  Lee's  army.  It  is  said 


476  LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL   A.   EARLY. 

that  when  the  strange  and  unwelcome  information  was  first  com 
municated  to  him  he  expressed  his  disbelief  with  a  formidable 
oath ;  but  being  assured  of  the  fact,  he  turned  over  on  his  uneasy 
bed  with  a  groan,  and,  with  all  the  solemnity  of  the  venerable 
Zachariah,  exclaimed  :  "  Blow  your  horn,  Gabriel !  " 

Gen.  Early  was  a  man  whose  person  made  a  strong  impression 
on  the  mind,  and  whose  character  was  exceptional  and  interesting. 
He  was  resolute,  perhaps  obstinate,  in  his  opinions  ;  a  true  friend, 
but  a  man  of  no  professions,  taking  apparent  pleasure  rather  in 
doing  more  than  he  was  obliged  to  do,  than  in  giving  kindly 
assurances  of  wishes,  or  polished  expressions  of  regret  for  inability 
to  comply  with  the  expectation  of  friends.  His  bald  head,  gray, 
shaggy  beard,  and  bent  frame,  tortured  and  warped  by  wounds  and 
rheumatism,  indicated  a  greater  age  than  he  actually  carried.  An 
old  bachelor,  he  had  during  the  war  the  reputation  of  being  a 
woman-hater.  It  is  said  that  he  never  approved  an  application 
for  furlough  when  the  applicant  wished  it  for  the  purpose  of  get 
ting  married,  and  he  often  declared  that  every  officer  who  was 
married  either  became  utterly  worthless  or  straightway  got  him 
self  killed.  We  are  led  to  believe  that,  with  Jubal  Early,  it  was 
not  always  thus.  Gifted  by  nature  with  a  handsome  figure,  a 
pleasing  wit,  an  intellectual  brow,  and  as  fine  an  eye  as  ever  gave 
expression  to  a  man's  face,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  had  always 
held  himself  aloof  from  the  society  of  ladies.  An  intimate  friend 
hints  that  his  early  life  was  influenced  by  an  "  affair ;  "  but  what 
ever  cooled  his  affection  for  the  opposite  sex,  it  seems  to  have  been 
quieted  forever.  It  was  the  oft-told  tale  of  disappointed  love ;  yet 
the  tender  feeling  with  which  he  always  alluded  to  the  grave  of 
his  mother,  and  his  noble,  beautiful  letter  to  the  ladies  of  Winches 
ter  and  the  Yalley  of  the  Shenandoah,  from  his  retreat  in  Canada, 
evince  a  manly  love  of  good  women,  which  neither  age  nor  trou 
bles  nor  exile  have  been  able  to  destroy. 

Nothing  could  be  more  feeling,  no  expression  more  tender  and 
honourable  towards  the  women  of  the  country,  than  what  occurs 
in  the  following  passage  from  Gen.  Early's  pen,  describing  pecu 
liar  excesses  of  the  enemy  in  the  Yalley  of  Virginia :  "  I  had  often 
seen  delicate  ladies,  who  had  been  plundered,  insulted,  and  ren 
dered  desolate  by  the  acts  of  our  most  atrocious  enemies,  and  while 
they  did  not  call  for  it,  yet,  in  the  anguished  expressions  of  their 


LIEUT.-GEN.  JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  477 

features  while  narrating  their  misfortunes,  there  was  a  mute  appeal 
to  every  manly  sentiment  of  my  bosom  for  retribution,  which  I 
could  no  longer  withstand.  On  my  passage  through  the  lower 
Valley  into  Maryland,  a  lady  had  said  to  me,  with  tears  in  her 
eyes,  '  Our  lot  is  a  hard  one,  and  we  see  no  peace ;  but  there  are  a 
few  green  spots  in  our  lives,  and  they  are  when  the  Confederate 
soldiers  come  along  and  we  can  do  something  for  them.'  May 
God  defend  and  bless  those  noble  women  of  the  Valley,  who  so 
often  ministered  to  the  wounded,  sick,  and  dying  Confederate  sol 
diers,  and  gave  their  last  morsel  of  bread  to  the  hungry  !  They 
bore  with  heroic  courage  the  privations,  sufferings,  persecutions 
and  dangers,  to  which  the  war  which  was  constantly  waged  in 
their  midst  exposed  them,  and  upon  no  portion  of  the  Southern 
people  did  the  disasters  which  finally  befell  our  army  and  country 
fall  with  more  crushing  effect  than  upon  them." 

It  is  hardly  just  to  judge  Gen.  Early 's  military  merits  by  his 
fortunes  or  misfortunes.  With  a  mind  clear,  direct  and  compre 
hensive,  his  opinion  was  entitled  to  that  respect  which  it  always 
received  from  Gen.  Lee.  Quick  to  decide,  and  almost  inflexible 
in  decision,  with  a  boldness  to  attack  that  approached  rashness, 
and  a  tenacity  in  resisting  that  resembled  desperation,  he  was  yet 
on  the  field  of  battle  hardly  equal  to  his  own  intellect  and  decision. 
He  moved  too  slowly  from  point  to  point ;  and  had  he  possessed 
the  personal  activity  of  Breckinridge,  or  the  dash  of  Gordon,  he 
would,  in  his  misfortune,  better  have  escaped  censure.  Moreover, 
he  received  with  impatience,  and  never  acted  upon  advice — a  sug 
gestion  from  his  subordinates.  Arbitrary,  cynical,  with  strong 
prejudices,  and  totally  irreligious,  he  was  personally  disagreeable 
to  the  majority  of  men ;  he  made  no  admirers  or  friends  either  by 
his  manners  or  his  habits,  and  those  who  defended  him  did  so 
because  they  were  convinced  of  his  patriotism,  of  his  earnestness, 
and  of  his  great  ability.  He  had  tender  feelings,  but  he  endeav 
oured  to  conceal  them,  and  often  acted  as  if  he  would  be  ashamed 
to  be  detected  in  doing  a  kindness;  yet  many  will  recall  with  pleas 
ure,  little  acts  of  Old  Jubal,  which  proved  that  his  heart  was  not 
unkind. 

The  strong  character  of  the  man  was  fruitful  of  anecdote.  The 
soldiers  of  his  army  had  a  hundred  jests  and  witticisms  about  him. 
They  called  him  "  Old  Jube,"  sometimes  "  Old  Jubilee."  His 


478  LIEUT.-GEN".   JUBAL   A.   EARLY. 

burly  person,  his  neglected  dress,  his  peculiar  speech,  made  him  a 
marked  man.  Long  exposure  had  made  the  old  coat  which  he 
wore  quite  dingy.  A  wide-brim  hat  overshadowed  his  sparkling 
eyes,  his  swarthy  features,  and  grizzled  hair.  His  face,  set  upon 
a  short  neck,  joined  to  stooping  shoulders,  attracted  attention  from 
every  one.  In  the  dark  eye  you  could  read  the  resolute  character 
of  the  man,  as  in  his  satirical  smile  you  saw  the  evidence  of  that 
dry,  trenchant,  often  mordant  humour,  for  which  he  was  famous. 
The  keen  glance  drove  home  the  sarcastic  speech,  and  almost  every 
one  who  ventured  upon  word  combats  with  Gen.  Lee's  "  bad  old 
man  "  sustained  a  "palpable  hit." 

An  instance  of  his  wit  at  the  expense  of  Stonewall  Jackson  was 
greatly  relished  by  his  troops.  In  the  retreat  from  Sharpsburg, 
Jackson  had  been  left  at  Winchester  to  remove  some  supplies,  and 
was  making  one  of  his  rapid  marches  to  rejoin  Longstreet  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Culpeper  Court-House.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  straggling  on  the  march,  and  evidences  among  the  men  of 
a  free  imbibing  of  the  "  apple-jack  "  which  abounded  in  this  part 
of  the  country.  Gen.  Jackson  happened  to  ride  in  rear  of  Early?s 
division,  and  was  greatly  concerned  to  find  the  men  scattered  for 
miles  along  the  road.  Gen.  Early  had  expended  his  eloquence  and 
his  oaths  in  vain ;  he  had  even  spread  the  report  that  the  moun 
tain  huts  were  full  of  small-pox ;  but  this  did  not  prevent  his 
prying  followers  from  satisfying  their  curiosity  at  every  sign  of 
habitation  on  their  route.  At  night,  while  be  was  nursing  his  rheu 
matism  by  the  camp-fire,  an  orderly  rode  up  with  a  dispatch  from 
Gen.  Jackson,  curtly  inquiring  "why  he  had  seen  so  many  strag 
glers  in  rear  of  Gen.  Early's  division  that  day."  The  answer  was 
drawn  up,  with  due  form : 

HEADQUARTERS  EARLY'S  DIVISION. 

CAPTAIN  :  In  answer  to  your  note,  I  would  state  that  I  think 
it  probable  that  the  reason  why  Gen.  Jackson  saw  so  many  of  my 
stragglers  on  the  march  to-day  is  that  he  rode  in  rear  of  my  divi 
sion.  Kespectfully, 

J.  A.  EARLY, 

Major-  General. 
Capt.  A.  S.  PENDLETON,  A.A.G. 

All  the  anecdotes  about  Gen.  Early  were  characteristic.    Speak- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  479 

ing  slowly  and  with  a  species  of  drawl  in  his  voice,  all  that  he 
said  was  pointed,  direct,  and  full  of  sarcastic  force.  These  "hits" 
he  evidently  enjoyed,  and  he  delivered  them  with  the  coolness  of 
a  swordsman  making  a  mortal  lunge.  All  the  army  had  laughed 
at  one  of  them.  While  marching  at  the  head  of  his  column,  dusty, 
in  his  dingy  gray  uniform,  and  with  his  faded  old  hat  over  his 
eyes,  he  had  seen  leaning  over  a  fence  and  looking  at  the  column 
as  it  passed,  a  former  associate  in  the  Virginia  Convention,  who 
had  violently  advocated  secession.  This  gentleman  was  clad  in 
citizen's  clothes — black  coat  and  irreproachable  shirt-bosom — and 
greeted  Early  as  he  passed.  The  reply  of  the  General  was  given 
with  his  habitual  smile  and  sarcastic  drawl :  "  How  are  you  ?  "  he 
said.  "I  think  you  said  the  Whigs  wouldn't  fight."  The  blow 
was  rude,  and  made  the  whole  army  laugh.  Of  this  peculiar 
humour  a  better  instance  still  is  given.  After  Fisher's  Hill,  when 
his  whole  army  was  in  complete  retreat,  and  the  Federal  forces 
were  pressing  him  close,  he  was  riding  with  Gen.  Breckinridge. 
It  might  have  been  supposed  that  their  conversation  would  relate 
to  the  disastrous  events  of  the  day,  but  Gen.  Early  did  "not  seem 
to  trouble  himself  upon  that  subject.  In  full  retreat  as  they  were, 
and  followed  by  an  enraged  enemy,  his  companion  was  astounded 
to  hear  from  Early  the  cool  and  nonchalant  question :  "  Well, 
Breckinridge,  what  do  you  think  of  the  decision  of  the  Supreme 
Court  in  the  Dred  Scott  case,  in  its  bearings  upon  the  rights  of  the 
South  in  the  Territories?"  The  man  who  could  amuse  himself 
with  political  discussions  between  Fisher's  Hill  and  Woodstock, 
on  the  22d  of  September,  1864,  must  have  been  of  hard  stuff  or 
peculiar  humour. 

With  another  anecdote  of  Gen.  Early,  in  which  for  once  he 
appears  to  have  been  worsted,  and  which  is  given  on  the  literal 
authority  of  a  distinguished  companion  in  arms,  we  close  this 
curious  budget  of  military  humour.  Before  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Early's  division  and  that  of  a  friend  were  posted  at 
Port  Royal  and  vicinity.  At  sunset  the  day  before,  the  troops 
were  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  miles  from  the  city,  but  by  march 
ing  that  night  they  were  up  in  time  for  the  fight  next  morning. 
The  General's  friend  had  received  as  a  present  a  flask  of  old 
whiskey,  which  he  had  resolved  to  give  to  the  General,  as  that 
kind  of  liquor  did  not  agree  with  himself.  He  informed  the  Gen- 


480  LIEUT.-GEN.   JUBAL  A.   EARLY. 

eral  of  his  intention,  but  the  hurried  night-march  and  the  battle 
prevented  him  from  fulfilling  his  promise.  The  night  after  the 
fight  he  took  out  the  flask,  saw  that  the  contents  were  all  right, 
and  that  the  cork  was  tight  and  firm ;  then  placing  it  under  his 
head,  he  lay  down  on  the  bare  ground  and  slept  as  the  tired  sol 
dier  only  can  sleep.  The  dawn  found  him  on  his  feet  and  examin 
ing  his  flask.  The  cork  was  in  place  just  as  on  the  night  before, 
but  the  inside  was  as  dry  as  the  sand  in  the  desert  of  Sahara.  The 
two  officers  met  some  hours  after,  when  the  following  conversation 
took  place : 

GENERAL  E. :  Well,  Burnside  is  gone,  and  I  am  thirsty. 

FRIEND  :  General,  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  I  put  }^our 
flask  under  my  head  last  night,  and  on  looking  at  it  this  morn 
ing  the  cork  was  all  right,  but  the  whiskey  was  all  gone. 

GENERAL  E.  (in  his  most  sawlike  tones) :  Jerusalem !  were 
you  drinking  all  night  ? 

FKIEND:  Ah!  General,  we  are  so  apt  to  judge  others  by  our 
selves. 

On  the  close  of  the  war  Gen.  Early 's  course  of  individual  action 
was  as  characteristic  as  ever.  He  had  always  said  that  he  never 
again  should  live  under  the  rule  of  the  Yankees.  As  soon  as  he 
was  able  to  ride,  the  obstinate,  bitter  old  man,  who,  since  his 
wound  at  Williamsburg  in  1862  had  seldom  mounted  his  horse 
without  assistance,  bade  farewell  to  Virginia,  and  went  to  seek  a 
home  in  foreign  lands.  With  his  pistols  in  his  holsters,  and  with 
one  or  two  companions,  he  journeyed  on  horseback  from  Virginia 
to  Texas,  running  the  gauntlet  the  whole  way,  but  undisturbed, 
except  at  the  crossing  of  the  Mississippi.  The  design  of  this 
journey  Gen.  Early  declares  was  "  to  join  the  army  of  Gen.  Kirby 
Smith,  should  it  hold  out,  with  the  hope  of  at  least  meeting  an 
honourable  death,  while  fighting  under  the  flag  of  my  coun 
try."  In  crossing  the  river  he  lost  his  riding-horse,  bridle  and 
saddle.  But  those  who  captured  them  did  not  know  whose 
they  were,  and  the  General  had  a  led-horse  with  which  he 
managed  to  continue  his  retreat.  Arriving  undiscovered  in 
Texas,  he  found  the  Confederate  cause  lost;  remained  there 
three  months,  and  escaped  thence  by  way  of  Galveston  to 
the  Bahama  Banks,  where  he  landed  in  a  settlement  composed 
chiefly  of  negroes,  and  was  compelled  to  remain  for  nine 


LIEUT.-GEN.  JUBAL  A.   EARLY.  481 

days,  "  hobnobbing  with  gentlemen  of  African  descent."  He  then 
managed  to  get  to  Nassau,  whence  he  went  to  Havana,  and  thence 
to  Mexico.  He  remained  at  the  Mexican  capital  three  months, 
holding  himself  entirely  aloof  from  the  government  of  Maxi 
milian,  because  he  had  no  sympathy  with  it,  and  did  not  believe 
it  had  strength  enough  to  sustain  itself.  He  then  returned  to 
Havana,  and  went  to  Canada. 

In  his  exile  Gen.  Early  has  written  an  interesting  memoir  of 
his  last  campaign,  from  which  we  have  drawn  a  number  of  facts 
contained  in  this  sketch.  There  is  something  peculiarly  melan 
choly  in  the  condition  of  this  unrelenting  and  unsurrendered 
"  rebel  "  wandering  sulkily  and  secretly  from  the  ancient  Common 
wealth  of  Virginia,  which  he  loved  more  than  his  life,  and  choos 
ing  exile  in  foreign  lands,  until  the  few  days  left  him  are  entirely 
numbered.  But  the  picture  is  not  without  a  severe  dignity.  Gen. 
Early  has  made  a  sacrifice  of  self,  however  mistaken  the  neces 
sity  or  consideration  for  the  crucifixion  of  his  love.  He  remains 
in  exile,  while  some  of  those  who  reviled  him  for  his  opposition 
to  secession  have  been  duly  pardoned,  and  are  restored  to  home 
and  fortune,  and  others  have  quitted  the  impoverished  South  to 
enjoy  the  ease  of  Northern  cities. 

31 


MAJ.-GEN.  GUSTAYUS  W.  SMITH. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

His  family  in  Kentucky. — He  serves  in  the  Mexican  war. — Complimentary  notices 
from  Gen.  Scott. — Appointed  Street  Commissioner  of  New  York. — Resigns,  visits 
Kentucky,  and  accepts  a  Major-Generalship  in  the  Confederate  service. — His  slight 
record  in  the  war. — His  resignation. — Injustice  of  President  Davis. — Volunteer 
services  of  Gen.  Smith  in  the  latter  period  of  the  war. 

GUSTAVUS  W.  SMITH  was  born  on  the  first  day  of  January, 
1822,  near  Georgetown,  Scott  County,  Kentucky,  and  is  a  cousin 
of  John  C.  Breckinridge.  His  parents  were  both  natives  of  the 
same  county.  His  grand-parents,  paternal  and  maternal,  re 
moved  from  Eastern  Virginia  to  Kentucky  in  the  time  of  Daniel 
Boone,  when  the  red  men  still  disputed  with  the  whites  for  pos 
session  of  their  favourite  hunting-ground — the  far-famed  "  Blue 
Grass  District."  He  was  by  lineage,  education  and  habits  a  thor 
ough  Kentuckian. 

Through  the  influence  of  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson,  then 
Vice- President  of  the  United  States,  who  was  the  close  neighbour 
and  life-long  personal  and  political  friend  of  Bodes  Smith,  the 
paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Gustavus  W. 
Smith  was  appointed  a  cadet,  and  entered  the  United  States  Mili 
tary  Academy  in  1838.  At  the  end  of  six  months,  he  had  estab 
lished  a  reputation  for  ability  of  no  ordinary  degree,  and  was 
placed  first  in  mathematics  in  a  class  reported  to  be  equal,  if  not 
superiour,  to  any  ever  graduated  at  West  Point. 

On  leaving  the  Military  Academy  in  1842,  he  was  appointed 
a  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Corps  of  Engineers.  In  1846, 
although  still  a  second-lieutenant,  and  low  on  the  list,  because  of 


MAJ.-GEN.   GUSTAVUS  W.   SMITH.  483 

the  slow  promotion  in  that  celebrated  corps,  he  was  selected  by 
the  chief-engineer,  and  ordered  upon  duty  as  senior  lieutenant  of 
the  company  of  "  sappers  and  miners,"  or  engineer  soldiers,  then 
being  recruited  and  organized. 

In  the  Mexican  war  Smith  served  as  second-lieutenant,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five  won  for  himself  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  the  best  officers  in  the  American  army.  The  records  of 
Congress,  in  regard  to  the  war  with  Mexico,  abound  in  notices 
of  the  gallantry  and  skill  of  the  young  officer.  At  the  siege  of 
Yera  Cruz,  the  battles  of  Oerro  Gordo,  Contreras,  Cherubusco 
and  Chapultepec,  and  at  the  attack  on  San  Cosmo  Garita,  and  in 
the  bloody  street-fighting  within  the  city,  the  name  of  G.  W. 
Smith  is  conspicuously  mentioned  in  the  official  dispatches  of 
Gen.  Scott,  and  by  Gens.  "Worth,  Twiggs,  and  others. 

He  was  three  times  brevetted  for  skill,  gallantry,  and  distin 
guished  conduct  upon  the  field  of  battle — at  Cerro  Gordo,  at 
Cherubusco,  and  at  the  city  of  Mexico.  Gen.  Scott  often  bore 
testimony  to  his  high  character  and  professional  ability.  In  an 
official  letter,  he  said:  "In  conclusion,  I  will  add,  that  I  have 
never  known  a  young  officer  so  often  or  so  highly  distinguished 
as  Captain  Smith  was  during  the  war  with  Mexico." 

After  the  Mexican  war  Capt.  Smith  served  for  several  years 
as  principal  assistant  professor  of  engineering  and  the  art  of  war, 
in  the  United  States  Military  Academy.  He  was  stationed  at 
"West  Point  on  this  duty  at  the  time  he  resigned  from  the  army, 
in  December,  1854.  He  came  to  the  city  of  New  York  in  Octo 
ber,  1856,  and  was  engaged  soon  after  as  Chief-Engineer  of  the 
Trenton  Iron  Company.  He  held  various  other  important  and 
responsible  positions,  and  was  associated  in  business  relations  with 
men  of  the  highest  position  and  standing  in  this  community.  In 
1858,  under  the  administration  of  Mayor  Tiemann,  he  became 
connected  with  the  city  government ;  and,  as  Street  Commissioner 
of  New  York,  he  showed  himself  as  competent  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  a  civil,  executive,  and  administrative  officer,  as  he  had 
previously  done  those  of  a  soldier  and  engineer. 

When,  with  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  war  burst 
upon  the  country  with  all  its  startling  reality,  Capt.  Smith  was 
still  in  New  York,  holding  a  lucrative  position.  He  was  popu 
lar  ;  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of 


484  MAJ.-GEN.  GUSTAVUS  W.   SMITH. 

influential  and  respectable  people;  and  there  was  no  position, 
either  civil  or  military,  to  which  he  might  not  have  honourably 
aspired.  His  native  State,  Kentucky,  had  not  yet  seceded ;  and 
he  might  have  joined  "the  Union  army,"  as  it  was  profanely 
called,  and  not  have  been  liable  to  the  charge  of  infidelity  to  his 
State,  according  to  the  Southern  code.  But  the  conscientious 
choice  of  the  man  was  different. 

In  August,  1861  (after  the  battle  of  Manassas  had  been 
fought),  Capt.  Smith  made  his  way  to  Kentucky.  When,  in  the 
preceding  winter,  the  legislature  of  that  State,  by  an  almost 
unanimous  vote,  declared  that  the  seceded  States  should  not  be 
coerced  into  the  Union,  Capt.  Smith  was  looked  to  as  the  chosen 
military  leader  of  Kentucky.  When  he  returned  to  the  State  he 
found  that  a  majority  of  the  people  had  been  deceived  and  be 
trayed  ;  and  he  immediately  determined  not  to  be  enchained  with 
her,  even  temporarily,  under  the  rule  of  the  Federals.  He  there 
fore  left  Kentucky,  and,  on  reaching  Nashville,  offered  his  servi 
ces  to  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States,  stating  that  he  had 
left  the  North,  and  come  back  to  the  South,  with  the  intention 
of  sharing  her  destiny.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  proceeded  to 
Richmond,  and,  without  application  on  his  part,  upon  the  recom 
mendation  of  the  two  Johnstons  and  Beauregard,  was  by  the 
President  appointed  a  Major-General. 

The  record  of  Gen.  Smith  in  the  war  was  brief,  but  it  was 
not  without  some  brilliant  passages ;  and  he  was  giving  promises 
of  great  distinction  when  his  career  was  suddenly  cut  off  by  the 
•fiat  of  the  powers  in  Richmond.  He  was,  at  first,  appointed 
commander  of  the  second  corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
whilst  Beauregard  commanded  the  first,  and  Joseph  E.  Johnston 
the  army.  This  distribution  of  commands,  however,  appears  to 
have  been  ill-defined,  and  to  have  been  productive  of  some  jeal 
ousies.  In  the  celebrated  retreat  from  Centreville,  Gen.  Smith 
commanded  the  left  wing  of  Johnston's  army  ;  he  was  again  con 
spicuous  in  command  of  the  rear-guard  and  left  wing  in  the 
movement  from  Yorktown  back  upon  Richmond ;  and  on  the 
battle-field  of  Seven  Pines,  where  Johnston  was  wounded,  he 
succeeded  to  the  chief  command  of  the  army.  Within  twenty- 
four  hours,  however,  Gen.  Lee  was  appointed  its  regular  com 
mander.  Soon  after  Gen.  Smith  was  assigned  a  separate  com- 


MAJ.-GEN.   GUSTAVUS  W.   SMITH.  485 

mand,  embracing  North  Carolina  and  the  southern  coast  of  Yir- 
ginia,  including  Richmond.  In  this  Department  he  checked  two 
advances  of  the  enemy — in  December,  1862,  and  January,  1863. 
About  this  time  President  Davis  seems  to  have  contracted  a 
strong  prejudice  against  Gen.  Smith;  and,  in  one  day,  he  pro 
moted  six  of  his  juniors  to  be  Lieutenant-Generals.  All  this,  how 
ever,  did  not  damp  the  patriotic  ardour  though  it  wounded  the 
sensibilities  of  Gen.  Smith,  who  continued  to  give  his  constant 
and  earnest  attention  to  his  duties. 

In  1863,  however,  Gen.  Smith  felt  that  President  Davis  had 
become  so  personally  inimical  to  him  that  he  could  no  longer 
retain  command  under  him,  except  at  imminent  risk  to  the  vital 
interests  of  the  Confederate  cause.  He  therefore  resigned  his 
position  in  the  army,  and  was  soon  after  elected  President  of  the 
Etowah  Manufacturing  and  Mining  Company  of  Georgia.  These 
were  extensive  iron  works,  second  in  importance  only  to  the 
Tredegar  Works  in  Richmond.  In  this  capacity  he  did  great 
service  to  the  Confederacy  in  producing  the  materials  of  war, 
until  the  works  were  burned  by  Gen.  Sherman,  in  1864. 

Notwithstanding  the  resignation  of  the  military  commission 
from  President  Davis,  Gen.  Smith  at  different  periods  of  the  war 
thereafter,  took  up  his  arms,  and  did  some  important  temporary 
services.  Such  was  his  patriotic  desire  to  aid  all  in  his  power  in 
the  great  struggle,  that  he  offered  his  services  to  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard  in  an  expected  attack  on  Charleston,  as  volunteer  aide,  or  in 
any  capacity  in  which  he  could  for  the  time  be  useful.  The 
offer  was  accepted,  and  he  was  with  Gen.  Beauregard  in  the 
gallant  defence  of  Charleston  in  April,  1863.  He  removed  to 
Georgia,  and  went  into  the  iron  business  there  with  the  declara 
tion,  that  if  this  State  ever  needed  his  military  services  he  would 
be  prompt  to  render  them.  In  the  last  exigencies  of  the  war, 
when  Georgia  had  to  put  out  all  her  local  forces  against  the 
enemy,  Gen.  Smith  was  elected  Major-General  of  the  militia; 
and  he  continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity  until  captured  and 
paroled  at  Macon,  on  the  20th  April,  1865. 

The  popular  Southern  estimate  of  Gen.  Smith  as  a  military 
man  was,  that  he  never  had  the  opportunities  which  his  talents 
merited,  and  that,  if  he  had  been  fairly  tried,  he  would  have 
taken  rank  with  the  most  distinguished  and  deserving  leaders  of 


486  MAJ.-GEN.   GUSTAVUS  W.  SMITH. 

the  war.  He  had  a  solid  and  excellent  military  education ;  he 
had  a  remarkable  command  over  men,  arising  from  a  powerful 
will,  combined  with  a  rare  sense  of  justice ;  and  he  displayed  a 
devotion  to  what  he  believed  right  which  completed  the  charac 
ter  of  the  warriour,  and  gave  it  a  heroic  cast.  It  is  a  matter  of 
regret  that  he  was  so  slightly  employed  in  the  war;  and  a  subject 
of  indignation  that  he  was  so  unjustly  treated  by  a  capricious 
Executive. 


MAJ.-GEN.  LAFAYETTE  M'LAWS. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army. — Appointed  a  Brigadier-G-eneral  in  the  Confed 
erate  States  Army,  September,  1861. — Promoted  in  front  of  Richmond. — His  part 
in  the  capture  of  Harper's  Ferry. — His  glorious  and  bloody  work  at  Fredericks- 
burg. — The  East  Tennessee  campaign,  1863. — Gen.  McLaws  opposes  the  assault  on 
Knoxville. — Extraordinary  reply  of  Gen.  Longstreet. — Defective  reconnoisances  of 
the  enemy's  works. — Why  the  assault  failed. — Gen.  McLaws  court-martialed, 
and  triumphantly  acquitted. — A  remarkable  peculiarity  of  his  military  career. 

LAFAYETTE  McLAWS  is  a  Georgian  by  birth.  His  ancestors 
on  his  father's  side  were  Scotch;  on  that  of  his  mother,  French 
Huguenot.  » 

After  passing  a  year  at  the  University  of  Virginia,  he  received 
the  appointment  of  Cadet  at  West  Point,  from  which  institution 
he  graduated  in  1842.  His  first  service  was  at  Fort  Gibson,  in 
the  Cherokee  country  ;  and  he  afterwards,  until  the  commencement 
of  hostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  served  at  Pen- 
sacola,  from  which  place  he  sailed,  early  in  1846,  to  join  the  army 
of  occupation  at  Corpus  Christi,  under  Gen.  Taylor.  He  was  in 
Fort  Brown  during  the  eleven  days'  bombardment  of  that  place  by 
the  enemy,  and  shared  with  his  regiment  (the  7th  Infantry)  the 
perils  and  privations  attending  the  famous  siege  of  Monterey.  His 
regiment  having  been  ordered  to  join  Gen.  Scott,  he  was  present 
at  the  bombardment  and  surrender  of  Yera  Cruz  and  the  Castle 
of  San  Juan  d'Ulloa.  His  health  failed  at  this  time,  and  he  re 
turned  to  the  United  States  on  recruiting  service.  After  the  treaty 
of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  he  was  appointed  Adjutant  General  in  the 
department  of  New  Mexico,  in  which  capacity  he  continued  to  act 
for  two  years.  Promoted  to  a  captaincy,  he  was  subsequently 
stationed  at  various  posts  on  the  western  frontier.  As  Captain  of 


488  MAJ.-GEN.    LAFAYETTE  MCLAWS. 

the  Yth  United  States  Infantry,  he  served,  under  Sidney  Johnston, 
in  the  expedition  against  the  Mormons,  and  remained  in  the  Ter 
ritory  of  Utah  more  than  two  years.  Thence  he  was  ordered  to 
New  Mexico,  and  intrusted  with  an  important  command  against 
the  Navajo  Indians.  Those  familiar  with  the  ability,  skill,  and 
success  exhibited  by  him  in  this  expedition,  award  him  great  cred 
it  ;  and  his  valuable  services  would  doubtless  have  been  honoura 
bly  acknowledged  by  the  War  Department  at  Washington,  had 
not  all  the  minor  events  of  the  times  been  swallowed  up  by  the  great 
political  revolution  then  just  declaring  itself. 

This  busy  record  in  the  Federal  army  had  already  made  for 
Capt.  McLaws  a  considerable  reputation.  He  was  marked  as  one 
of  the  most  promising  officers  in  the  regular  service,  and  was  dis 
tinguished  for  his  coolness,  self-possession,  gallantry,  and  good 
conduct.  His  display  of  personal  qualities  attested  the  thorough 
gentleman ;  and  he  was  known  in  the  army  for  his  unselfish  dis 
position,  and  his  utter  detestation  of  all  unmanly  rivalries  for  pro 
motions  and  favours,  in  a  service  which  appears  more  than  any 
other  to  provoke  the  envy  and  jealousy  of  men. 

When  Georgia  seceded  from  the  Union,  McLaws  resigned  the 
Federal  service,  and  offered  his  sword  to  the  State,  before  the  Con 
federate  compact  had  been  executed,  and  when  she  was  already 
busy  in  organizing  troops  for  her  defence.  He  subsequently  en 
tered  the  Confederate  army,  and  took  command  of  the  10th  Georgia 
regiment.  After  his  appointment  as  colonel  of  this  regiment,  which 
contained  some  of  the  best  fighting  stock  in  the  army,  he  was  sta 
tioned  near  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and  was  for  some  time  in 
command  of  a  brigade.  In  September,  1861,  he  was  appointed  a 
Brigadier-General,  and  ordered  with  his  command  to  Young's 
Mill.  Here,  and  afterwards  at  Lee's  Mill,  he  displayed  such  judg 
ment,  ability,  and  energy  in  administering  the  affairs  of  his  com 
mand,  and  in  strengthening  his  position  against  the  enemy,  that 
he  soon  drew  the  notice  of  his  superiour  offtcers,  and  was  designated 
for  important  and  critical  services. 

When  Gen.  Johnston  arrived  on  the  Peninsula,  to  direct  the 
campaign  there,  McLaws'  command  was  increased  by  some  other 
brigades ;  and  in  an  affair  with  the  enemy  at  Dam  No.  1,  near 
Lee's  Mill,  he  greatly  distinguished  himself.  Soon  followed  the 
retreat  to  Richmond,  and  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  in  which 


MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE   MCLAWS.  489 

McLaws  was  engaged.  After  the  arrival  of  the  army  at  Rich 
mond,  Gen.  Johnston  recommended  the  promotion  of  McLaws, 
and  he  was  at  once  made  a  Major-General.  His  division,  consist 
ing  of  Kershaw's  and  Semmes'  brigades,  was  engaged  in  the  battles 
of  Savage  Station  and  Malvern  Hill.  When  the  Confederate 
army  afterwards  took  up  its  line  of  march  in  pursuit  of  the  brag 
gart  Pope,  the  divisions  of  Smith,  D.  H.  Hill  and  McLaws  were 
left  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy  at  Harrison's  Landing. 
They  were,  however,  soon  afterwards  called  to  follow,  but  were 
only  able  to  rejoin  their  gallant  companions  in  arms  in  time  to 
enter  Maryland. 

Arriving  at  Frederick,  Gen.  McLaws  was  placed  in  command 
of  a  corps,  consisting  of  his  own  and  Gen.  R.  H.  Anderson's  divi 
sions,  and,  in  pursuance  of  orders  from  Gen.  Lee,  advanced  upon 
Harper's  Ferry,  by  way  of  Pleasant  Valley,  his  object  being  to 
capture  Maryland  Heights.  His  part,  which  was  designed  to  com 
plete  the  investment  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  compel  the  surrender 
of  this  stronghold  of  the  enemy,  involved  the  severest  labour,  and 
was  crowned  with  signal  success.  It  was  not  only  necessary  to 
drive  the  enemy  from  Maryland  Heights,  but  to  get  cannon  to  the 
summit.  The  latter  task  was  accomplished  by  a  road  which  had 
to  be  constructed  up  the  rugged  and  precipitous  sides  of  the  moun 
tain  ;  and  when  the  rifle  guns  of  Reed's  and  Carl  ton's  batteries 
opened  on  the  enemy,  keeping  time  with  the  Confederate  artillery 
thundering  on  the  other  side,  and  from  Loudoun  Heights,  they 
announced  the  fate  of  Harper's  Ferry,  and  in  a  brief  afternoon 
decided  its  surrender.  In  this  victory,  McLaws  had  the  greatest 
credit  next  to  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  the  troops  engaged  in  the 
attack  and  capture  of  Maryland  Heights  obtained  especial  com 
mendation.  They  had  been  laboriously  employed  for  two  days  and 
one  night  along  the  summit  of  Elk  Ridge,  constantly  working  their 
way  under  fire  during  the  day,  and  at  night  resting  in  position ;  all 
this  time  without  water,  as  none  could  be  obtained  but  from  the 
valley  beneath ;  and  at  the  close  of  the  contest  there  was  not  a 
straggler  from  the  command. 

"Worn  down  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  McLaws'  division  marched 
through  Harper's  Ferry,  and  as  night  fell  snatched  a  few  hours  for 
rest  and  refreshment.  Aroused  again  after  midnight,  the  men 
resumed  their  march,  and  continued  until  the  field  of  Sharpsburg 


490  MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE  M(LAWS. 

was  reached.  The  battle  destined  to  be  known  in  history  as  the 
best  fought  of  the  war — an  action  which  shed  extraordinary  lustre 
on  the  Confederate  arms,  considering  the  great  disparity  of  num 
bers  and  the  jaded  condition  of  the  Southern  troops — had  just 
commenced  as  McLaws  arrived  on  the  ground.  He  was  ordered 
into  the  fight  by  the  direction  of  Gen.  Hood ;  and  his  line  of  battle, 
consisting  of  four  brigades — Cobb's,  Kershaw's,  Barksdale's  and 
Semmes' — drove  the  enemy  from  a  piece  of  woods,  and,  although 
unable  to  continue  its  advance,  it  held  until  the  close  of  the  day 
the  position  it  had  gained  against  a  force  of  the  enemy,  apparently 
treble,  supporting  numerous  batteries,  which  crossed  fire  over 
every  portion  of  the  ground. 

The  defence  of  Frederick sburg  (December,  1862),  and  the  story 
of  Marye's  Hill,  constitute  a  chapter  of  fearful  interest  in  the  his 
tory  of  the  war,  and  for  many  generations  to  come  will  inspire 
the  poetry  and  eloquence  of  the  country.  Glimpses  of  the  ghastly 
tragedy  enacted  on  the  slopes  of  this  now  famous  hill  have  already 
been  afforded  in  other  parts  of  this  work.  It  was  here  that 
McLaws  did  his  bloodiest  work,  and  achieved  that  part  of  his  repu 
tation  most  familiar  to  the  public.  His  name  is  indissolubly 
connected  with  this  glorious  and  terrible  memory  of  the  war, 
and  will  be  known  as  long  as  the  story  of  Marye's  Hill  and  its 
stone  wall  and  its  fringed  fires  of  death  is  recited.  In  his  official 
report  of  the  memorable  conflict,  Gen.  McLaws  writes:  "The 
Federals  advanced  with  fresh  columns  to  the  attack,  at  intervals  of 
not  more  than  fifteen  minutes ;  but  they  were  repulsed  with  ease, 
and  driven  back  with  much  loss  on  every  occasion.  This  continued 
until  about  half-past  four,  P.M.,  when  the  enemy  ceased  in  their 
assaults  for  a  time,  and  posting  some  artillery  in  front  of  the  town, 
on  the  left  of  the  telegraph  road,  opened  on  our  position,  doing  but 
little  damage.  The  batteries  of  Colonel  Walton,  on  Marye's  Hill, 
were  at  this  time  silent,  having  exhausted  their  ammunition,  and 
they  were  being  relieved  by  others  from  Colonel  Alexander's  bat 
talion.  Taking  advantage  of  the  hill,  the  15th  South  Carolina 
(Colonel  De  Saussune)  was  brought  forward  from  the  cemetery, 
and  posted  behind  the  stone  wall,  supporting  the  2nd  South  Caro 
lina  regiment.  The  enemy,  in  the  meanwhile,  formed  a  strong 
column  of  attack,  and  advanced  under  cover  of  their  own  artillery, 
.and,  no  longer  impeded  by  ours,  came  forward  along  our  whole 


MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE   M(LAWS.  491 

front,  in  the  most  determined  manner,  but  they  were  repulsed  at 
all  points.  The  firing  ceased  as  night  came  on.  The  body  of  one 
man,  believed  to  be  an  officer,  was  found  within  about  thirty  yards 
of  the  stone  wall,  and  other  single  bodies  were  scattered  at  increased 
distances.  The  main  mass  of  the  dead  lay  thickly  strewn  over  the 
ground  at  something  over  one  hundred  yards  off,  and  extending  to 
the  ravine,  commencing  at  the  point  where  our  men  would  allow 
the  enemy's  column  to  approach  before  opening  fire,  and  beyond 
which  no  organized  body  of  men  was  able  to  pass." 

Upon  the  latter  part  of  Gen.  McLaws'  military  life — his  campaign 
with  Longstreet  in  East  Tennessee,  1863 — a  cloud  was  cast,  through 
an  unhappy  controversy  with  his  superiour  officer;  but  a  court- 
martial  to  which  he  was  summoned  developed  the  true  history  of 
the  failure  of  the  assault  on  Knoxville,  acquitted  McLaws,  and 
indicated  a  bad  temper  and  a  petulant  spirit  on  the  part  of  Gen. 
Longstreet  in  accusing  his  subordinates.  The  facts  of  the  failure  at 
Knoxville  have  been  brought  out  in  a  judicial  record,  which  may 
be  taken  as  the  equivalent  of  history,  and  which  not  only  excul 
pates  Gen.  McLaws,  but  does  him  honour  for  the  rare  and  excellent 
judgment  he  displayed  at  the  council  board,  as  well  as  for  his  pre 
cise  obedience  of  orders  on  the  field. 

It  appears  that  when  Gen.  Longstreet  arrived  in  front  of  Knox 
ville  he  hesitated  for  some  time  in  attacking  the  fortifications  of  the 
enemy,  and  twice  recalled  the  orders  for  an  assault.  When  he  at 
last  determined  upon  this  risk,  Gen.  McLaws  had  the  independence 
of  judgment  to  oppose  it,  and  for  peculiar  reasons.  Some  news  had 
been  imperfectly  obtained  of  Gen.  Bragg's  disaster  at  Missionary 
Ridge ;  and  it  was  calculated  by  Gen.  McLaws  that  if  such  a  disaster 
had  taken  place  the  communication  of  Longstreet's  army  should  be 
made  with  Virginia,  as  it  could  not  combine  again  with  Gen.  Bragg, 
even  if  it  should  be  successful  in  an  assault  on  Knoxville.  The 
advice  was  repulsed  by  Gen.  Longstreet,  and  the  following  sharp  and 
almost  insulting  letter  left  Gen.  McLaws  no  alternative  but  to  pre 
pare  his  command  for  the  desperate  enterprise  of  assaulting  Fort 
Saunders,  the  main  work  of  the  enemy  : 

HEADQUARTERS,  Nov.  28,  1863. 

GENERAL  : — Your  letter  is  received.  I  am  not  at  all  confident 
that  Gen.  Bragg  has  had  a  serious  battle  at  Chattanooga,  but  there  is 


492  MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE   M£LAWS. 

a  report  that  he  has,  and  has  fallen  back  to  Tunnel  Hill.  Under 
this  report  I  am  entirely  convinced  that  our  only  safety  is  in  making 
the  assault  upon  the  enemy's  position  to-morrow  at  daylight,  and  it  is 
the  more  important  that  I  should  have  the  entire  support  and  cooper 
ation  of  the  officers  in  this  connection.  I  do  hope  and  trust  that  I 
may  have  your  entire  support  and  all  of  the  force  you  may  be 
possessed  of  in  the  execution  of  my  views.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to 
suppose  that  there  is  any  safety  for  us  in  going  to  Virginia  if  Gen. 
Bragg  has  been  defeated,  for  we  leave  him  at  the  mercy  of  his  vic 
tors  ;  and,  with  his  army  destroyed,  our  own  had  better  be  also,  for 
we  will  not  only  be  destroyed  but  disgraced. 

There  is  neither  safety  nor  honour  in  any  other  course  than  the 
one  I  have  chosen  and  ordered. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

J.  LONGSTREET, 
Lieut.-  General  commanding. 
Maj.-Gen.  L.  McLAWS. 

The  assault  must  be  made  at  the  time  appointed,  and  must  be 
made  with  a  determination  which  will  insure  success. 

J.  L. 

The  plan  of  attack  arranged  by  Gen.  McLaws  was  :  a  regiment 
from  Humphrey's  Mississippi  brigade,  and  one  from  Wofford's 
Georgia  brigade  to  lead  the  assault ;  Wofford's  regiment  to  lead  the 
column  composed  of  Wofford's  brigade  assaulting  from  the  left, 
and  Humphrey's  regiment  the  column  assaulting  from  the  right, 
composed  of  two  regiments  of  Humphrey's  brigade,  and  three  of 
Bryan's  following  close  on  Humphrey  as  a  reserve — "  the  assault  to 
be  made  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  without  firing  a  gun." 

He  had  been  previously  impressed  by  Gen.  Alexander,  Chief  of 
Artillery  of  Gen.  Longstreet's  staff,  that  there  was  no  ditch  at  the 
north-west  angle  of  Fort  Saunders,  that  offered  any  obstacle  to  an 
assault.  Gen.  Longstreet  himself  had  declared  that  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  taking  the  work,  so  far  as  the  ditch  was  con 
cerned  ;  that  he  had  seen  a  man  walk  down  the  parapet,  across  the 
ditch,  and  up  on  the  outside,  without  jumping  and  without  ap 
parent  difficulty ;  and  as  there  could  be  no  difficulty  in  running  up 


MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE    M{LAWS.  493 

the  exteriour  slope  of  the  earthwork,  he  saw  nothing  in  the  way  of 
the  men  getting  into  the  work  and  completing  a  successful  assault.* 
Gen.  McLaws  did  not  consider  that  ladders  or  fascines  or  any 
other  appliances  were  necessary  to  enable  the  men  to  get  into  the 
work  ;  none  certainly  to  cross  the  ditch  (which  had  been  declared 
to  be  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  an  assault)  and  to  ascend  para 
pets  sloping  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  And  even  if  he  had 
thought  so,  he  had  no  time,  or  materials,  or  tools,  or  means  of  any 
kind  wherewith  to  make  anything.  The  commands  were  with 
out  tools  of  any  kind,  without  axes  even,  and  their  wagons  and 
quartermaster  stores  were  at  London,  left  there  by  orders  of  Gen. 
Longstreetf 


*  We  quote  here  the  words  of  Gen.  (then  Colonel)  Alexander,  before  the  general 
court-martial  assembled  in  East  Tennessee  to  try  Gen.  McLaws  : 

QUESTION  8 — Did  you  not  state  after  your  reconnoissance  that  there  was  no  ditch 
opposite  the  bastion  at  north-west  angle.  That  there  was  some  fresh  dirt  at  that 
point,  and  that  there  had  only  been  a  little  scratching  there.  Did  you  communicate 
this  to  Generals  Longstreet  and  McLaws. 

ANSWER— I  never  stated  that  there  was  no  ditch  at  that  point,  but  I  stated  that 
the  ditch  was  of  such  small  dimensions  as  to  be  no  obstacle  to  an  assault,  and  of 
such  shape  (see  fig.  3)  as  to  be  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  an  assault.  I  communi 
cated  it  to  both  repeatedly,  and  advised  the  attack  on  this  point.  On  one  occasion 
I  took  Gen.  Longstreet  to  a  point  where  he  could  see  it,  and  showed  him  a  man 
crossing  the  ditch. 

Gen.  Longstreet  in  his  testimony  before  the  same  court  says :  "  I  made  several 
very  careful  examinations  of  the  Fort  myself,  before  it  was  attacked,  on  all  sides  as 
near  as  I  could  get  to  it.  I  think  I  got  within  four  hundred  yards  of  it  on  the  north 
side."  *  *  *  "  I  remember  particularly  to  have  seen  a  soldier  march  out  of  the 
Fort,  down  the  ditch,  and  up  to  the  other  side,  outside  of  the  ditch,  on  the  west 
side,  from  the  north  side.  The  cut  in  the  ditch  on  the  west  side  seemed  to  have  been 
made  more  for  the  purpose  of  getting  dirt  than  for  obstructions.  In  passing  over 
the  ditch  more  than  half  of  the  person  of  the  soldier  could  be  seen  on  the  west 
side ;  in  passing  down  the  ditch  he  seemed  to  walk  and  not  jump ;  he  seemed  to  find 
no  difficulty  in  getting  out  of  the  ditch  on  the  outside.  I  was  told  by  some  officers 
that  dogs  were  seen  to  pass  over  the  same  ditch.  These  circumstances  led  me  to 
believe  that  the  ditch  on  the  west  side  was  a  slight  obstacle." 

Again  Col.  Alexander  testifies: 

QUESTION — Did  you  advise  ladders  for  the  attack  ? 

ANSWER — I  did  not ;  I  did  not  consider  them  essential.  Something  was  said  about 
fascines,  and  I  said  they  might  be  useful  to  protect  the  men  from  bullets  in  their 
approach  ;  but  I  did  not  consider  them  essential  in  crossing  the  ditch, 

f  Capt.  J.  J.  Middleton,  acting  division  quartermaster  of  McLaw's  Division,  thus 
testifies : 

"From  the  time  we  left  London,  15th  November,  1863,  until  some  days  after  the 


4:94  MAJ.-GEN.    LAFAYETTE   M'LAWS. 

Of  the  conduct  of  the  assault  Gen.  McLaws  says  in  his  official 
report :  "  Before  four  o'clock  on  morning  of  the  29th  November 
I  went  around  with  my  staff  to  superintend  the  execution  of  my 
orders  for  the  assault.  It  was  evident  to  me  that  the  enemy  were 
aware  that  one  was  intended,  and  I  think  it  probable  they  knew 
where  it  was  to  be  made ;  for  while  I  was  talking  to  Colonel 
Ruff  on  the  railroad,  the  enemy  threw  a  shell  which  bursted  over 
the  woods  just  in  rear  of  us,  through  which  Col.  Buffs  command 
(Wofford's  brigade)  was  passing,  assembling  by  regiments  for  the 
assault.  I  have  since  heard  that  the  enemy  were  informed,  and 
that  during  the  night  of  the  28th  they  had  been  employed  in  pour 
ing  buckets  of  water  over  the  parapets,  to  render  it  difficult  of 
ascent,  the  night  being  very  cold,  and  the  water  freezing  rapidly. 

"  The  commands  being  in  position  and  in  readiness,  and  the 
sharpshooters  having  been  directed  to  open  fire  all  along  their  lines, 
so  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  aim,  I  distributed  my  staff  officers 
along  the  line,  and  rode  over  to  Major  Leyden's  battery,  and  to 
Gen.  Kershaw's  line,  and  found  Major  Leyden  waiting  until  it 
was-  light  enough  to  see  his  elevators,  and  Kershaw's  line  ready. 
I  gave  Major  Leyden  orders  to  open  while  I  was  there,  and  rode 
toward  the  assaulting  column.  As  I  went,  they  could  be  seen 
advancing  in  fine  style.  I  rode  straight  to  Wofford's  brigade  on 
the  left,  and  as  I  approached  the  work,  found  the  men  falling  back  ; 
the  officers  reporting  that  it  was  impossible  to  mount  the  parapet, 
and  that  the  brigade  commander,  Col.  Ruff,  and  his  next  in  com 
mand,  Col.  Thomas,  had  been  killed,  and  the  next  in  rank 
wounded.  I  rallied  the  brigade  about  four  hundred  yards  from 
the  work,  reformed  the  regiments  in  the  order  they  went  to  the 
assault,  notified  them  who  was  their  brigade  commander,  and  the 
regiments  who  commanded  them,  and  then  consulting  with  Gen. 
Humphreys  and  Gen.  Bryan,  and  finding  it  was  useless  to  attempt 
to  take  the  work,  I  reported  to  Gen.  Longstreet,  and  asked 

assault  on  the  29th  November,  we  were  without  trains,  carpenter's  tools,  blacksmiths, 
etc. ;  had  no  appliances  for  the  manufacture  of  ladders,  and  had  no  lumber  out  of 
which  they  could  have  been  made  properly.  Had  an  order  for  such  articles  been  issued, 
it  would  have  been  necessary  to  call  for  large  details,  and  for  said  details  to  have 
found  their  own  tools.  Communication  with  London  was  very  uncertain,  owing  to 
the  miserable  condition  of  the  roads,  and  the  division  to  which  I  was  attached 
might  have  been  termed  self-supporting,  so  entirely  was  it  dependent  on  its  own 
exertions  for  almost  everything  that  was  effected." 


MAJ.-GEN.   LAFAYETTE   M4LAWS.  495 

authority  to  withdraw  my  command.  Permission  was  given,  and 
the  main  body  was  withdrawn." 

The  failure  of  the  assault  appears  to  have  been  due  to  imper 
fect  reconnoissances  and  to  the  state  of  the  weather.  It  had  rained 
on  the  night  of  the  27th,  and,  the  weather  then  turning  very  cold, 
the  parapet  was  hard  frozen,  and  a  heavy  ice  crop  was  formed  by 
the  moisture  from  the  bank,  which  prevented  the  men  from  ob 
taining  a  foothold.  Ladders  would  not  have  been  of  material 
assistance,  unless  they  had  been  furnished  in  great  numbers  and 
had  been  at  least  twenty  feet  long.  As  it  was,  the  men  of  McLaw's 
command  did  all  that  human  resolution  could  do,  and  despaired 
only  in  the  face  of  impossibilities,  on  the  brink  of  an  impassable 
ditch  into  which  as  a  huge  grave  they  piled  their  dead. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  giving  to  the  reader  the  story 
of  Knoxville,  because  it  excited  a  sharp  interest  during  the  war, 
and  was  the  subject  of  severe  recriminations,  in  which  an  attempt 
was  made  to  diminish  the  hard-earned  military  reputation  of  Gen. 
McLaws.  That  attempt  failed.  The  record  of  Gen.  McLaws  re 
mained  at  the  end  of  the  war  undimmed,  honourable,  and  worthy 
of  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  historical  memories  of  the  times  that 
tried  men's  souls. 

There  was  one  remarkable  peculiarity  in  his  career.  There 
were  few  men,  particularly  military  men,  who  were  prompted  less 
by  a  love  of  fame  than  he  was.  The  reputation  which  he  acquired 
was  not  sought  by  him,  but  followed  the  deeds  which  he  achieved 
in  discharging  the  duties  of  his  position.  He  had  as  little  selfish 
ness  as  falls  to  the  lot  of  most  human  beings,  and  envy  and 
jealousy  found  no  lodgment  in  his  bosom.  Extraordinary  firm 
ness  and  determination  to  do  his  duty,  regardless  of  all  selfish 
aspirations ;  a  heart  feelingly  alive  to  the  sufferings  of  the  sick  and 
afflicted  soldiers  of  his  command ;  and  love  for  his  sovereign  State 
and  country,  were  some  of  the  prominent  characteristics  of  his 
nature.  Such  men  live  more  for  human  nature  and  their  country 
than  themselves. 


MAJ.-GEN.  CADMUS  M.  WILCOX. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

Military  services  in  Mexico. — His  gallantry  at  Chapultepec. — Subsequent  services  in 
the  United  States  Army. — His  first  command  in  the  Confederate  States  Army. — 
Heroic  conduct  of  his  brigade  in  the  battles  around  Eichmond,  1862. — At 
Games'  Mills. — At  Frazier's  Farm. — An  incident  on  the  second  field  of  Manassas.— 
Battle  of  Salem  Church. — Important  action  of  Wilcox'  Brigade  on  the  second 
day  of  Gettysburg. — A  narrow  chance  of  victory. — Why  the  supports  failed. — 
Amusing  anecdote  of  Gen.  "Wilcox  and  a  chicken-thief. — Promoted  Major-General. — 
Record  of  services  in  the  campaign  of  1864-5. — Heroic  story  of  Fort  Gregg. — 
Last  scenes  of  the  surrender. 

CADMUS  M.  WILCOX  was  born  in  Greene  county,  North  Caro 
lina,  but  was  taken  at  the  age  of  two  years  to  Tennessee,  of  which 
State  he  has  since  been  accounted  a  citizen.  In  1842  he  was  ap 
pointed  a  cadet  at  the  West  Point  Academy,  from  the  Memphis 
District.  He  graduated  in  1846,  and  joined  the  Fourth  United 
States  infantry  as  brevet  second-lieutenent  at  Monterey,  Mexico, 
a  few  days  after  the  battle.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  aid- 
de-camp  to  Major-Gen.  John  A.  Quitman,  and  in  that  capacity 
saw  some  brilliant  service  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  was  in  all  the 
battles  in  which  Quitrnan's  division  participated. 

The  part  borne  by  this  gallant  command  at  Chapultepec, 
Garita  de  Belin,  and  the  City  of  Mexico  is  well  known  to  history. 
At  the  battle  of  Chapultepec,  Lieut.  Wilcox  gave  the  order  to 
the  storming  party  to  advance  to  the  attack,  and  went  at  their 
head.  There  were  two  columns  of  attack ;  one  led  by  Quitman 
and  the  other  by  Pillow.  From  Chapultepec  to  the  city  of  Mex 
ico,  a  distance  of  two  miles  in  a  direct  line,  were  two  roads,  the 
direct  one  leading  through  the  Garita  de  Belin,  and  the  longer 


MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WILCOX.  497 

one  by  San  Cosmo.  It  was  by  the  first  mentioned  route  that  Gen. 
Quitman  pursued  vigorously  after  the  capture  of  Chapultepec ; 
but  although  this  route  was  the  shorter,  it  was  the  more  difficult, 
as  batteries  had  to  be  taken  before  reaching  the  gate,  then  a  bat 
tery  there,  and,  lastly,  the  position  to  be  held  under  a  concentrated 
fire  from  the  citidel,  a  bastioned  work,  less  than  two  hundred 
yards  distant,  surrounded  by  a  heavy  wall  and  deep  ditch  of  wa 
ter,  with  seventeen  pieces  of  artillery  and  four  thousand  infantry. 
The  Garita  de  Belin  was  captured  at  twenty  minutes  past  one 
o'clock  and  held  until  night,  under  cover  of  which  Santa  Anna 
evacuated  the  city.  "When  the  gate  had  been  gained,  Gen.  Quit- 
•man  ordered  a  flag  to  be  waved  from  the  top  of  the  aqueduct,  that 
his  men  in  the  rear  might  know  his  success.  Lieut.  Selleck  of 
the  Palmetto  Regiment,  assisted  by  Lieut.  Wilcox,  aid-de-camp, 
mounted  the  aqueduct,  and  the  two  lieutenants  waved  the  Pal 
metto  flag,  which  was  the  first  raised  in  the  city  of  Mexico.  This 
was  done  under  a  close  and  terrific  fire  of  both  musketry  and  ar 
tillery.  Lieut.  Selleck,  while  waving  the  flag,  had  a  leg  broken 
by  a  musket  ball,  and  fell.  One  of  the  men,  catching  him  as  he 
fell,  also  received  a  shot,  arid  was  instantly  killed.  Lieut.  Wil- 
cox  received  a  severe  contusion  in  his  left  side,  his  pistol  being 
struck  by  a  musket  ball,  which  flattened  on  it. 

Upon  the  return  of  the  army  to  the  United  States,  Lieut. 
"Wilcox  served  on  the  frontier,  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  in 
Florida,  and  in  Texas — much  of  the  time  in  operations  against 
the  Indians.  In  the  autumn  of  1852,  he  was  ordered  to  West 
Point,  as  assistant  instructor  in  infantry  tactics.  Here  he  remain 
ed  on  duty  until  the  summer  of  185T.  During  a  part  of  this  time 
he  was  commandant  of  the  cadets.  Upon  being  relieved  from 
duty  at  the  military  academy,  his  health  not  being  good,  sick 
furlough  for  twelve  months  was  given  him,  with  permission  to 
visit  Europe.  Returning  from  Europe,  he  prepared  and  publish 
ed  a  work  upon  rifles  and  the  theory  of  rifle-firing.  Of  this 
work  the  War  Department  at  Washington  ordered  a  thousand 
copies  for  distribution  to  the  army,  and  it  was  made  a  text  book 
at  West  Point  Academy.  He  also  translated  and  published  the 
evolutions  of  the  line  (infantry),  as  practiced  and  adopted  by  the 
Austrians. 

Entering  the  field  of  active  duty  again,  he  was  ordered  to 

32 


498  MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WILCOX. 

New  Mexico,  and  promoted  to  a  captaincy.  He  was  subsequently 
stationed  at  Fort  Fillmore,  in  Arizona ;  and  at  this  distant  post 
he  became  apprised  of  the  war  consequent  on  the  disruption  of 
the  Union,  and  on  the  7th  June,  1861,  learned  that  Tennessee, 
the  State  of  his  citizenship  and  allegiance,  had  seceded.  The 
mail  that  gave  him  this  information  bore  him  an  order  directing 
him  to  proceed  forthwith  to  Washington  city  and  report  for  duty 
to  Lieut.-Gen.  Scott.  The  next  morning  he  tendered  his  resig 
nation  as  an  officer  of  the  United  States  Army,  and  left  for  Kich- 
mond. 

Offering  his  services  to  the  new  government,  he  received  the 
appointment  of  colonel,  and  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
9th  Alabama  Regiment.  He  reached  Manassas  the  day  after  the 
first  brilliant  victory  on  that  twice  glorious  field.  On  the  21st 
October,  1861,  he  was  made  a  Brigadier-General,  and  given  the 
command  of  the  3d  Alabama,  1st  Mississippi,  and  1st  Virginia 
regiments,  and  a  battery.  At  Williamsburg  his  brigade  was 
prominent,  fighting  on  the  right,  where  the  action  was  a  complete 
success  for  the  Confederates.  At  Seven  Pines  he  commanded 
,two  brigades,  and  at  Games'  Mill  three — his  own,  Featherstone's, 
and  Pryor's.  This  command,  under  the  immediate  direction  of 
Gen.  Wilcox,  attacked  the  extreme  left  of  the  enemy's  line,  and 
was  in  that  part  of  the  field  most  severely  contested.  The  posi 
tion  of  the  enemy  was  defended  by  numerous  and  heavy  artil 
lery,  admirably  posted.  The  line  of  attack  was  formed  under  a 
brisk  enfilading  fire  of  artillery  from  the  Federal  batteries  of 
rifled  cannon  from  the  heights  beyond  the  Chickahominy ;  but 
the  men  moved  forward  in  admirable  order,  preserving  their 
alignments  perfectly.  Ascending  the  crest  of  a  hill  they  came 
in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  and  were  instantly  met  by  a  heavy 
and  destructive  fire  of  infantry  within  less  than  a  hundred  yards. 
It  was  dashing  in  the  face  of  death.  The  enemy  was  in  large 
force,  directly  in  front,  behind  two  lines  of  breastworks,  the 
second  overlooking  the  first ;  and  from  behind  this,  as  well  as 
the  first,  a  close  and  terrible  fire  of  musketry  was  poured  in  upon 
the  devoted  assailants.  Between  them  and  the  works  referred  to 
was  the  bed  of  a  small  stream  which  the  enemy  used  as  a  rifle 
pit,  and  from  this  also  a  strong  line  of  fire  was  brought  to  bear. 
'Thus  exposed  to  three  lines  of  fire,  facing  shot,  shell,  grape,  and 


MAJ.-GEN.  CADMUS  M.   WILCOX.  499 

cannister,  and  all  the  time  suffering  from  an  enfiladed  fire  from 
batteries  of  rifle  cannon  beyond  the  Chickahominy,  the  heroic 
men  of  Wilcox's  command  seemed  to  be  delivered  to  destruction. 
But  they  never  faltered ;  the  first  impulse  of  attack  was  more 
than  redoubled  as  they  approached  the  enemy  ;  the  Federal  ranks 
were  shaken,  and  began  to  yield  only  when  Wilcox's  men  had 
got  within  a  few  yards  of  them ;  and  now  with  yells  the  Confed 
erates  run  over  the  rifle-pit,  drive  the  Federals  from  the  second 
parapet  of  logs,  push  them  into  the  open  field,  and  now  when 
the  fugitive  troops  are  no  longer  screened  by  their  breastworks 
or  standing  timber,  breaking  them  into  rout,  chasing  them  in  all 
directions,  and  covering  the  ground  with  their  dead  and  wounded. 
Here  McClellan  lost  his  battery  of  Napoleon  guns,  arid  with  dif 
ficulty  saved  what  remained  of  his  army  under  the  cover  of  the 
night.  It  was  this  desperate  and  gallant  assault  that  at  once  con 
ferred  upon  Wilcox  one  of  the  most  brilliant  reputations  of  the 
war. 

At  Frazier's  Farm  there  were  other  laurels  won,  and  in  this 
field  nearly  every  regimental  officer  in  "Wilcox'  command  was 
wounded,  and  the  General  himself  had  his  clothing  perforated  by 
six  bullets.  Two  of  the  enemy's  batteries,  six  guns  each,  were 
captured  ;  and  although  one  of  them  was  retaken  by  the  enemy, 
it  was  only  when  overwhelming  numbers  had  been  brought  to 
bear  against  a  solitary  regiment  (the  llth  Alabama),  which,  en 
tering  the  engagement  357  strong,  had  181  men  and  nine  com 
pany  officers  killed  and  wounded.  In  the  two  battles  of  Games' 
Mills  and  Frazier's  Farm,  Wilcox's  own  brigade  had  lost  1,055  men 
out  of  a  force  of  1,800  ;  of  this  number  fifteen  officers  were  killed, 
fifty-two  officers  were  wounded,  216  men  killed,  and  754  wounded. 
The  brigade  was  in  reserve  at  Malrern  Hill,  and  returned  to 
camp  on  the  Charles  City  road  on  the  6th  July,  1862.  Its  loss 
was  heavier  than  that  of  any  other  brigade  in  Longstreet's  divis 
ion,  and  the  severest  in  the  army  in  proportion  to  its  strength,  it 
being  composed  of  only  four  regiments. 

In  the  other  battles  of  1862  in  Virginia,  Gen.  Wilcox  was  not 
conspicuously  engaged.  But  we  may  make  note  of  an  incident 
on  the  second  field  of  Manassas,  which  contains  an  interesting 
tribute  both  to  himself  and  to  a  brave  enemy.  While  the  action 
was  progressing,  and  in  the  heat  of  the  battle,  Wilcox  was 


500  MAJ.-GEN.    CADMUS  M.   WILCOX. 

ordered  from  the  left  to  the  right  to  support  a  part  of  the  Confed 
erate  lines  where  the  enemy  was  most  vigorously  attacking. 
Moving  at  the  head  of  his  troops  and  riding  past  the  house  that 
gave  its  name  to  part  of  the  field — Groveton — he  saw  a  man 
lying  on  the  ground,  some  sixty  yards  distant,  waving  a  handker 
chief.  The  General  rode  up  to  him,  and  discovered  that  he  was 
a  wounded  Federal  officer.  The  latter  remarked :  "  You  don't 
know  me,  Wilcox.  I  saw  you  riding  by,  and  recognized  you,  and 
wanted  to  speak  to  you.  My  name  is  Chamberlain,  and  I  was  a 
cadet  at  West  Point  when  you  were  an  instructor  there."  He 
looked  pale,  and  blood  was  running  from  his  breast.  "  Oh,  yes," 
replied  Gen.  Wilcox,  "  I  know  you,  and  I  hope  you  are  not  much 
hurt ;"  and  dismounting  and  kneeling  beside  him,  he  examined 
his  wound,  and  found  that  the  cold  dew  of  death  was  already  on 
his  forehead.  '"  I  will  make  my  men,"  said  the  General,  "move 
you  to  the  shelter  of  the  ravine ;  you  are  exposed  here  to  our 
shells,  and  those,  too,  of  your  own  batteries."  "  No,"  said  the 
dying  man,  "  it  is  no  use ;  I  am  mortally  wounded,  and  you  must 
not  expose  yourself  to  our  fire  taking  care  of  me.  Farewell !" 
A  few  moments  more  and  he  breathed  his  last.  The  incident  of 
this  meeting  illustrates  the  singular  good  feeling  remarked  at  all 
times  between  the  old  graduates  of  West  Point  whenever  they 
met  under  opposite  flags,  which  was  at  least  one  generous  trait 
of  the  war. 

In  the  campaign  into  Maryland,  Gen.  Wilcox  was  compelled 
to  obtain  sick  leave  three  days  before  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg ; 
but  on  the  return  of  the  Confederate  army  to  Virginia  he 
rejoined  his  command,  and  was  soon  increasing  the  fame  he  had 
made  in  the  early  part  of  the  campaign.  His  reputation  ascend 
ed  again  on  the  bloody  fields  of  Chancellorsville,  and  his  com 
mand  was  remarkable  there  in  the  severe  conflict  at  Salem  Church, 
where  Sedgwick  was  defeated  and  Gen.  Lee  relieved  from  the 
pressure  of  enveloping  armies.  It  was  a  narrow  chance  that 
saved  the  Confederate  army  on  that  occasion,  or,  at  least,  pre 
vented  Sedgwick  from  getting  to  its  rear  at  Chancellorsville. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  of  the  2d  May,  1863,  Gen.  Wilcox  received 
a  note  from  Gen.  Lee  telling  him  that  he  needed  his  help  at 
Chancellorsville,  but  as  he  (Gen.  Lee)  did  not  know  what  was  in 
Wilcox'  front,  he  must  leave  him  to  decide  whether  or  not  to 


MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.  WILCOX.  501 

move  to  Chancellorsville  early  the  next  morning.  Meanwhile, 
Gen.  Wilcox  dispatched  to  Gen.  Barksdale  at  Fredericksbnrg, 
telling  him  that  he  had  returned  to  a  position  near  Banks,  Ford, 
and  requesting  to  be  informed  should  the  enemy  cross  at  Fred- 
ericksburg.  The  next  morning  he  examined  the  front  of  his  line, 
and  seeing  no  indications  of  the  enemy,  he  lessened  his  picket 
force,  and  at  once  retired  all  but  a  small  guard  at  Banks'  Ford 
and  ten  pieces  of  artillery.  He  was  in  the  act  of  taking  up  the 
march  to  Chancellorsville,  when  a  private  from  a  vidette  post 
dashed  up  to  his  headquarters  at  full  speed,  and  reported  that 
"  the  Yankees  were  coming  up  between  the  canal  and  the  river, 
and  were  opposite  Falmouth."  Gen.  Wilcox  remarked  that  it 
was  probably  Barksdale's  brigade  on  its  way  to  Chancellorsville, 
when  the  soldier  replied,  "  No,  General,  I  have  seen  the  old  grid 
iron  flag."  It  was  Sedgwick's  column,  which,  unknown  to  Wil 
cox,  had  occupied  Fredericksburg  and  was  now  marching  to 
Gen.  Lee's  rear. 

There  was  nothing  on  the  plank-road  between  Chancellors 
ville  and  Sedg wick's  column,  until  Wilcox  promptly  threw  his 
brigade  forward,  forming  it  in  line  on  crest  of  a  ridge  some 
700  or  800  yards  in  rear  of  Marye's  Hill.  Here  he  checked 
the  enemy,  until  he  had  reported  the  situation  to  Gen.  Lee,  and 
indicated  to  Gen.  Early  the  enemy's  line  of  march  by  the  plank- 
road.  Falling  back  to  Salem  Church,  he  selected  ground  there, 
and  was  assured  by  a  dispatch  from  Gen.  Lee,  that  three  brigades 
(Kershaw's,  Simms'  and  Mahone's)  were  marching  to  his  support. 
The  troops  had  all  been  put  in  position  when  Major-Gen.  McLaws 
arrived  on  the  field,  and  the  artillery  was  then  playing  upon 
the  enemy.  The  decisive  field  was  fixed  by  "Wilcox ;  and  look 
ing  now  only  to  the  conduct  of  his  own  brigade,  he  fought  the 
enemy  with  desperation,  and,  at  one  time,  with  his  five  regiments 
and  two  of  Simms'  brigade,  who  joined  the  pursuit  without  orders, 
he  drove  the  enemy  and  had  him  nearly  in  rout.  Had  the  other 
brigades  joined  in  this  movement  it  might  have  been  more  deci 
sive  ;  but  as  it  was,  the  enemy  was  badly  whipped,  and  so 
thoroughly  demoralized  as  to  meditate  only  the  chances  of  escape. 
It  was  an  action  of  only  a  few  minutes'  duration,  but  of  great 
mortality.  Three  hundred  of  the  enemy  were  killed  in  front 
of  Wilcox'  brigade,  and  nearly  1,000  prisoners  taken,  with  a 


502  MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WILCOX. 

number  of  regimental  flags.    His  loss  was  495  killed  and  wounded 
out  of  a  force  of  2,100  muskets. 

The  dramatic  field  of  Gettysburg  is  already  familiar  to  the 
reader  for  its  pregnant  fate  and  its  critical  conjunctures  ;  and  it 
was  in  one  of  those  periods  of  the  multitudinous  battle,  when 
victory  seemed  to  depend  upon  a  single  incident,  and  trembled 
in  the  balance,  that  we  have  to  regard  the  most  remarkable 
appearance  of  Gen.  "Wilcox  in  the  war.  It  was  in  the  second 
days'  fight  that  Wilcox'  brigade  took  position  on  the  right  of 
Heth's  division,  Hill's  corps,  and,  advancing  upon  the  enemy, 
drove  him  from  the  woods  into  a  patch  of  orchards  and  hedges. 
Late  in  the  evening,  about  half-past  four  o'clock,  an  artillery  fire 
was  opened  by  Gen.  McLaws  on  the  part  of  the  enemy's  line, 
wfiich  soon  attracted  the  fire  of  several  Federal  batteries.  Gen. 
"Wilcox  had  received  orders  several  times  during  the  day  to 
advance  when  the  troops  on  his  right  should  advance,  and  to 
report  promptly  to  the  division  commander,  in  order  that  the 
other  brigades  should  advance  successively  on  to  the  left.  About 
6  P.  M.,  McLaws  (on  Wilcox's  right)  advanced  on  the  enemy's 
infantry,  being  not  more  than  600  or  TOO  yards  in  his  front. 
Wilcox  was  nearly  at  right  angles  with  McLaws,  and  moved  off 
rapidly  by  the  left  flank  for  600  or  700  yards,  and  then  by  the 
right  flank,  which  brought  him  on  the  enemy's  right  flank  and 
rear.  In  this  movement  several  fences  had  to  be  crossed,  one 
of  stone  and  one  of  plank,  behind  which  were  the  enemy's  skir 
mishers.  The  movement  by  the  flank  was  not  seen  by  the 
enemy,  but  the  forward  movement  after  halting  and  facing  to 
the  right,  rising  a  ridge  on  which  was  the  Emmettsburg  road,  was 
seen,  and  batteries  from  Cemetery  Hill  fired  upon  the  brigade. 
The  enemy  being  struck  in  the  flank  and  rear  broke  at  once,  and 
pursued  by  Wilcox  with  Barksdale,  on  McLaws  left,  bearing 
slightly  to  the  right.  In  this  movement,  a  battery  was  taken 
by  Wilcox  600  yards  beyond  the  Emmettsburg  road.  Beyond 
this  battery  a  second  line  of  the  enemy  was  broken ;  and 
beyond  this  a  second  battery  taken.  Still  Wilcox  pushed  on 
and  at  length,  500  yards  beyond  the  Emmettsburg  road,  he 
reached  the  foot  of  the  ridge  or  crest,  upon  which  were  the  last 
of  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  behind  which  lay  more  of  the  ene 
my's  infantry.  Here  he  reported  his  successes  to  the  division 


MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS   M.   WILCOX.  503 

commander,  and  asked  to  be  reinforced.  While  awaiting  the 
answer  to  his  request,  the  brigade  drove  back,  twice,  a  line  of 
infantry  that  came  over  the  crest  in  front.  But  as  this  gallant 
and  intrepid  little  command  stood  on  the  verge  of  a  great  victory, 
no  reinforcements  came.  Previous  moments  were  unimproved  ; 
and  at  last,  seeing  no  prospect  of  support,  Gen.  Wilcox  withdrew 
his  command,  and,  as  darkness  fell,  withdrew  about  200  yards  to 
the  rear,  and  bivouacked  for  the  night. 

In  an  official  manuscript  report  of  this  day's  action,  Gen. 
Wilcox  says  :  "  I  beg  to  assure  the  division  commander  that  the 
conduct  of  both  men  and  officers  of  the  brigade  was  admirable ; 
and,  as  stated  above,  the  enemy's  line  resting  on  the  Emmetts- 
burg  road  was  broken  and  a  battery  taken,  a  second  line  broken 
and  a  second  battery  taken.  This  brought  the  brigade  in  the 
bed  of  a  dry  stream ;  and  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge  in  their  front 
was  the  last  of  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  in  rear  of  it  more  infan 
try.  This  infantry  was  twice  driven  back  in  their  efforts  to  force 
my  men  back.  The  brigade  was  withdrawn,  not  being  able  to 
accomplish  more  without  support" 

In  the  last  day's  action,  when  Pickett's  division  made  its 
desperate  charge  on  the  enemy's  works,  Wilcox's  brigade  moved 
at  some  distance  in  support,  advancing  over  nearly  the  same 
ground  as  the  day  before,  exposed  to  shot  and  shell  from  the  ene 
my's  batteries.  Marching  out  of  sight  of  Pickett,  and  reaching 
the  rocky  and  dry  bed  of  the  stream  where  he  had  halted  the 
day  before,  "Wilcox  found  himself  obstructed  by  a  heavy  fire ;  and 
while  engaged  with  a  movement  of  the  enemy  in  his  front,  appa 
rently  to  envelope  his  command,  he  was  informed  of  Pickett's 
repulse,  and  fell  back,  without  having  participated  in  the  main 
action  which  closed  the  day. 

In  any  review  of  the  great  battle  of  Gettysburg,  we  must  take 
into  account  the  high  spirits  of  the  Confederate  army  which  had 
risked  an  attack  against  the  most  enormous  advantages  of  the 
enemy.  They  were  fresh  from  fields  of  victory.  A  powerful 
Federal  army  intrenched  at  Chancellorsville  had  been  easily 
routed ;  the  Sixth  Corps  (Sedgwick)  and  part  of  the  Second  had  been 
whipped  at  Salem  Church  by  an  insignificant  force ;  Ewell  had 
swept  up  everything  in  the  Yalley  of  Virginia,  and  .Confederate 
troops  had  come  to  think  that  they  were  invincible.  But  Gettys- 


504:  MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.  WTLCOX. 

burg  was  barely  lost.  Wilcox'  brigade,  as  we  have  seen,  had  on 
the  2d  July  reached  the  foot  of  a  ridge  on  which  was  the  last  gun 
of  the  enemy.  It  is  not  improbable  that  one  more  brigade,  fol 
lowing  Wilcox  at  this  point,  would  have  broken  the  lines  easily 
and  might  have  given  the  victory  to  the  Confederates.  In  An 
derson's  division  (to  which  Wilcox'  brigade  belonged)  were  two 
brigades  stronger  than  Wilcox — Mahone's  Yirginians  and  Posey's 
Mississippians.  Wilcox  reported  his  successes  and  asked  to  be 
supported ;  but  no  support  came,  and  he  withdrew  the  next  day. 
The  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  in  a  letter  describing 
Gettysburg,  said  that  the  Confederates  had  it  their  own  way  on 
the  2d  July,  had  they  have  known  it.  The  remark  was  thought 
to  have  reference  to  affairs  on  the  part  of  the  line  where  Wilcox 
had  fought.  After  the  battle,  and  when  the  Confederate  army 
had  recrossed  the  Potomac,  there  were  severe  criticisms  on  Gen. 
R.  H.  Anderson,  for  not  supporting  Wilcox'  and  Wright's  bri 
gades  on  the  second  day  ;  and  letters  were  published  by  Gens.  Ma- 
hone  and  Posey,  in  which  it  was  stated  that  they  "  obeyed  orders, 
and  that  they  were  ordered  to  advance  only  if  the  successes  of 
the  brigades  on  their  right  would  warrant  it,"  and  "  that  they  did 
not  think  that  the  success  did  warrant  it." 

Col.  Freemantle,  of  the  British  army,  who  was  a  spectator  on 
the  field  of  Gettysburg,  and  in  his  observations  of  the  war  wrote 
an  interesting  account  of  the  battle,  describes  Gen.  Wilcox  in  the 
third  day's  fight  as  an  officer  "  wearing  a  short  round  jacket  and 
a  much  battered  straw  hat"  riding  up  to  Gen.  Lee  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  and  pointing  lugubriously  to  the  condition  of  his  brigade ; 
and  Gen.  Lee  is  reported  to  reply,  "  never  mind,  General ;  this 
is  all  my  fault,  and  }^ou,  young  men,  must  help  me  out  of  it." 
The  picture  is  perhaps  correct ;  but  the  language  of  Gen.  Wilcox 
is  too  broadly  reported.  What  he  did  say  was  that  he  did  not 
like  to  make  a  disagreeable  report,  but  that  there  was  no  pro 
tection  to  the  great  number  of  batteries  on  the  Emmettsburg  road 
but  his  single  brigade,  which  was  very  much  reduced  in  numbers. 
At  this  time  Pickettfs  division  had  been  repulsed,  and  did  not 
appear  again  on  the  field,  but  was  reformed  several  miles  in  the 
rear.  It  was  a  critical  moment ;  an  attack  from  the  enemy  was 
expected  ;  and  it  was  in  view  of  this  desperate  prospect  that  Gen. 
Wilcox  approached  the  Commanding  General,  who  spoke,  almost 


MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.  WILCOX.  505 

exactly  word  for  word,  as  the  British  journalist  has  reported 
him. 

An  amusing  anecdote,  related  by  Gen.  Wilcox,  relieves  the 
story  of  his  hard  fight  at  Gettysburg,  and  may  be  inserted  here. 
A  few  days  before  the  battle,  Longstreet's  and  part  of  Hill's 
corps  were  resting  near  the  town  of  Fayetteville.  While  lying 
here  Gen.  Wilcox  published  an  order  against  all  marauding,  and 
forbidding  the  men  to  leave  camp  to  hunt  poultry,  fruit,  &c.,  lest 
they  should  be  "gobbled  up"  by  the  militia  with  which  the 
country  swarmed.  A  member  of  the  10th  Alabama  regiment,  one 
Pat  Martin,  had  been  detailed  as  teamster  at  the  General's  head 
quarters,  with  the  view  no  doubt  of  keeping  him  out  of  the  peril 
of  battle,  as  he  was  a  young  and  nice  little  fellow  whom  it  seem 
ed  a  pity  to  expose  to  war's  rude  and  bloody  usages.  The  day 
following  his  order  referred  to,  the  General  espied  Pat  Martin 
slipping  through  the  woods  and  bushes  near  his  head-quarters 
with  a  string  of  fine  chickens  in  his  hand.  He  spoke  to  the  little 
fellow  harshly  for  his  disobedience  of  orders,  and  ordered  as  a 
punishment  that  he  should  return  at  once  to  his  regiment.  A  few 
days  thereafter  and  the  General  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  at 
Gettysburg.  When  he  struck  the  enemy  on  the  Emmettsburg 
road,  he  found  himself,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  the  midst  of 
a  terrible  fire ;  several  batteries  on  Cemetery  Hill  were  playing 
upon  his  command ;  the  shells  were  flying  thick  and  fast,  the 
General  had  one  courier  killed  by  his  side  and  another  wounded, 
the  reins  of  his  bridle  were  cut  by  bullets,  and  his  alarmed  horse 
was  rearing  and  plunging,  and  had  become  almost  unmanageable. 
Just  at  this  moment  he  caught  sight  of  little  Pat  Martin,  who 
advanced  towards  him,  halted  a  squad  of  sixteen  Federal  prison 
ers  he  was  conducting,  formed  them  and  faced  to  the  front,  and, 
saluting  the  astonished  General  with  an  air  of  triumph  or  revenge, 
said :  "  Here  are  your  chickens.  Sir." 

On  the  9th  August,  1863,  Wilcox  was  promoted  Major-Gen 
eral,  and  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  division  in  Hill's  corps 
that  Pender  had  commanded  at  Gettysburg.  It  consisted  of 
Lane's  North  Carolina  brigade,  five  regiments,  Thomas's  Georgia 
brigade,  four  regiments,  McGown's  South  Carolina  brigade,  five 
regiments,  and  Scales'  North  Carolina  brigade,  five  regiments. 
This  act  of  promotion  was  but  tardy  justice  to  Wilcox,  and  the 


506  MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WTLCOX. 

general  sentiment  of  the  army  was  that  he  had  deserved  it  long 
before.  Henceforth  his  name  was  more  brilliantly  associated 
with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia ;  and  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  make  a  distinct  statement  of  a  career  which  ran  through  all 
the  operations  of  the  main  army,  in  the  great  campaign  of  1864, 
and  is  bound  up  in  its  general  history. 

From  the  Wilderness  to  Appomattox  Court  House,  Wilcox' 
division  bore  its  part  and  inscribed  its  banners  with  new  vic 
tories.  Conspicuously  engaged  in  the  bloody  battles  of  the  Wil 
derness,  where,  in  conjunction  with  Heth's  division,  it  forced  the 
enemy  back  on  the  plank  road ;  fighting  desperately  at  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  where  one  of  its  brigades  drove  the  enemy 
out  of  his  lines ;  making  another  gallant  affair  at  Jericho  Ford 
(May  24) ;  distinguished  in  the  action  of  Beams'  Station  (August 
25) ;  repulsing  a  movement  of  the  enemy  towards  the  Boydton 
plank-road  (Sept.  30  and  Oct.  1) ;  engaged  in  the  last  battles 
around  Petersburg,  and  in  at  the  last  shot  at  Appomattox  Court 
House,  the  record  of  Wilcox's  division  is  an  essential  part  of  that 
of  the  whole  army,  and  an  adorned  chapter  in  the  history  of  its 
achievements.  But  from  this  summary  record  we  must  detach 
one  incident  that  glorified  the  last  days  of  the  Southern  Confed 
eracy,  and  is  generally  related  as  having  fitly  closed,  with  illu 
minated  scroll,  the  career  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
It  is  the  story  of  the  defenders  of  Fort  Gregg.  Whose  troops 
•they  were  that  gave  this  last  example  of  devotion  on  Gen.  Lee's 
lines  had  been  subject  to  some  doubt;  but  it  is  now  certain  that 
they  were  of  Wilcox'  command,  and  that  the  General  himself, 
in  the  eventful  morning  of  the  2d  April,  gave  the  order  by 
which  200  men,  mostly  of  Harris'  Mississippi  brigade,  with 
cannoniers  for  two  pieces  of  artillery,  were  placed  in  this 
work.  The  remainder  of  Harris'  brigade  were  placed  in  Battery 
Whitworth  (or  Alexander),  in  which  work  were  three  pieces  of 
artillery.  These  two  small  detachments  of  troops  were  ordered 
to  hold  these  batteries  to  the  last  extremity,  for  these  two  points 
were  all  that  now  barred  the  road  to  Petersburg,  since  Long- 
street's  forces  had  not  yet  arrived,  which  were  to  occupy  the 
interval  between  the  right  of  the  Petersburg  lines  and  the  Appo 
mattox  River.  Extra  ammunition  was  issued  to  the  men.  As 
the  enemy's  long  line  advanced,  the  two  guns  in  Gregg  and  the 


MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WILCOX.  507 

three  in  "Whitworth  opened  on  them.  Their  advance  was  not 
much  retarded  by  this  weak  fire,  and  they  soon  got  within  reach 
of  the  musketry  fire  of  both  Gregg  and  "Whitworth.  The  three 
guns  in  Whitworth  swept  the  ground  well  in  front  of  Gregg ,  but, 
as  the  enemy  advanced,  they  were  withdrawn  without  orders 
from  Gen.  Wilcox.  The  main  effort  of  the  enemy  seemed  to  be 
directed  against  Gregg.  He  advanced  boldly  against  it,  and,  as 
the  glittering  array  drew  near,  men  could  be  seen  falling  rapidly 
under  the  close  musketry  fire  of  the  little  detachment  in  the  fort. 
Three  or  four  times  did  the  enemy  stagger  and  give  way.  But 
the  attack  was  constantly  renewed.  Six  Federal  flags  were 
counted  on  the  parapet  at  one  time,  and  still  the  contest  contin 
ued.  At  last  the  little  work  was  entirely  surrounded ;  Federal 
troops,  standing  thick  upon  the  parapet,  fired  down  among  the 
devoted  men  who  still,  with  clubbed  muskets,  refused  to  surren 
der  ;  and,  when  finally  the  flag  of  the  enemy  was  secured  on  the 
work,  it  was  found  that  not  more  than  thirty  of  its  defenders 
remained  not  killed  or  wounded.  Such  heroism  has  no  parallel 
in  the  war.  There  had  been  nothing  like  it,  no  instance  where 
a  force  so  small  had  held  in  check  so  long  such  overwhelming 
numbers,  and  inflicted  such  losses  upon  the  enemy.  The  Fed 
eral  General  Gibbon,  who  commanded  the  corps  that  took  the 
fort,  told  Gen.  Wilcox,  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  that  it  had 
cost  him  from  800  to  1,000  men,  killed  and  wounded.* 

It  is  needless  to  repeat  here  any  part  of  the  sorrowful  story  of 
Gen.  Lee's  retreat.  The  painful  stages,  the  desperate  straits  of  the 
hard-pressed  arrny  have  already  been  related.  In  the  last  scene 
in  which  it  stood,  Gen.  Wilcox  was  conspicuous,  having  been  or 
dered  to  support  Gordon  in  his  fearful  enterprise  of  forcing  an 
exit  to  Lynchburg.  As  his  division  moved,  and  two  of  his  bri 
gades  advanced  to  engage  the  enemy,  Gen.  Wilcox  rode  rapidly 

*  Fort  G-regg  could  be  seen  some  months  ago,  an  interesting  monument  of  the 
war.  It  was  a  lunette.  Across  its  gorge,  some  fifty  yards  wide,  was  planted  a  pali 
sade  of  pine  posts,  and  in  these  were  loop-holes  to  allow  musketry  fire  in  that  direc 
tion.  On  the  other  portions  of  the  work  was  a  deep  ditch,  and  in  it  water  collected 
from  the  rams.  The  parapet  was  too  high  to  be  surmounted  from  the  ditch  without 
the  aid  of  ladders.  On  the  right,  dirt  had  been  dug  and  thrown  up,  and  it  had  been 
designed  to  connect  Gregg  with  Whitworth.  This,  however,  was  not  done,  and  an 
embankment  extended  some  twenty  yards,  which  the  enemy  mounted,  and  got  thence 
on  the  parapet  of  Gregg. 


508  MAJ.-GEN.   CADMUS  M.   WILCOX. 

forward  to  communicate  with  Gordon,  and  had  barely  reached  him 
when  a  horseman  was  seen  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy  waving 
a  white  handkerchief  and  galloping  towards  the  Confederate  lines. 
As  he  approached,  he  was  discovered  to  be  a  Federal  officer, 
and  proved  Gen.  Sheridan  himself.  Wilcox  readily  recognized 
him,  as  Sheridan  had  graduated  at  West  Point  when  he  was  an 
instructor  there.  The  latter  asked  "  if  it  was  true  that  there  was 
a  correspondence  going  on  between  Gens.  Lee  and  Grant,  with  the 
view  of  suspending  hostilities."  Gen.  Wilcox  was  about  to 
answer  in  the  negative,  not  having  been  advised  of  such  a  cor 
respondence,  when  Gordon,  who  had  just  ridden  from  the  front, 
spoke  up  and  remarked  that  he  had  just  been  ordered  to  pass  a 
flag,  and  forward  it  to  Gen.  Lee.  Sheridan  replied,  "if  that  is 
the  case  we  should  arrest  this  affair  at  once,  and  have  no  more 
people  hurt."  He  ordered  his  troops  to  be  retired  out  of  view; 
Wilcox  at  the  same  time  withdrawing  his  two  brigades,  and 
releasing  some  prisoners  that  had  been  captured  by  his  skirmishers. 
Groups  of  officers  quickly  collected  between  the  two  lines ;  many 
of  Gen.  Wilcox'  old  West  Point  acquaintances  rode  forward  to 
greet  him,  among  whom  were  Gens.  Gibbon,  Griffin,  Merritt  and 
Ayres,  and,  as  they  awaited  news  of  the  conference  of  the  two 
Commanding  Generals,  a  free  and  pleasant  conversation  sprung 
up,  in  which  present  animosities  seemed  to  be  forgotten  in  recol 
lections  of  the  past  and  hopes  of  the  future. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  military  life  of  Gen.  Wilcox,  shows 
him  constantly  identified  with  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia. 
His  reputation  in  this  army  commenced  early,  never  declined,  and 
grew  to  one  of  the  most  famous  names  of  the  war.  He  was 
known  to  the  last  as  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  intrepid  officers 
of  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy.  He  had  other  distinguished 
elements  of  character  and  is  not  likely  to  be  forgot  or  overlooked 
in  the  changes  which  have  ensued  upon  the  close  of  the  war. 
Unimpeachable  habits,  integrity  of  aim  and  purpose,  capacity 
and  cultivation  of  the  highest  order,  assure  the  reputation  of  the 
past,  and  promise,  even  in  new  walks  of  life,  a  brilliant  destiny. 


MAJ.-GEN.  GEORGE  E.  PICKET!. 


CHAPTER  XLY. 

His  gallantry  in  the  Mexican  War. — Spirited  action  of  Capt.  Pickett  in  the  "  San 
Juan  Difficulty." — Position  of  the  State  of  Virginia  in  the  Sectional  Controversies. 
— Pickett's  early  appointments  in  the  Confederate  States  Service. — The  "Game- 
Cock  Brigade,"  in  Longstreet's  Division. — Memorable  and  heroic  action  of 
Pickett's  Division  at  Gettysburg. — Account  of  it  in  the  Richmond  Enquirer. — 
Gen.  Pickett's  expedition  on  the  North  Carolina  Coast. — His  return  to  Petersburg. 
— How  "  The  Cockade  City  "  was  narrowly  saved.— Operations  around  Peters 
burg.— Gen.  Lee's  Compliment  to  Pickett's  men. — The  Battle  of  Five  Forks. — 
The  suppressed  official  report  of  Gen.  Pickett. — His  last  tribute  to  his  troops. — 
Historical  glory  of  "  The  Virginia  Division." 

GEORGE  E.  PICKETT  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  late  Col.  Robert 
Pickett,  of  Turkey  Island,  in  the  county  of  Henrico,  Virginia. 
He  was  born  in  the  city  of  Richmond ;  entered  West  Point  in 
June,  1842,  and  graduated  in  June,  1846.  In  the  autumn  of  this 
year  he  was  assigned  to  duty,  with  the  rank  of  brevet  second 
lieutenant,  and  joined  the  United  States  army  then  in  Mexico. 
The  celebrated  battles  of  Gen.  Taylor  had  been  fought  before  his 
arrival ;  but  in  the  winter  following,  the  command,  to  which  Lieut. 
Pickett  belonged,  joined  the  expedition  of  Gen.  Scott  against  the 
city  of  Yera  Cruz.  From  Yera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  Pick 
ett  served  as  second  lieutenant  in  the  8th  Infantry,  "Worth's  com 
mand,  and  was  noticed  in  the  reports  of  Gen.  Scott  for  his  gallant 
conduct  in  the  battles  of  Contreras,  Cherubusco,  Molino  Del  Key, 
and  Chapul tepee.  He  was  bre vetted  first  lieutenant  for  gallantry 
at  Contreras,  and,  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct"  at  Cha- 
pultepec,  he  received  the  rank  of  captain. 

After  the  close  of  the  Mexican  War.  and  until  1861,  Capt. 


510  MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE   E.   PICKETT. 

Pickett  was  on  duty  in  Texas,  and  in  New  Mexico,  Oregon  and 
Washington  Territories.  Before  the  great  war  between  North  and 
South  bursted  upon  the.  attention  of  the  world  and  gave  another 
and  largest  date  to  the  military  annals  of  America,  the  name  of 
Capt.  Pickett  was  actively  and  very  honourably  associated  with 
an  interesting  historical  incident.  In  March,  1855,  he  had  been 
appointed  captain  in  the  9th  Infantry.  In  1859  the  American 
settlers  on  the  island  of  San  Juan  complained  to  Gen.  Harney, 
who  commanded  the  department  of  Oregon  and  "Washington,  of 
outrages  by  the  Indians,  and  aggressions  threatened  by  the  British. 
A  great  excitement  was  occasioned ;  there  was  every  appearance 
of  a  serious  complication  with  the  British  Government ;  and  Capt. 
Pickett  was  ordered  to  take  military  possession  of  the  island,  as  an 
initiatory  measure  of  what  might  become  a  state  of  war.  The 
order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  a  camp  was  formed  with  a  force 
of  about  sixty  United  States  troops. 

In  this  position  Capt.  Pickett  was  found  by  three  vessels  of 
war  sent  by  the  British  Governor  Douglas  to  enforce  his  authority. 
These  vessels  anchored  with  their  broadsides  commanding  his 
camp ;  and  Pickett  was  "  warned  off"  the  island,  and  then  sum 
moned  before  a  British  magistrate.  He  took  no  notice  of  these 
communications.  After  some  parley,  a  proposition  was  made  to 
land  from  the  vessels  a  force  equal  to  his  own ;  and  to  this  he  was 
asked  to  accede  in  the  sense  of  a  joint  military  occupation  of  the 
island.  In  obedience  to  his  orders,  Capt.  Pickett  declined  the 
proposal,  and  declared  his  purpose,  to  fire  upon  the  British  force 
if  a  landing  was  attempted.  The  impending  collision  was  pre 
vented  by  the  timely  arrival  of  Admiral  Baynes,  by  whose  order 
the  commencement  of  hostilities  was  postponed. 

The  arrival  of  Lieut.  Col.  Casey  with  reinforcements  soon  fol 
lowed,  who  took  command  of  the  island,  as  representative  of  the 
United  States,  and  named  his  post  "  Camp  Pickett,"  in  recognition 
of  the  cool  courage  and  daring  of  his  brave  subaltern.  The  diffi 
culty  was  afterwards  adjusted  by  Gen.  Scott  in  proper  person,  who 
consented  to  the  joint  military  occupation  proposed  by  the  British. 
Gen.  Harney  recommended  Capt.  Pickett  for  a  brevet,  "for  the 
cool  judgment,  ability  and  gallantry  he  had  displayed,"  and  Presi 
dent  Buchanan  instructed  Gen.  Scott  to  retain  Pickett  in  command 
of  the  United  States  forces  upon  the  island.  These  instructions 


MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE  E.   PICKETT.  511 

were  at  first  complied  with,  but  afterwards,  at  the  instance  of  Gov. 
Douglas,  Gen.  Scott  thought  fit  to  remove  the  obnoxious  repre 
sentative  of  American  rights.  He  was,  however,  subsequently 
replaced  in  command  by  Gen.  Harney,  and  remained  at  his  post 
until  1861. 

The  dark  clouds  of  war  which  had  been  gathering  over  the 
country  were  now  ready  to  break.  The  native  State  of  Capt. 
Pickett  had  been  called  upon,  in  the  name  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States,  for  her  quota  of  troops,  to  carry  war  and  devas 
tation  into  her  sister  States  of  the  South.  She  had  refused.  Her 
every  effort  as  peacemaker  had  been  unavailing,  her  counsel 
scorned,  her  solemn  protests  treated  with  contempt.  Virginia, 
whose  people  in  the  struggles  of  '76  had  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the 
voices  of  Royal  favor  and  patronage,  and  sprung  to  arms  at  the 
sound  of  musketry  upon  the  plains  of  Lexington  ;  Virginia,  whose 
sons  animated  with  the  love  of  liberty,  inheriting  from  their 
fathers  generous  tempers  and  chivalric  feelings,  thrilled  by  the 
eloquence  of  the  immortal  Henrj^  made  straightway  march  to  the 
Heights  of  Boston,  to  aid  the  colonists  of  Massachusetts  in  strik 
ing  off  the  fetters  of  tyranny ;  Virginia,  whose  colonists  in  the 
very  beginning  of  her  existence  had  appealed  to  their  Mother 
Country  for  protection  against  the  introduction  of  African  slaves ; 
Virginia,  whose  honoured  sons  gave  to  the  United  States  its  Con 
stitution,  and  whose  ever  true  allegiance  to  the  Union  as  it  was, 
and  as  it  should  be,  time  and  impartial  history  will  vindicate — 
now  called  in  the  voice  of  distress  and  anguish  to  her  sons  for  help 
to  resist  the  unjust  and  unholy  attempt  upon  the  part  of  these 
people,  whose  friend  and  ally  she  had  been  in  their  time  of 
trouble,  to  subvert  her  government,  conquer  her  people,  destroy 
her  every  right,  and  strip  her  of  her  sovereignty. 

Capt.  Pickett  answered  the  call  of  his  native  State.  He  resigned 
his  commission,  and  after  delays,  trials,  and  troubles — many,  sore 
and  grievous — reached  Richmond,  the  then  capital  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  He  at  once  received  a  commission  as  Colonel  and 
was  assigned  to  duty  on  the  lower  Rappahannock.  In  February, 
1862,  he  was  made  a  Brigadier  in  Longstreet's  division  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  His  brigade  was  composed  of  the  8th, 
18th,  19th  and  28th  Virginia  Regiments,  formerly  commanded  by 
Philip  St.  Geo.  Cocke.  This  brigade  and  its  commander  bore  an 


512  MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE   E.    PICKETT. 

honourable  part  in  the  campaigns  of  1862 ;  at  Williamsburg, 
Seven  Pines,  and  Games'  Mills,  it  showed  such  dash,  courage,  and 
spirit  as  gained  for  it  the  sobriquet  of  "  The  Game  Cock  Bri 
gade."  In  the  last  mentioned  battle  (Games'  Mills)  Gen.  Pickett 
received  a  severe  wound  in  the  shoulder,  and  was  disabled  for 
several  months.  He  did  not  rejoin  his  command  until  after  the 
return  of  the  army  from  Maryland. 

Upon  again  reporting  for  duty,  he  was  placed  in  command  of 
a  division,  and  soon  thereafter  promoted  Major-General.  His 
division  was  composed  of  the  four  Virginia  brigades  under  Gar- 
nett,  Kemper,  Armstead  and  Corse — officers  who  had  won  their 
reputation  upon  hard  fought  fields,  and,  except  Kemper  and  Corse, 
educated  at  West  Point  and  commissioned  in  the  United  States 
Army.  At  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg  this  division,  though 
not  heavily  engaged,  took  part,  holding  the  centre  of  the  line  of 
battle.  In  the  campaign  against  Suffolk,  Gen.  Pickett  and  his 
command  did  good  effective  service,  adding  to  their  already  rapidly 
increasing  renown. 

But  it  was  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  that  the  crowning  glory 
was  won.  In  this  battle  there  were  displayed  the  most  extraor 
dinary  courage,  fortitude,  and  discipline.  Two  brigades  were 
absent,  and  the  division  did  not  exceed  5,000  muskets.  Yet  this 
small  force,  advancing  steadily  over  half  a  mile  of  broken  ground, 
charged  and  carried  the  most  formidable  intrenchments  of  the 
enemy,  under  a  concentrated  fire  of  artillery  and  musketrj^,  and 
would  have  maintained  the  position  but  for  the  failure  of  supports. 
The  Richmond  Enquirer  thus  commemorated  the  service  rendered 
upon  the  memorable  3d  day  of  July,  1863  :  "  The  day  preceding, 
Pickett's  division  had  made  a  long  and  toilsome  march ;  at  3 
o'clock  they  moved  forward  to  the  field  of  battle,  and  were  in 
position  very  early  in  the  morning  of  that  eventful  day.  During 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  forenoon  the  division  was  exposed  to 
the  burning  rays  of  a  July  sun,  and  the  terrible  shelling  of  the 
enemy's  batteries.  Thus,  very  much  exhausted  by  intense  heat, 
and  seriously  crippled  by  the  enemy's  fire,  about  3  P.M.  they 
were  ordered  to  charge  the  heights.  An  eye-witness  testifies  that 
they  formed  into  line  of  battle  as  coolly  and  deliberately  as  if 
forming  for  dress-parade.  Headed  by  their  gallant  officers,  the 
column  being  led  by  Gen.  Pickett  himself,  they  moved  forward  to 


MAJ.-GEN.    GEORGE  E.   PICKETT.  513 

the  charge,  across  a  plain  some  500  yards  in  width,  subjected  to 
the  action  of  guns  sweeping  like  a  hurricane  of  death  all  over  the 
field.  The  noble  and  gallant  Pickett  commanding,  they  pressed 
up  to  the  ugly  ramparts  of  the  enemy.  It  is  believed  that  a 
more  gallant  or  heroic  charge  was  never  made  on  this  continent. 
Pickett's  division  has  been  in  the  hardest  fighting  of  this  bloody 
war.  It  had  borne  itself  well  and  nobly  everywhere.  But  the 
crowning  glory  of  these  patriotic  heroes  was  achieved  in  the  assault 
upon  the  iron  clad  crest  of  Gettysburg.  The  lists  of  casualties  tell 
in  terms  of  truer  eloquence  the  bravery  and  patriotism  of  that 
blood-stained  and  war-honoured  division,  than  can  any  figures  of 
rhetoric  or  poetry.  Every  Brigadier  fell,  and  a  long  catalogue  of 
colonels  and  other  officers.  The  division  went  in  from  five  to  six 
thousand  strong ;  three  days  after  the  battle  but  fifteen  hundred 
reported  for  duty.  Well  done,  noble  heroes,  officers  and  men, 
your  country  will  cherish  the  memory  of  your  deeds  and  suffering 
with  a  gratitude  and  affection  which  time  can  never  obliterate ! 
Maj.-Gen.  Pickett  has  well  earned,  and  will  no  doubt  receive  the 
meed  of  his  country's  praise.  Without  meaning  to  disparage  any 
officer  or  division,  it  is  indeed  a  high  honour  to  have  belonged 
to  Pickett's  division,  and  to  have  fought  under  that  gallant  com 
mander." 

After  the  return  of  Gen.  Lee's  army  from  Pennsylvania,  in  the 
summer  of  1863,  Pickett's  division  was  detached  from  the  First 
Corps,  and  Gen.  Pickett  placed  in  command  of  the  Department  of 
Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  with  his  headquarters  in  the  city  of 
Petersburg.  While  in  command  of  this  Department  he  was 
instructed  to  make  an  attack  upon  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  then 
in  possession  of  the  Federal  forces,  and  thoroughly  fortified.  His 
forces,  scattered  over  the  wide-spread  limits  of  his  department, 
were  concentrated  with  secrecy  and  dispatch  at  Kinston,  one  of  his 
out-posts,  situated  upon  the  Neuse  Kiver,  and  pushed  forward 
without  a  moment's  delay.  He  moved  in  three  columns:  the  left 
commanded  by  the  dashing  Col.  James  Dearing,  the  right  by  Gen. 
Barton,  and  the  centre  by  himself,  directed  against  the  immediate 
front  of  the  fortified  town,  where  the  enemy's  works  were  strongest 
and  most  elaborate.  The  success  of  the  expedition  turned  upon 
the  result  attending  the  attack  to  be  made  by  the  column  under 
Gen.  Barton,  and  his  ability  to  carry  the  line  of  works  in  his  front. 

33 


514  MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE   E.   PICKETT. 

The  movement  of  troops  begun  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  Feb 
ruary,  1864.  The  centre,  composed  of  Clingman's  and  Hoke's 
North  Carolina  Brigades,  and  Corse's  Virginia  Brigade,  swept 
everything  before  them,  and  advanced  almost  to  the  very  fortifica 
tions  of  the  town.  The  enemy's  advanced  pickets  were  surprised 
and  captured,  the  block  house  commanding  the  ford  at  Batchelor's 
Creek,  stormed  and  carried  after  a  sharp  and  determined  resistance, 
and  the  camp,  outside  the  fortifications,  captured  with  considerable 
spoils,  and  a  number  of  prisoners.  The  columns  on  the  right  and 
left  meeting  with!  unexpected  and  impassable  barriers  to  their 
advance,  failed  entirely  to  cooperate.  The  delay  was  fatal  to  suc 
cess  ;  reinforcements  reached  the  town  from  below,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  withdraw.  The  retreat  was  conducted  in  perfect 
order.  The  enemy  did  not  venture  to  pursue,  and  five  hundred 
prisoners  and  valuable  stores  were  carried  back  in  safety  to  Kins- 
ton.  Although  the  expedition  failed  to  accomplish  its  main  object, 
it  added  to  the  reputation  of  Gen.  Pickett.  In  its  organization, 
conduct,  and  execution,  he  displayed  the  characteristics  of  an  able 
commander.  He  showed  that  he  possessed  sound  judgment,  quick 
perception,  dash,  endurance  and  ability.  His  troops  were  held 
well  in  hand  and  under  perfect  command,  and  he  controlled  them 
with  a  master's  hand. 

After  Gen.  Pickett's  return  to  Petersburg,  another  expedition 
was  prepared  and  directed  against  Plymouth,  North  Carolina,  un 
der  the  sanction  of  the  War  Office,  but,  as  the  writer  of  this  sketch 
believes,  upon  plans  proposed  by  Gen.  Pickett.  About  the  last 
of  April,  1864,  the  preparations  were  complete,  the  troops  in  readi 
ness,  and  the  General  and  his  staff  just  about  to  leave  to  assume 
the  command.  An  order  from  Gen.  Braxton  Bragg,  then  the 
Commander-in-Chief  under  President  Davis,  directed  that  the 
command  should  be  given  to  Gen.  Hoke,  and  that  Gen.  Pickett 
should  report  to  Kichmond.  Plymouth  was  invested  ;  its  fall  and 
capitulation  had  been  flashed  over  the  wires,  and  received  with 
gladness  and  exultation.  Hoke  was  forthwith  made  Major-Gen 
eral  ;  but  before  Gen.  Pickett  had  completed  his  arrangements  to 
leave  the  city  of  Petersburg,  the  flags  of  the  signal  corps  announced 
the  fleet  of  Gen.  Butler  off  City  Point.  No  one  but  a  resident  of 
Kichmond  at  the  time  and  an  intimate  of  its  official  councils  can 
imagine  the  shock  of  surprise  and  terrour  that  the  apparition  of 


MAJ.-GEN".   GEORGE   E.   PICKETT.  515 

Butler's  forces  in  James  River  gave  to  the  Confederate  authorities. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  perfect  surprises  of  the  war.  Not  one  of 
the  Confederate  officials  had  counted  on  this  auxiliary  to  Grant's 
movement;  not  even  a  speculative  newspaper  had  imagined  it; 
all  eyes  were  turned  towards  the  Kapidan,  when  attention  was  sud 
denly  called  to  the  new  and  unexpected  enemy  at  the  back  door 
of  the  capital.  The  south  side  of  Kichmond  was  almost  undefend 
ed  ;  Petersburg  was  apparently  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy,  and  a 
large  portion  of  its  people  had  already  despaired  of  the  safety  of 
their  habitations.  Fortunately,  however,  for  the  Confederate  inter 
ests,  the  new  comer  who  had  fallen  on  such  an  opportunity  had 
not  the  genius  to  use  it ;  and  while  Gen.  Butler  tarried  in  his  dem 
onstrations,  a  series  of  rapid  movements  changed  the  situation,  and 
saved  one  of  the  narrowest  fortunes  of  the  war. 

Gen.  Pickett  was  ordered  to  remain  and  defend  Petersburg. 
The  order  appeared  absurd  in  view  of  his  forces.  The  only  troops 
he  had  were  the  Washington  artillery,  almost  unserviceable  for 
want  of  horses,  the  militia,  Bates's  battalion  of  boys  for  "  local 
defence,"  and  a  regiment  of  Clingman's  brigade  on  the  Blackwater. 
Not  dismayed,  alert  and  full  of  spirit,  Gen.  Pickett  addressed  him 
self  to  his  task.  A  troop  of  cavalry  was  improvised ;  Bates's  bat 
talion  and  the  militia  were  put  under  arms ;  the  artillery  was  sup 
plied  with  horses,  the  defences  manned,  and  pickets  posted  to  the 
best  advantage.  On  the  night  of  the  6th  May,  1864,  Petersburg 
slept  secure,  with  Butler's  army  at  City  Point  and  Bermuda  Hun 
dred,  and  a  corporal  and  two  men  guarding  Pocahontas  Bridge. 
The  next  day  the  crisis  was  more  clearly  developed.  Spiers,  with 
his  cavalry,  crossed  the  Blackwater,  and  destroyed  the  Weldon 
railroad ;  Butler  forced  the  railroad  communicating  with  Kich 
mond  ;  and  Gen.  Pickett  found  himself  apparently  isolated,  and 
his  little  army  hemmed  within  the  city  limits.  Then  followed 
days  and  nights  of  unspeakable  anxiety.  At  last  the  car-whistle 
announced  the  expected  aid ;  Lieut. -Col.  Dargan,  with  a  portion 
of  the  South  Carolina  brigade,  reached  Petersburg,  amid  the  joy 
ous  shouts  of  the  people.  This  force  was  immediately  sent  to  Port 
Walthall  junction,  and,  the  following  day,  reinforced  by  another 
regiment  of  the  same  brigade  and  some  troops  from  Drury's  Bluff, 
it  resisted  successfully  Butler's  attack  on  that  point.  Wise,  Hoke 
and  Kemper  soon  followed ;  the  line  upon  Swift  Creek  was  taken ; 


516  MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE   E.   PICKETT. 

Gen.  Beauregard  arrived,  and  to  him  Gen.  Pickett  turned  over 
the  command,  which  he  had  held  so  many  anxious  days  and  nights 
with  the  most  remarkable  fortitude  and  vigilance.  "  The  Cockade 
City  "  was  safe ! 

Cheated  of  a  prize  which  he  had  not  the  hardihood  to  essay, 
Gen.  Butler  next  turned  his  attention  to  the  railroad,  and,  having 
sallied  from  behind  his  intrenchments,  advanced  towards  it  with 
the  design  of  destroying  the  communication  with  Richmond.  But 
Gen.  Lee  was  prepared  for  him.  The  lines  necessarily  vacated  by 
Gen.  Beauregard,  when  he  had  to  fall  back  and  defend  Petersburg, 
had  already  been  taken  possession  of  by  the  Federals ;  but  directly 
Butler  made  his  attempt,  Gen.  Anderson  was  dispatched  with  his 
corps  to  repulse  him.  This  was  done  most  effectually — Pickett's 
division  being  with  difficulty  restrained  in  their  impetuous  ad 
vance.  The  result  was  so  satisfactory,  and  the  exploit  so  gallantly 
accomplished,  that  Gen.  Lee  issued  the  following  congratulatory 
dispatch : 

CLAY'S  HOUSE,  June  17 — 5£  P.M. 
I/ieut.-Gen.  R.  H.  Anderson,  Commanding  Longstreefs  Corps: 

GENERAL — I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  my  con 
gratulations  upon  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  your  corps.  I  believe 
that  they  will  carry  any  thing  they  are  put  against.  We  tried 
very  hard  to  stop  Pickett's  men  from  capturing  the  breastworks 
of  the  enemy,  but  could  not  do  it.  I  hope  his  loss  has  been  small. 
I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

K.  E.  LEE,  General. 
» 

The  position  thus  obtained  was  held  for  many  months.  But 
after  Petersburg  was  invested,  and  the  enemy  had  unsuccessfully 
attempted  to  carry  the  Confederate  earthworks  by  assault,  military 
operations,  with  one  or  two  memorable  exceptions,  assumed  the 
monotony  of  a  regular  siege. 

In  the  final  act  of  the  war  before  Petersburg,  Pickett  and  his  heroic 
men,  figured  with  their  accustomed  gallantry,  and  kept  to  the  last 
the  integrity  and  splendour  of  their  historical  name.  In  the  battle  of 
Five  Forks  his  division  bore  the  brunt,  and  gave  way  only  when  the 
force  of  the  enemy  became  overwhelming.  The  theory  of  this  battle 
was  an  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  turn  the  right  and  vulnerable  flank 


MAJ.-GEN.   GEOKGE  E.   PICKETT.  517 

of  Gen.  Lee's  army  by  a  force  of  about  35,000  infantry  and  cavalry ; 
to  encounter  which  Pickett's  and  B.  Johnson's  divisions  and  a  small 
force  of  cavalry  were  moved  to  the  extreme  right,  and  first  struck 
the  enemy  within  half  a  mile  of  Dinwiddie  Court  House.  The  first 
event  was  a  success  of  the  Confederates.  The  enemy  was  severely 
punished  ;  half  an  hour  more  of  daylight  and  Pickett's  men  would 
have  got  to  the  Court  House  ;  as  it  was,  learning  that  the  enemy 
was  reinforcing  with  infantry,  and  knowing  that  the  whole  of  Sheri 
dan's  and  Kautz'  cavalry  was  in  his  front,  Gen.  Pickett  decided  to 
fall  back,  at  daylight  of  the  1st  April,  to  Five  Forks,  a  position 
he  was  directed  by  a  telegram  from  Gen.  Lee  to  "  hold,"  so  as  to 
protect  the  road  to  Ford's  Depot. 

This  movement  was  made  in  perfect  order.  In  the  morning  of 
the  1st  April,  the  enemy  pushed  up  steadily  from  the  Court 
House,  and  commenced  extending  to  the  Confederate  left.  In  his 
official  report  (which  is  in  manuscript  and  has  not  yet  been  admitted 
into  the  historical  records  of  the  war)  Gen.  Pickett  thus  describes 
the  principal  action  and  disasterous  close  of  the  day  :  "  Suddenly 
the  enemy  in  heavy  infantry  column  appeared  on  our  left  front,  and 
the  attack,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had  been  confined  principally  to 
our  front  towards  the  Court  House,  now  became  general.  Charge 
after  charge  of  the  enemy  was  repulsed ;  but  they  still  kept  bring 
ing  up  division  after  division  and  pressing  around  our  left.  Gen. 
Kansom,  perceiving  this,  took  his  brigade  from  behind  the  breast 
works,  and  boldly  charged  the  heavy  column  of  the  enemy,  com 
mitting  great  havoc  and  temporarily  checking  their  movement. 
In  this  he  had  his  horse  killed;  he  falling  under  him,  and  his  Asst. 
Adjt.-General,  the  brave  but  unfortunate  Captain  Gee,  was  killed. 
The  few  cavalry  however  which  had  got  into  position  gave  way, 
and  the  enemy  came  pouring  in  on  Wallace's  left,  causing  his  men 
to  give  back.  Pegram  had  been  mortally  wounded,  the  captain  of 
the  battery  killed,  and  man}?-  of  the  men  killed  and  wounded.  I  suc 
ceeded  nevertheless  in  getting  a  sergeant  with  men  enough  for  one 
piece  put  in  position  on  the  left,  and  fired  some,  eight  rounds  into 
the  head  of  the  enemy's  column,  when  the  axle  broke,  disabling 
the  piece.  I  had  also  immediately  withdrawn  Terry's  Brigade 
from  its  position,  and  threw  them  on  the  left  flank,  charging  over 
Wallace's  men,  forcing  them  back  to  their  position.  Even  then, 
with  all  the  odds  against  us,  we  might  have  held  on  until  night, 


518  MAJ.-GEN".   GEORGE  E.   PICKETT. 

which  was  approaching ;  but  the  ammunition  was  fast  giving  out. 
Col.  Florence's  regiment  fought  hand  to  hand  with  the  enemy, 
after  their  cartridges  were  expended ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail,  and, 
although  the  enemy's  dead  lay  in  heaps,  we  were  obliged  to  give 
way,  our  left  being  completely  turned.  *  Every 

thing  assumed  the  appearance  of  a  panic,  when,  by  dint  of  great 
personal  exertions  on  the  part  of  my  staff,  together  with  the  general 
officers  and  their  staff  officers,  we  compelled  a  rally  and  stand  on 
Corse's  Brigade,  which  was  still  in  perfect  order,  and  had  repulsed, 
as  had  W.  H.  F.  Lee's  cavalry,  every  attempt  of  the  enemy  against 
them.  One  of  the  most  brilliant  cavalry  engagements  of  the  war 
took  place  on  this  part  of  the  field,  near  Mrs.  Gillian's  residence. 
The  enemy  made  a  most  determined  attack  in  heavy  force  (cavalry), 
but  were  in  turn  charged  by  Gen.  W.  H.  F.  Lee,  completely  driv 
ing  them  off  the  field.  This,  with  the  firm  stand  made  by  Corse's 
men,  and  those  that  could  be  rallied  at  this  point,  enabled  many 
to  escape  capture.  Thus  the  shades  of  the  evening  closed  on  the 
bloody  field." 

The  men  who  escaped  capture  were  assembled  on  the  railroad ; 
their  losses  had  been  severe,  several  thousand  having  been  taken 
prisoners.  As  night  fell,  Gen.  Pickett  with  the  remnant  of  his 
command  took  up  his  line  of  march  towards  Exeter  Mills,  intend 
ing  to  cross  the  Appomattox  river  at  that  point,  when  he  received 
orders  by  a  staff  officer  to  report  to  Lieut.-Gen.  Anderson  at  Suther- 
lan's.  In  the  following  morning,  while  on  the  march,  he  found  the 
road  strewn  with  stragglers  from  Wilcox'  and  Heth's  divisions, 
who  informed  him  that  the  lines  in  front  of  Petersburg  had  been 
forced.  He  at  once  struck  for  the  general  line  of  retreat  towards 
Amelia  Court-House,  where  he  reported  to  Gen.  Anderson.  After 
the  affair  of  Sailor's  Creek,  the  history  of  this  retreat,  so  often 
referred  to  in  this  volume,  became  a  dull,  harsh  record  of  occasional 
skirmishing  and  continual  marching,  day  and  night;  and  in  its 
last  stages  Gen.  Pickett  reported  to  Gen.  Longstreet,  and  continued 
to  receive  orders  from  him  until  the  army  was  surrendered  and 
dispersed. 

In  his  final  report,  officially  addressed  to  Gen.  Lee,  Gen.  Pick 
ett  thus  epitomizes  the  deeds  of  the  Virginia  troops  he  had  led  so 
long,  in  language  which  his  ardent  and  honourable  regard  for  his 
men  inspired,  and  to  which  history  will  add  the  commentary  which 


MAJ.-GEN.   GEORGE  E.   PICKETT.  519 

his  personal  modesty  has  withheld.  "  It  is  needless  in  this,  my 
last  report  of  the  Virginia  Division,  to  recall  to  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  the  trials,  hardships  and  battles  through  which  they  have 
passed.  Baptized  in  war  at  Ball  Kun  and  the  First  Manassas, 
under  Lieut.-Gen.  Longstreet's  instructions,  they  continued  after 
wards  to  follow  the  lessons  taught  them  on  their  various  marches; 
in  the  lines  about  Yorktown ;  at  the  glorious  battle  of  Williams- 
burg,  where,  with  Wilcox'  Alabama  Brigade,  they  withstood  the 
advance  of  the  whole  of  McClellan's  Grand  Army,  and  absolutely 
drove  them  back ;  at  Seven  Pines,  where  they  were  so  highly 
complimented  by  Gen.  Joseph  E.  Johnston ;  at  Games'  Mills,  Fra- 
zier's  Farm,  Second  Manassas,  Boonsboro,  Sharpsburg,  Gettysburg, 
and  the  engagements  about  the  lines  in  front  of  Bermuda  Hundred, 
Fort  Harrison,  etc.,  which  came  under  the  personal  observation  of 
the  Commander-in-chief.  The  written  and  verbal  acknowledg 
ments  of  their  worth  from  him,  have  been  gratefully  appreciated 
by  them." 

The  "  Virginia  Division,"  with  snch  a  record,  will  live  as  long 
as  there  is  a  pen  to  transcribe  deeds  of  glory  and  living  hearts  to 
treasure  the  proud  and  tender  memories  of  the  past.  The  com 
mand  of  Gen.  Pickett  was  composed  of  Virginians,  himself  the 
product  and  representative  of  the  best  school  of  the  Virginia  gen 
tleman.  In  it  was  gathered  much  of  the  best  and  most  cultivated 
manhood  of  the  State ;  and  men  belonging  to  noble  families,  some 
with  muskets  in  their  hands,  showed  that  superiour  courage  which 
belongs  to  the  well-trained  gentry  of  the  Old  Dominion,  and  proved 
themselves  worthy  of  the  blood  which  coursed  in  their  veins. 
From  their  near  countrymen  the  survivors  of  the  command  that 
fought  at  Gettysburg  obtain  homage,  love,  respect  and  admiration ; 
from  their  enemies  they  need  fear  nothing  but  the  weakest  and 
vainest  attempts  at  detraction,  for  there  is  a  certain  assured  glory 
where  stings  of  envy  cannot  enter  and  where  shafts  of  slander  fall 
harmless ;  and  we  solemnly  believe  it  would  be  as  vain  to  dispute 
before  the  world,  after  the  experience  of  the  past  war,  the  heroic 
character  of  the  modern  Virginians,  as  that  of  the  old  Komans, 
whom  centuries  have  accepted  as  types  of  the  martial  and  manly 
virtues. 


MAJ.-GEN.  CHARLES  W.  FIELD. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army  and  at  West  Point. — Commands  a  Brigade  in 
"  the  Seven  Days'  Battles  "  around  Richmond. — Promoted  Major-Greneral  in  1864. — 
Field's  Division  restores  the  Battle  in  the  "Wilderness. — An  unheralded  victory 
on  the  Richmond  lines. — Apocrypha  of  the  newspapers. — Remarkable  and 
brilliant  appearance  of  Field's  Division  at  the  Surrender — What  the  Federal 
General  Meade  said  of  "  the  Rebels." 

CHARLES  W.  FIELD  was  born  in  Woodford  county,  Kentucky, 
in  1818 ;  his  parents  having  migrated  from  Virginia,  his  father 
being  a  native  of  Culpepper  county,  where  the  family  had  lived 
for  several  generations,  and  maintains  to  this  day  some  honoured 
representatives.  The  illustrious  Henry  Clay  conceived  a  great 
fondness  for  young  Field,  and  was  indeed  a  devoted  friend  of  his 
father,  but  being  defeated  in  his  candidacy  for  the  Presidency,  he 
was  in  no  position  to  serve  the  boy,  who,  however,  through  the 
solicitation  of  ex-President  Jackson,  secured  a  cadetship  at  West 
Point,  which  he  had  long  coveted,  being  appointed  "  at  large  "  by 
President  Polk,  in  1845.  Being  graduated  in  1849,  he  was 
assigned  to  the  2nd  Dragoons,  Col.  Harney,  and  for  the  five  suc 
ceeding  years  operated  against  the  Indians  on  the  frontier  of  New 
Mexico,  Texas  and  the  EJains.  In  1855  he  was  promoted  first 
lieutenant  and  transferred,  to  the  Second  Cavalry,  then  being 
raised,  A.  S.  Johnston,  colonel,  and  R.  E.  Lee,  lieut.-colonel.  In 
1856,  he  was  ordered  by  the  War  Department  on  duty  at  West 
Point,  as  chief  of  cavalry  at  that  institution,  and  remained  there 
until  1861,  when  he  resigned  his  commission  as  captain,  and, 
going  to  Kichmond,  offered  his  services  to  the  Southern  Con 
federacy. 


MAJ.-GEN.   CHARLES  W.   FIELD.  521 

His  first  duties  in  the  war  were  quiet  and  obscure,  lie  having 
been  appointed  to  organize  a  school  of  instruction  for  cavalry  at 
Ashland,  near  Kichmond ;  thence  he  was  appointed  to  command 
the  6th  Virginia  Cavalry ;  but  it  was  not  until  Johnston's  army 
abandoned  North  Virginia,  in  1862,  that  he  appeared  conspicuously 
in  the  field.  He  was  then  made  a  Brigadier-General,  and  finally, 
falling  into  the  command  of  an  infantry  brigade  (all  Virginia  regi 
ments),  he  was  placed  in  A.  P.  Hill's  division,  and  in  that  fought 
in  the  Seven  Days'  Battles  around  Eichmond,  Cedar  Kun,  and  the 
Second  Manassas.  In  the  last  named  battle  Gen.  Field  was 
dreadfully  wounded,  and  was  actually  confined  to  his  bed  for 
nearly  a  year.  In  February,  1864,  though  still  on  crutches,  he 
reported  for  duty,  was  made  a  Major-General,  and  was  assigned  to 
Longstreet's  corps,  and  to  the  division  that  Gen.  Hood  had  formerly 
commanded. 

From  that  time  to  the  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court-House 
Field's  Division  was  an  honourable  and  familiar  name.  It  was 
this  division  that  mainly  restored  the  battle  in  the  Wilderness, 
when  at  one  time  it  appeared  that  the  Confederate  right  wing  was 
gone,  and  Gen.  Lee  in  desperation  had  offered  to  lead  the  Texas 
Brigade  into  action.  "Go  back,"  said  these  hardy  soldiers,  uand 
we'll  show  you  what  we  will  do."  They  did  show  it,  they  did 
repulse  the  enemy ;  but  in  twenty  minutes  two-thirds  of  this 
devoted  brigade  were  on  the  ground,  killed  or  wounded. 

When  Gen.  Lee  fell  back  to  Eichmond  and  Petersburg, 
Field's  division  was  withdrawn  and  sent  to  the  north  line  of  the 
James,  to  meet  a  demonstration  in  that  direction.  On  the  14th 
August,  1864,  while  Gen.  Field  held  a  line  extending  from  Cha- 
pin's  Bluff  to  New  Market  Heights,  reinforced  by  some  brigades 
from  Mahone's,  Wilcox'  and  Pickett's  divisions,  he  sustained  a 
heavy  attack  of  the  enemy,  which  at  one  time  broke  through  a 
a  gap  of  two  brigades  in  his  centre.  It  appeared  that  everything 
on  the  field  was  lost,  and  that  there  was  nothing  to  stop  the  enemy 
short  of  the  works  immediately  around  Eichmond.  Gen.  Field, 
however,  called  upon  his  old  division,  which  had  never  yet  failed 
him,  formed  it  rapidly  in  front  of  the  enemy,  dashed  at  his  advan 
cing  columns,  drove  them  half  a  mile,  and  completely  reestablished 
his  lines.  It  was  a  critical  success ;  it  may  be  said  to  have  snatched 
Eichmond  itself  from  the  grasp  of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Field's  forces 


522  MAJ.-GEISr.    CHARLES  W.   FIELD. 

numbered  about  14.000 ;  those  of  the  enemy  were  not  less  than 
4:0,000,  and  the  presence  of  Gens.  Grant,  Butler  and  Hancock  on 
the  field  attested  the  breadth  and  seriousness  of  the  enterprise.  Yet 
this  important  and  brilliant  victory  was  scarcely  ever  heard  of  in 
Richmond,  a  few  miles  away.  The  only  notice  of  it  was  a  para 
graph  in  the  Whig,  giving  the  credit  to  Mahone — who  had  never 
been  nearer  the  battle-field  than  Petersburg,  and  who  was  even 
ignorant  that  a  battle  had  been  fought — and  "  hoping  that  his  mod 
esty  would  not  prevent  him  hereafter  from  at  least  reporting  his 
victories."  Field's  division  was  not  even  mentioned — a  remark 
able  instance  indeed  of  apocrypha,  and  the  uncertainty  of  "  the 
gazette  "  in  heralding  and  distributing  the  honours  of  war. 

It  was  in  the  last  days  of  the  Confederacy  that  Field's  division 
shone  in  its  greatest  and  most  peculiar  glory  ;  for,  to  the  very  day 
of  the  surrender,  it  was  remarkable  that  this  body  of  troops  was  in 
prime  fighting  condition,  compact  and  brilliant,  partaking  of  none 
of  the  disorganization  around  it,  animated  by  its  glorious  memories, 
and  retaining  its  arms  and  spirit  to  the  last.  We  respond  to  the 
noble  and  touching  pride  of  its  commander,  when  he  writes :  "  I 
am  proud  of  my  division,  always  was,  but  was  never  so  proud  of 
it  as  on  that  black  9th  of  April,  when,  for  the  first  time  on  the 
retreat,  our  army  was  all  together,  and  I  could  compare  their  sol 
dierly  appearance  and  numbers  and  bearing  with  the  wrecks  about 
me."  On  the  1st  April,  Field's  division  was  about  the  strength  of 
the  others;  on  the  9th  he  surrendered  nearly  5,000  men — more 
than  half  Gen.  Lee's  entire  infantry  force  surrendered  in  arms. 
Although  it  constituted  the  rear-guard  on  the  retreat,  and  was  thus 
constantly  exposed,  there  was  scarcely  a  straggler  from  the  divi 
sion,  and  but  few  captures.  The  division  was  composed  of  five 
brigades:  Laws'  Alabama,  Jenkins'  (afterwards  Bratton's)  South 
Carolina,  Benning's  and  Anderson's  Georgia,  and  Gregg's  Texas. 
Jenkins  was  killed  in  the  Wilderness,  and  Benning  badly  wounded 
there.  At  Cold  Harbour,  Law  was  wounded  slightly,  but  was 
afterwards  detached,  and  never  rejoined  his  brigade.  At  Charles 
City  road,  October  7,  1864,  Gregg  was  killed,  and  Bratton  pain 
fully  wounded. 

Gen.  Field  relates  a  pleasant  incident  of  the  surrender.  While 
his  division  was  at  Appomattox  Court-House,  waiting  to  obtain 
their  paroles,  Gen.  Meade,  whose  army  was  just  in  his  rear,  sent 


MAJ.-GEN.   CHAKLES   W.   FIELD.  523 

to  request  that  Gen.  Field  would  conduct  him  through  his  lines, 
on  his  way  to  make  his  personal  respects  to  Gen.  Lee,  who  was  a 
mile  in  front.  As  Gen.  Meade  at  the  head  of  a  large  and  brilliant 
staff  passed  through  Field's  Division,  the  men  gathered  along  the 
route  in  numerous  squads,  attracted  by  the  spectacle.  The  two 
Generals  were  side  by  side  conversing,  when  Gen.  Meade  turned 
to  Gen.  Field,  with  the  remark,  "your  troops  are  very  compli 
mentary  to  me."  "  How  so?"  asked  the  latter.  "  Why,  those 
fellows  there," — pointing  to  a  group  of  soiled  and  grim  Confede 
rates — "  say  I  look  like  a  Eebel."  "  Do  you  take  that  for  a  com 
pliment?"  said  Gen.  Field.  "To  be  sure  I  do,"  replied  Gen. 
Meade ;  "  any  people  who  have  shown  the  courage  and  spirit  you 
have,  must  have  their  admirers  everywhere." 


MAJ.-GEN.  ROBERT  E.  RODES. 


CHAPTER  XLYIL 

Graduates  at  the  Yirginia  Military  Institute. — A  civil  engineer  in  Alabama. — Elected 
to  a  Professor's  chair  in  the  Yirginia  Military  Institute. — Commands  a  Brigade 
at  Seven  Pines. — Gallantry  at  Chancellors ville. — Complimented  on  the  field  by 
Stonewall  Jackson. — Killed  at  Winchester. — A  touching  tribute  to  his  memory. 

ROBEKT  E.  RODES  was  born  in  Yirginia,  but  was  a  citizen  of 
Alabama  when  that  State  seceded  from  the  Union.  He  was  the 
second  son  of  the  late  Gen.  David  Rodes  of  the  city  of  Lynch- 
burg.  He  entered  the  Yirginia  Military  Institute  as  a  cadet  in 
July,  1845,  and  graduated  with  great  distinction,  July  4,  1848. 
His  eminent  qualifications  as  a  scholar  and  a  soldier  led  to  his 
immediate  appointment  as  assistant  professor  in  the  Institute,  and 
he  discharged  the  duties  of  this  position  with  the  highest  credit 
until  July,  1851,  when  he  resigned,  to  enter  the  profession  of 
civil  engineering. 

In  this  new  field  he  soon  rose  to  distinction  and,  having 
removed  to  Alabama,  he  was  appointed  the  chief-engineer  of  the 
Great  Northeastern  and  Southwestern  railroad,  connecting  New 
Orleans  with  Tuscaloosa. 

When  the  State  of  Louisiana  was  about  to  organize  the  Mili 
tary  Academy  at  Alexandria,  the  name  of  Rodes  was  presented 
to  the  Board  of  Yisitors,  without  his  knowledge,  for  the  position 
of  Superintendent  of  that  Institution.  The  uncertainty  of  his 
acceptance  of  the  appointment,  and  other  considerations,  led  to 
the  selection  of  the  now  notorious  Maj.-Gen.  "Wm.  T.  Sherman. 

In  1859,  the  Board  of  Yisitors  of  the  Yirginia  Military  Insti 
tute,  in  the  organization  of  the  school  of  Applied  Science,  divided 
the  Chair  of  Natural  Philosophy,  then  occupied  by  "  Stonewall " 


MAJ.-GEN.   EGBERT  E.   BODES.  525 

Jackson  and  formed  a  Chair  of  Applied  Mechanics.  To  this  chair 
Eodes  was  unanimously  elected,  and,  although  the  interruption 
of  the  war  forced  him  to  take  the  field,  he  was  always  regarded 
as  professor  elect  in  the  honourable  institution  of  learning  where 
his  own  genius  had  been  nurtured,  and  around  which  his  affec 
tions  clung  to  the  last  moment  of  his  life. 

He  promptly  joined  the  standard  of  his  adopted  State,  Alabama, 
and  raised  a  company  of  Infantry  of  which  he  was  elected  captain. 
This  company  was  incorporated  in  the  5th  Alabama  Regiment, 
and,  on  the  organization  of  the  regiment,  Rodes  was  chosen  its 
Colonel.  He  came  to  Virginia  in  command  of  his  regiment,  in 
May,  1861 ;  and  his  career  soon  gave  evidence  of  the  heroism  and 
gallantry,  which  afterwards  immortalized  the  name  of  his  brigade 
and  division  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Brigadier-General  at  Manassas,  his  command  shared 
in  all  the  hardships  and  glory  of  the  first  campaign  of  Virginia. 
At  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines  he  led  the  charge  upon  the  intrench 
ed  position  of  the  enemy,  and  carried  it  with  fearful  loss  to  his 
brigade,  he  himself  receiving  a  severe  wound.  His  command  on 
this  field  was  composed  of  the  3d,  5th,  6th,  12th  and  26th  Ala 
bama  regiments  and  Carter's  battery,  making  an  aggregate  of 
about  1,500  men. 

In  the  estimation  of  his  friends,  he  won,  on  this  bloody  field, 
promotion  to  a  higher  grade ;  but  this  honour  was  delayed  to 
make  his  merits  more  conspicuous.  At  the  battle  of  Chancellors- 
ville,  as  senior  Brigadier,  he  commanded  D.  H.  Hill's  division, 
and  it  was  his  gallant  charge,  with  his  clarion  shout,  "  Forward 
men — over  friend  or  foe !"  that  broke  the  enemy's  line.  It  was 
the  most  glorious  incident  of  his  military  life.  With  one  division 
he  drove  before  him  the  whole  right  wing  of  Hooker  for  three  hours. 
He  had  fought  under  the  eye  of  Jackson  and  won  the  last  and 
characteristic  applause  of  the  great  commander  on  the  field 
of  battle.  "Gen.  Rodes,"  he  said,  "your  commission  as  Major- 
General  shall  date  from  the  2d  May."  The  promise  of  Gen.  Jack 
son  was  studiously  fulfilled  by  the  government  immediately  after 
his  death,  and  Gen.  Rodes  was  promoted  and  placed  in  permanent 
command  of  the  division  he  had  so  bravely  led  at  Chancellors- 
ville.  He  continued  to  lead  it  with  consummate  gallantry  and 
skill  until  the  disastrous  batte  of  Winchester,  in  the  autumn  of 


526  MAJ.-GEN.   ROBERT  E.   RODES. 

1864,  when  he  fell  at  its  head  in  the  execution  of  an  attack  against 
the  enemy  which  promised  to  decide  the  day.  He  was  struck  in 
the  head  by  a  ball,  and  died  in  half  an  hour  after  reaching  the 
hospital. 

Young,  earnest,  vigilant,  intrepid,  sagacious,  Gen.  Rodes  was 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  valuable  division  commanders  in  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  His  loss  was  keenly  felt ;  a  bright 
career  of  usefulness  and  distinction  was  before  him ;  yet  he  had 
already  accomplished  a  name  to  be  remembered,  and  he  sleeps 
with  honour  in  the  soldier's  grave,  reposing  in  the  bosom  of  his 
own  Virginia.  Truly,  proudly  and  tenderly  has  Gen.  Francis  H. 
Smith,  the  revered  scholar  and  honoured  superintendent  of  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute,  written  over  the  graves  of  the  two 
men  whom  this  school  claims  as  her  ornaments :  "  Jackson  and 
Rodes,  associate  professors  in  the  same  institution,  associate  officers 
in  the  same  army,  each  finds  a  resting  place  on  the  banks  of  our 
noble  James,  and  Lexington  and  Lynchburg  will  henceforth  be 
the  Meccas  of  the  patriot  soldier  in  his  pilgrimage  of  honour  to 
the  sleeping  heroes  of  our  Revolution  !" 


MAJ.-GEN.  ARNOLD  ELZEY. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

A  captain  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  surrender  of  the  Augusta  Arsenal  to  the 
State  of  Georgia, — "  The  Blucher  of  Manassas." — Services  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valley. — Wounded  at  Games'  Mills. — His  successful  command  of  the  Department 
of  Richmond. 

ARNOLD  ELZEY  was  born  in  1816,  in  Somerset  county,  Mary 
land.  He  graduated  at  "West  Point,  in  1837,  at  the  early  age 
of  twenty,  and  was  assigned  to  the  Second  Kegiment  of  Artillery. 
He  served  in  this  regiment  and  in  the  line  (never  being  on  staff 
duty)  until  he  resigned  from  the  United  States  army,  in  1861,  to 
offer  his  services  to  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

In  the  first  Florida  war  he  bore  a  gallant  and  conspicuous  part, 
as  also  in  the  campaigns  of  Mexico.  He  was  at  the  siege  of 
Fort  Brown  (the  initiation  of  hostilities),  and  himself  fired  the  first 
gun  discharged  in  the  Mexican  War.  He  served  with  distinc 
tion  through  the  entire  struggle,  and  was  brevetted  captain  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  in  the  battles  of  Contreras  and 
Cherubusco. 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities  between  the  North  and 
South,  Capt.  Elzey  was  in  command  of  the  Augusta  (Georgia) 
arsenal,  which  was  garrisoned  by  one  company.  He  surren 
dered  to  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  by  this  act  incurred  the  dis 
pleasure  of  the  Washington  authorities,  and  was  banished  to 
Fortress  Monroe.  While  at  the  Fortress,  he  tendered  his  resig 
nation  to  the  Government,  and  asked  for  leave  of  absence,  which 
was  refused.  He  then  made  his  escape  to  Baltimore,  immedi 
ately  after  the  secession  of  Virginia,  and  offered  his  services  to 
his  native  State.  Procrastination  in  the  action  of  Maryland 
through  her  Governor,  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  leave  the 
State.  He  went  directly  to  Montgomery,  was  commissioned  by 
President  Davis,  and  sent  to  Virginia,  where  he  was  assigned  to 


528  MAJ.-GEN.   ARNOLD  ELZEY. 

the  command  of  the  1st  Maryland  regiment  of  infantry,  then 
being  organized.  After  the  evacuation  of  Harper's  Ferry,  this 
regiment,  together  with  the  10th  Yirginia  (commanded  by  Col. 
Gibbons,— killed  at  McDowell),  the  13th  Virginia  (Col.  and 
afterwards  Lieut.-Gen.  A.  P.  Hill),  the  3d  Tennessee,  (Col., 
afterwards  Brig.-Gen.  Yaughn),  and  the  Newtown  Battery,  were 
organized  as  the  Fourth  Brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah, 
and  Col.  Elzey  as  senior  officer  was  put  in  command ;  leaving 
the  immediate  command  of  the  1st  Maryland  regiment  to  Lieut- 
Col.  George  H.  Stewart. 

This  brigade  was  distinguished  at  the  First  Manassas,  arriving 
on  the  field  when  the  scale  of  battle  had  almost  turned  against 
the  Confederate  side.  Colonel  Elzey  received  the  highest  praise 
for  his  gallantry,  and  the  skill  displayed  by  him  on  this  occasion 
in  handling  his  troops,  and  was  personally  complimented  by 
Gen.  Beauregard,  who  termed  him  the  "  Blucher  of  the  Day." 
Elzey  was  promoted  to  the  position  of  Brigadier-General,  to  date 
from  the  memorable  21st  July,  and  his  brigade  was  assigned  to 
duty  in  the  "  Reserve  Divison "  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
(Second  Corps)  then  commanded  by  Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith, 
and  afterwards  by  Gen.  Ewell.  Gen.  Smith  was  very  seriously 
wounded  at  Manassas,  while  within  a  few  feet  of  Elzey ;  but  the 
latter  escaped  injury,  though  exposed  to  the  hottest  fire.  Elzey's 
brigade  served  as  rear  guard  to  the  army,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Rappahannock,  after  Gen.  Johnston  had  moved  the  greater  part 
of  his  command  to  the  Peninsula,  and  was  afterwards  with  the 
rest  of  the  "Reserve  Division  "  sent  to  join  Jackson  in  the  Valley. 
Gen.  Elzey  served  through  Jackson's  celebrated  Valley  campaign 
-—at  Front  Royal,  Winchester,  Bolivar  Heights,  Strasburg,  and 
Cross  Keys,  on  which  last  field  he  was  slightly  wounded  and  his 
horse  killed  under  him.  His  wound  prevented  him  from  joining 
in  the  battle  of  the  next  day  at  Port  Republic.  The  position  of 
the  Confederate  forces  at  Cross  Keys  was  selected  by  him,  and 
Gen.  Ewell  frequently  availed  himself  of  Elzey 's  experience  and 
advice  during  the  engagement.  The  official  reports  of  Jack 
son  and  Ewell  will  show  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was  held 
oy  these  officers. 

At  Gaines'  Mills,  on  the  27th  June,  1862,  Elzey's  brigade  was 
in  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  and  suffered  heavy  loss.  Gen.  Elzey 


MAJ.-GEN.   ARNOLD  ELZEY.  529 

was  severely  wounded  by  a  musket  ball  through  the  face  and 
head,  and  was  carried  from  the  field.  Captain  T.  O.  Chestney, 
his  Assistant  Adjutant-General,  was  wounded  through  the 
shoulder ;  Lieut.  C.  "W.  McDonald,  Acting  Inspector,  was  killed, 
and  Lieut.  Fields,  who  took  McDonald's  place,  was  also  killed. 

After  the  recovery  of  the  General,  he  was  promoted  Major- 
General,  and  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Department 
of  Richmond  which  then  extended  from  the  James  River  to  the 
operations  of  Lee's  army  on  the  Potomac.  "While  in  command 
of  this  department,  he  organized  the  "Local  Defence  Brigade," 
composed  of  the  government  clerks  and  workmen  in  Richmond. 
This  force  afterwards  did  good  service  in  repelling  raids  of  the 
enemy,  which  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  and  the  safety  of 
Richmond  on  several  occasions  was  determined  by  the  avail 
ability  of  this  command.  The  capture  of  Dahlgren  ;  the  destruc 
tion  of  a  Federal  gunboat  in  James  River ;  the  defeat  of  Stone- 
man's,  Kilpatrick's  and  Sheridan's  attempts  on  Richmond,  at 
various  times,  and  the  repulse  of  numberless  raiding  parties 
of  the  enemy,  served  to  show  the  vigilance  of  Gen.  Elzey  while 
holding  this  important  command.  Gen.  Lee  complimented  him 
in  writing  on  the  fine  appearance  and  quick  movements  of  his 
heavy  artillery  command,  when  ordered  to  distant  parts  of  the 
department,  and  the  entire  forces  serving  in  his  command  were 
always  kept  in  efficient  condition. 

In  the  early  months  of  1864,  Gen.  Elzey  was  sent  to  Staunton 
to  organize  the  "  Maryland  Line,"  and,  after  accomplishing  all 
that  could  be  done  to  that  end,  was  transferred  to  the  Army  of 
Tennessee,  where  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  all  the  artil 
lery  of  Hood's  forces.  The  peculiar  organization  of  this  com 
mand  (attached  to  separate  divisions  and  brigades)  prevented 
Gen.  Elzey  from  exhibiting  his  talents,  except  on  one  or  two 
occasions  in  the  retreat  from  Nashville  ;  and  the  subsequent  dis 
solution  of  Hood's  army  left  him  without  a  command  during  the 
short  time  that  elapsed  between  that  event  and  the  general  sur 
render  of  the  Confederate  forces. 

Like  many  others  of  the  military  leaders  of  the  Confederacy, 
Gen.  Elzey  has,  since  the  war,  betaken  himself  to  the  peculiarly 
retired  life  of  a  farmer,  and  has  exchanged  the  sword  for  the 
implements  of  industry. 

34 


MAJ.-GEN.  SAM  JONES. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Early  military  services  in  the  field,  at  West  Point  and  at  Washington. — Appointed 
on  G-en.  Beauregard's  staff. — Commands  Bartow's  Brigade. — Ordered  to  Pensa- 
cola. — Various  services  on  the  Western  theatre  of  the  War. — Commands  the 
Trans- Alleghany  Department. — Relieves  Gen.  Beauregard  at  Charleston. — Defence 
of  Tallahassee. — Breadth  and  variety  of  his  military  experience. 

THE  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Powhatan  county,  Vir 
ginia,  in  the  year  1819.  .  His  ancestors,  the  Joneses,  Moseleys, 
and  Gileses,  were  among  the  earliest  English  settlers  in  that  part 
of  Virginia,  where  many  of  their  descendants  reside  to  this  day. 
Sam  Jones,  after  obtaining  the  early  education  usually  given  to 
the  sons  of  Virginia  gentlemen,  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1841, 
and  for  several  years  subsequent  was  assigned  to  duty  in  that 
,-academy  as  assistant  professor  of  mathematics.  On  the  24th 
December,  1853,  he  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy  in  his  regi 
ment,  and  joined  his  company  on  the  Mexican  frontier  at  Larado 
(Fort  Mclntosh),  Texas.  In  1855  he  was  appointed  commandant 
and  professor  of  engineering  in  the  Georgia  Military  Institute, 
but  resigned  the  chair  of  instruction  after  filling  it  for  a  few 
months.  In  the  autumn  of  1858  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the 
War  Department  at  Washington,  and  was  at  the  seat  of  the  gov 
ernment  during  the  stormy  and  eventful  sessions  of  Congress 
preceding  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  On  the  secession  of 
Virginia,  he  threw  up  his  commission,*  and  transferred  his  mili 
tary  fortunes  to  the  service  of  his  native  State. 

*  Once  for  all,  we  may  notice  here  a  vapid  and  common  remark  in  Northern 
newspapers  with  reference  to  the  conduct  of  those  army-officers  born  in  the  Southern 
States  who  resigned  .their  commissions  to  take  up  arms  for  their  native  States,  on 


MA J.- GEN.   SAM  JONES.  531 

His  first  noticeable  service  was  on  the  field  of  Manassas,  1861, 
in  the  capacity  of  Chief  of  Artillery  .and  Ordnance  on  Gen. 
Beauregard's  staff.  On  the  day  succeeding  the  battle,  President 
Davis  appointed  him  a  Brigadier-General,  and  Gen.  Johnston 
assigned  him  to  the  command  of  the  brigade  at  the  head  of  which 
the  gallant  and  lamented  Bartow  had  fallen.  It  was  composed 
of  the  7th,  8th,  9th,  and  llth  Georgia  regiments,  1st  Kentucky, 
and  Alburtis's  battery  of  Virginia  field  artillery.  This  body  of 
troops  afterwards  did  long  and  gallant  service  in  Virginia,  under 
different  commanders ;  but  as  early  as  January,  1862,  Gen.  Jones 
was  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Bragg  at  Pensacola,  and  after 
wards,  on  promotion  as  Major-General,  had  various  commands  in 
the  "West.  These  were  without  remarkable  incident.  He  com- 

their  secession  from  the  Union.  They  have  been  flippantly  and  constantly  accused 
of  ingratitude,  because  it  was  said  that  the  United  States  had  educated  them.  But,  in 
this  regard,  their  gratitude  was  due  to  their  States,  and  every  motive  of  patriotism 
and  generosity  urged  them  to  respond  to  their  call  in  the  hour  of  danger.  To  their 
States  they  owed  their  military  education.  The  military  school  at  West  Point  was 
common  to  all  the  States.  Each  had  the  right  to  send  there  a  certain  number  of 
cadets,  just  as  each  had  the  right  (now  like  other  rights  denied  them)  to  send  a  cer 
tain  number  of  Senators  and  Representatives  to  the  Congress  at  Washington.  Indeed, 
the  cadets,  with  the  exception  of  ten  each  year,  who,  by  special  act,  were  selected 
by  the  President,  were  taken  from  Congressional  districts,  and  were  nominated,  and, 
in  effect,  appointed  by  their  representatives  in  Congress. 

As  for  the  political  integrity  of  these  resignations  from  the  U.  S.  Army,  it  is  well 
known  that,  while  its  officers  meddled  but  little  with  politics,  they  had  their  opin 
ions  as  other  educated  gentlemen  on  the  public  questions  of  the  day,  and  that  a  very 
large  majority  entertained  the  "State-Eights"  theory  of  the  government.  They 
believed  that  the  citizen  of  the  State  owed  allegiance  to  the  United  States  only  by 
virtue  of  the  relation  of  the  State  to  the  General  Government.  If  Virginia  had  not 
(unfortunately,  as  it  now  appears,)  ratified  the  Constitution  and  become  one  of  the 
United  States,  her  citizens  would  not  have  been  citizens  of  the  United  States.  But 
the  action  of  the  State  controlled  the  citizen,  no  matter  how  strongly  he  disapproved 
of  that  action.  It  was  plain  to  the  ordinary  mind  that,  when  the  interest  and  safety  of 
her  citizens  demanded  it,  the  State  had  the  same  right  to  secede  from,  that  she  had 
to  accede  to,  the  Union ;  and  that  the  action  of  the  Convention  which  dissolved  its 
connection  with  the  United  States  was  as  binding  on  its  citizens  as  the  action  of  the 
Convention  which  made  her  a  State  of  the  Union.  And  this,  we  believe,  has  always 
been  the  belief  of  a  large  majority  of  the  Southern  people.  Patrick  Henry,  Presi 
dent  Monroe,  and  others,  who,  as  members  of  the  Convention,  opposed  the  ratifica 
tion  of  the  old  Constitution,  yielded  to  the  action  of  the  State  as  expressed  by  the 
Convention  of  the  people.  So  in  1861,  other  Virginians,  equally  intelligent  and 
patriotic,  yielded  obedience  to  the  action  of  the  Convention  which  they  disapproved, 
and  cast  in  their  lot  with  their  State. 


532  MAJ.-GEN.   SAM  JONES. 

inanded  a  division  in  Yan  Dora's  army,  assembled  at  Corinth; 
and,  when  Gen.  Bragg  invaded  Kentucky,  Gen.  Jones  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  his  base  of  operations,  with  his 
headquarters  at  Chattanooga. 

On  the  termination  of  the  Kentucky  campaign,  Gen.  E.  Kirby 
Smith  resumed  command  of  the  Department  of  East  Tennessee, 
and  Gen.  Jones  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Trans- Alle- 
ghany,  or  Department  of  West  Yirginia.  This,  though  an  impor 
tant,  was  perhaps  the  least  desirable  command  in  the  Confederacy. 
It  embraced  a  very  wide  and  vulnerable  extent  of  country,  with 
a  force  wholly  inadequate  to  its  defense.  The  results  of  the  war 
in  that  department  had  been  generally  unfortunate,  and  with  the 
mass  of  the  people,  success  being  the  criterion  of  merit,  those 
who  had  commanded  in  that  section  of  country  had  been  regarded 
with  but  little  favour.  First,  the  gallant  Gen.  Eobert  Garnett  had 
been,  with  his  small  force,  overwhelmed  by  McClellan  at  Rich 
Mountain,  and  lost  his  life  in  an  unequal  struggle,  while  endeav 
ouring  to  save  his  raw  and  undisciplined  troops  from  destruction. 
Gens.  Floyd  and  Wise,  scarcely  less  hostile  towards  each  other 
than  to  the  common  enemy,  had  been  unable  to  hold  the  country. 
Even  Gen.  Lee,  who  was  sent  to  command  them  both,  failed  to 
regain  the  lost  ground,  and  it  is  no  disparagement  to  him,  but 
rather  a  reflection  on  the  self-constituted  critics,  to  say,  that  he 
left  that  command  without  that  eclat  with  which  he  entered  it,  or 
the  love  and  admiration  he  afterwards  won  and  always  deserved. 
Gen.  Heth,  who  succeeded  him,  was  unfortunate  at  Lewisburg, 
and  during  his  administration  the  enemy  penetrated  still  further 
into  the  country.  Gen.  Loring,  eager  to  regain  the  lost  ground, 
gallantly  drove  back  the  enemy,  and  penetrated  into  Kanawha 
Yalley.  But  his  troops  were  soon  forced  to  retire  and  leave  that 
rich  country  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  All  of  these  officers 
were  prevented  from  accomplishing  what  was  so  much  desired 
by  the  lack  of  anything  approaching  an  adequate  force,  and  the 
same  insuperable  difficulty  was  in  the  way  of  Gen.  Jones,  and  his 
successor,  Gen.  Breckenridge. 

On  this  adverse  theatre  of  the  war,  Gen.  Jones  achieved  what 
must  be  regarded,  in  the  light  of  all  the  circumstances,  as  won 
derful  successes.  He  encountered  the  famous  raid  of  Averill,  and 
brought  to  nought  its  main  purposes ;  he  frustrated  Gen.  Burn- 


MAJ.-GEN.   SAM  JONES.  533 

side's  projected  invasion  of  South-western  Yirginia,  and  by  the 
detention  of  this  force  of  the  enemy  in  East  Tennessee  withheld 
it  from  Chickamauga  and  contributed  to  the  great  victory  of  the 
Confederates  there  ;  and  he  saved  the  invaluable  Salt  works  and 
the  Yirginia  and  Tennessee  railroad  without  forcing  Gen.  Lee  to 
the  necessity  of  making  large  detachments  from  his  army  to  con 
front  the  enemy  in  this  part  of  the  State.  For  fifteen  months  he 
encountered  and  overcame  every  effort  of  the  enemy  within  the 
limits  of  his  department,  and  when  he  relinquished  the  command 
to  Gen.  Breckenridge,  in  March,  1864,  his  troops  held  all  the  ter 
ritory  they  occupied  when  he  assumed  it. 

On  the  19th"  April,  1864,  Gen.  Jones  reached  Charleston,  and 
relieved  Gen.  Beauregard  in  command  of  that  department,  the 
latter  having  been  ordered  to  Yirginia.  He  commanded  this 
department  six  months,  under  very  disadvantageous  circumstan 
ces,  during  a  critical  period  of  the  war ;  and,  when  Sherman 
inarched  upon  Savannah,  it  was  mainly  by  Gen.  Jones'  exertions 
that  Gen.  Hardee's  line  of  retreat  was  kept  open  to  Charleston. 
The  fall  of  Savannah  having  involved  Florida  and  South  Georgia, 
cutting  them  off  from  the  Department  headquarters  at  Charleston, 
Gen.  Jones  was  assigned  to  command  in  the  isolated  district.  He 
defended  the  town  of  Tallahassee  against  an  attack  of  the  enemy 
on  the  6th  March,  1865.  A  Confederate  officer  who  took  part  in 
the  defence,  says :  u  The  straits  to  which  the  South  was  driven 
for  troops  was  strikingly  exemplified  in  this  affair.  Side  by  side, 
in  the  Confederate  line,  were  two  companies  in  curious  contrast. 
One  was  known  as  the  c  old  men's '  company,  from  Quincy,  com 
manded  by  a  distinguished  Judge  of  the  State,  into  the  ranks  of 
which  no  man  under  fifty  years  of  age  was  admitted.  The  other 
was  a  company  of  '  Cadets,'  mere  boys,  many  of  them  not  over 
fourteen  years  of  age.  Both  did  their  duty  well."  On  the  10th 
May,  1865,  Gen.  Jones  surrendered  his  command  under  instruc 
tions  from  Gen.  Johnston. 

The  military  career  of  Gen.  Jones  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  He  had 
been  entrusted  with  independent  commands  of  great  extent  and 
responsibility.  That  in  so  large  a  military  experience  he  suf 
fered  no  considerable  disaster  is,  indeed,  remarkable.  The  dis 
parity  of  the  two  belligerent  forces  made  it  impracticable  to 


534  MAJ.-GEN.   SAM  JONES. 

retain  in  large  departments  forces  adequate  to  their  defence; 
they  were  drained  to  supply  the  chief  armies  in  the  field.  This 
taxed,  to  the  utmost,  the  energy  and  capacity  of  Department  com 
manders!  Gen.  Jones  felt  this  keenly.  In  one  of  his  last  official 
letters,  recommending  certain  changes  in  the  military  districts  of 
Georgia  and  Florida,  he  says :  "  It  will  hardly  be  supposed  that 
I  make  these  suggestions  simply  to  enlarge  the  area  of  my 
authority.  I  have  known  for  the  greater  part  of  three  years  now 
the  anxious,  harrassing  and  thankless  duty  of  commanding  in  a 
large  area  of  country  without  anything  approaching  the  adequate 
means  of  defending  it.  I  make  the  suggestions  because  I  think 
that  if  adopted  they  will  tend  to  promote  the  interest  of  our 
country  and  cause."  He  had,  however,  so  administered  the 
trust  confided  to  him,  that  no  territory  had  ever  been  won  from 
him  by  the  enemy,  and  the  Confederate  cause  had  never  suffered 
a  serious  reverse  within  the  limits  of  his  command. 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B,  GORDON. 


CHAPTER    L. 

Appearance  of  a  new  hero  in  the  last  year  of  the  war. — Ancestral  stock  of  John  B. 
Gordon. — "The  Raccoon  Roughs." — The  6th  Alabama  at  Seven  Pines. — Personal 
heroism  of  CoL  Gordon. — At  South  Mountain. — His  bloody  and  picturesque  figure 
on  the  field  of  Sharpsburg.— Gen.  Gordon  as  an  orator. — A  soldier's  commentary 
on  his  eloquence. — His  part  in  the  Pennsylvania  campaign. — A  telling  speech  to 
Yankee  women. — His  counsels  at  Gettysburg. — His  splendid  action  in  the  Wil 
derness. — Anight  attack  upon  the  enemy. — Gen.  Gordon  rides  through  the  enemy's 
lines. — His  glorious  counter-charge  at  Spottsylvania  Court-House. — His  part  in  the 
Valley  campaign  of  1864. — A  novel  and  interesting  version  of  the  battle  of  Cedar 
Creek. — Gen.  Gordon's  plan  of  attack  rejected  or  not  executed  by  Gen.  Early. — 
His  position  and  figure  hi  the  last  scene  at  Appomattox  Court-House. — Review  of 
his  military  services. — A  representative  of  the  "  Young  South." — His  admirable 
sentiment  and  advice  since  the  surrender. 

In  the  last  periods  and  declining  fortunes  of  the  war,  a  new  and 
lustrous  name  appeared  in  the  army  of  Virginia,  kindling  the 
admiration  and  hopes  of  the  people.  It  is  well  remembered  how 
repeated,  towards  the  last  scenes  of  the  war,  was  the  name  "  Gor 
don  " ;  and  men  who  had  watched  for  the  successor  to  Jackson  and 
prayed  for  "  a  day  of  their  lost  Dundee,"  declared  that  he  had 
at  last  appeared  in  the  fiery  Georgian.  The  bright  and  growing 
light  however  was  soon  extinguished  in  the  swift  sequence  of  dis 
aster,  surrender  and  submission ;  and  the  last  sad  story  of  the 
war,  at  Appomattax  Court-House,  was  ended  with  Gordon  in  the 
front — Gordon  and  his  2,000  men  prepared  to  cut  through  the 
enemy,  arming  to  die,  willing  to  give  to  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  its  last  example  of  desperate  courage,  its  dying  testi 
mony  of  devotion.  It  was  not  permitted.  And  it  was  not  nec 
essary.  In  these  last  days,  Gordon  was  the  thunderbolt  of  the 


536  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON. 

Army  of  Northern  Virginia ;  his  name  was  familiar  in  every  circle 
of  admiration ;  and  yet  it  was  a  novel  name  to  those  who  used 
it  most  familiarly,  and  men,  regarding  the  new  hero  as  a  sort 
of  apparition,  scarcely  knew  his  former  military  life,  or  remem 
bered  the  slow  and  painful  steps  of  the  young  officer  commencing 
at  the  early  part  of  the  war  the  ladder  of  fame,  and  climbing  it 
almost  unnoticed,  until  the  popular  shout  hailed  him  in  the  last 
stages  of  his  adventure. 

O 

It  is  our  task  to  go  back  to  the  commencement  of  this  career,  and 
to  present,  in  a  summary  sketch,  the  military  life  of  this  remark 
able  man.  John  B.  Gordon  was  born  in  Upson  County,  Georgia, 
February  6,  1832.  The  family  is  descended  from  the  Gordons 
of  Scotland  ;  came  to  America  shortly  before  the  Revolution  of 
1776,  and  made  its  mark  in  the  eight  years'  war.  The  grand 
father  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  volunteered  in  the  Continental 
army  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  served  through  the  entire  war. 
One  of  his  brothers  distinguished  himself  by  a  singular  feat  in 
the  battle  of  King's  Mountain — rushing  in  charge  upon  the  Brit 
ish  lines,  seizing  one  of  the  officers  by  his  queue,  and  running 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain  with  him  ! 

At  the  time  the  South  was  aroused  for  war,  John  B.  Gordon 
was  engaged  in  some  mining  enterprises,  and  was  living  in  Jack 
son  county,  Alabama.  When  it  was  ascertained  that  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  elected  President,  he  raised  a  company  of  cav 
alry  and  offered  it  to  Governor  Moore ;  but  it  was  declined,  as 
cavalry  was  not  then  needed.  He  then  raised  an  infantry  com 
pany,  styled  "Raccoon  Roughs,"  the  men  having  been  raised 
around  Raccoon  Mountain.  This  company  was  accepted  as  one 
of  the  ten  to  compose  the  6th  Alabama  regiment,  and  Gordon 
was  elected  Major.  The  regiment  was  sent  to  Manassas,  and  put 
in  Swell's  brigade,  where  it  had  no  opportunity  of  action  in  the 
first  great  battle  of  the  war,  in  July,  1861.  Gordon  was  after 
wards  elected  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  when  the  regiment  re-or 
ganized  at  Yorktown,  in  April,  1862,  he  was  by  a  unanimous  vote 
of  the  men  elevated  to  the  position  of  Colonel. 

"  Seven  Pines  "  was  the  first  serious  engagement  «>f  the  6th 
Alabama.  But  in  this  single  battle  it  made  a  record  of  glory 
sufficient  for  all  time,  and  achieved  the  bloodiest  and  most  bril 
liant  success  of  the  day.  More  than  two-thirds  of  Gordon's  entire 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON.  537 

command  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  Lieut-Colonel,  the 
Major,  and  the  Adjutant  were  all  killed.  Every  horse  ridden 
into  the  fight  was  killed,  the  one  on  which  Gordon  was  mounted 
being  the  last  to  fall  under  his  rider.  The  terrible  scene  of  death 
occurred  when  the  brave  Alabamians,  having  taken  the  Federal 
breastworks,  were  ordered  to  drive  the  enemy  from  a  dense 
swamp,  in  and  around  which  the  timber  had  been  felled,  making 
an  almost  impassible  abattis.  In  this  charge,  through  a  galling 
fire,  Col.  Gordon  felt  it  his  duty  to  ride  at  the  head  of  his  regiment ; 
although  the  fact,  that  he  was  left  as  the  only  mounted  officer, 
drew  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  sharpshooters  upon  him.  His  horse 
had  been  shot  in  the  breast,  but  was  still  able  to  carry  him.  He 
rode  so  near  the  enemy's  lines  that  officers  and  men  distinctly 
heard  the  Federal  command,  "  Bring  down  that  man  on  horse 
back,"  "  Shoot  that  d d  Colonel,"  etc.  His  noble  animal  at 

last  fell  under  him,  his  clothing  was  pierced  by  three  bullets,  but, 
yet  unhurt,  he  stood  at  the  post  of  danger,  and  the  men  held  the 
ground  they  had  won,  without  a  sign  of  wavering,  until  they  were 
ordered  to  retire.  His  escape  was  almost  miraculous,  and  he  had 
survived  in  the  midst  of  a  great  carnage.  Out  of  600  men,  396 
were  killed  or  wounded,  and  in  one  company  of  forty  there  were 
only  ten  survivors.  The  men  had  fallen  so  rapidly  that  it  was 
impossible  to  carry  them  to  the  rear,  and,  as  they  fought  mostly 
in  water  several  feet  deep,  men  had  to  be  detailed  to  raise  the 
heads  of  the  badly  wounded  to  prevent  them  from  drowning. 

In  this  fight,  Gen.  Rodes,  commander  of  the  brigade  in  which 
was  the  6th  Alabama,  was  wounded,  and,  although  Col.  Gordon 
was  not  the  senior  officer  present,  he  was  placed  in  command 
during  the  absence  of  Rodes.  He  participated  in  the  seven  days 
battles  around  Richmond,  and  at  Malvern  Hill  was  in  command 
of  Rodes'  brigade,  and  led  the  desperate  charge  upon  the  Federal 
batteries  for  half  a  mile  through  an  open  field.  His  brigade  was 
first  in  the  charge  and  left  its- dead  nearer  the  enemy's  guns  than 
did  any  other  Confederate  troops.  Nearly  one  half  the  command 
were  killed  or  wounded  in  the  terrible  onset ;  and  the  Colonel 
had  the  butt  of  his  pistol  carried  away  by  a  ball,  the  breast  of  his 
coat  torn  open  by  another,  and  his  canteen  at  his  side  shot 
through  by  a  third.  So  greatly  did  he  expose  himself,  and  so 
wonderful  had  been  his  escapes,  that  his  men  began  to  think,  and 


538  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN"  B.   GORDON. 

frequently  said,  "  The  ball  has  not  been  moulded  that  can  hurt 
Col.  Gordon!" 

On  Lee's  march  to  Maryland,  Gordon  commanded  the  first 
Confederate  infantry  (Rodes'  brigade)  that  crossed  the  Potomac. 
In  the  battle  of  Boonsboro,  or  South  Mountain,  he  returned  to  the 
immediate  command  of  his  regiment,  Gen.  Rodes  having  taken 
command  of  his  brigade  at  Frederick  city.  In  this  action,  Gordon 
again  distinguished  himself.  Gen.  Rodes,  in  his  official  report, 
declared,  "  Col.  Gordon  handled  his  regiment  in  a  manner  I  have 
never  seen  or  heard  equalled  during  the  war."  Of  his  conduct 
in  the  fight  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  reported  that,  "  Col.  Gordon,  the  Chris 
tian  hero,  excelled  his  former  deeds  at  Seven  Pines  and  in  the 
battles  around  Richmond.  Our  language  is  not  capable  of 
expressing  a  higher  compliment." 

But  it  was  reserved  for  this  heroic  commander,  on  the  closely 
subsequent  field  of  Sharpsburg,  to  give  a  surpassing  and  sublime 
evidence  of  devotion,  to  show  a  Roman  spirit,  such  as  has  been 
scarcely  equalled  in  any  patriotic  struggle  of  modern  times.  In 
the  disposition  for  the  battle,  Gordon's  regiment  occupied  a  salient 
in  the  Confederate  line.  It  was  his  habit,  before  taking  his  men 
into  action,-  to  make  a  few  remarks,  designed  to  act  upon  their 
imaginations  and  raise  their  enthusiasm ;  and,  indeed,  he  was  a 
remarkable  orator,  if  the  test  of  eloquence  is  the  effect  produced. 
As  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  was  riding  along  the  line  just  before  the  fight 
began,  looking  with  evident  concern  at  weak  portions  of  it, 
Gordon,  anxious  to  strengthen  his  men  in  their  determination  to 
hold  their  position,  exclaimed :  "  Gen.  Hill,  you  need  not  fear 
for  this  portion  of  the  line.  These  men  are  going  to  stay  here." 
The  men  caught  the  spirit  of  the  words,  and  the  assurance  was 
carried  along  the  line,  "  Yes,  we  have  come  to  stay."  Alas !  little 
did  the  poor  fellows  know  the  dread  significance  of.  these  words, 
and  how  many  of  them  were  to  stay  on  that  ground,  locked  in 
death's  embrace ! 

And  now  commenced  a  slaughter  at  which  the  imagination 
recoils.  Line  after  line  of  the  enemy  was  repulsed  by  the  gallant 
regiment,  with  a  devouring  fire  both  on  its  front  and  right  flank. 
Only  six  men  from  the  whole  right  wing  of  the  regiment  escaped ; 
all  the  others,  officers  and  men,  were  killed  or  wounded.  Col. 
Gordon  was  wounded  twice,  early  in  the  fight,  two  balls  passing 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   GORDON.  539 

through  his  right  leg,  but  he  refused  to  leave  the  field.  An  hour 
later,  he  was  shot  again,  a  ball  passing  through  his  left  arm,  and 
making  a  hideous  and  most  painful  wound,  mangling  the  tendons 
and  muscles,  and  severing  a  small  artery.  He  bled  rapidly,  his 
arm  was  completely  disabled,  and  his  whole  system  greatly 
shocked.  A  little  while  and  another  ball  penetrated  his  shoul 
der,  leaving  its  base  in  the  wound.  This  was  a  terrible  and 
almost  fatal  shock  to  his  already  weakened  powers,  but  he  yet 
persisted  in  remaining  on  the  field,  and,  haggard  and  bloody, 
turned  to  his  men  and  waved  them  on  to  the  fight.  Even  in 
their  own  peril,  the  troops  were  more  anxious  about  their  com 
mander  ;  they  saw  his  gray  uniform  almost  crimson  from  the 
blood  of  so  many  wounds,  and  they  heard  him  declare  that  he 
would  not  leave  them  as  long  as  he  had  strength  to  utter  a  word  of 
command.  He  had  taken  the  idea  that  all  his  men  were  to  be 
killed  or  wounded,  and  he  determined  to  share  the  patriotic  sacri 
fice.  At  last  the  fifth  ball  struck  him,  passed  entirely  through 
the  left  cheek,  and  brought  him  senseless  to  the  ground.  Besides 
the  five  balls  which  seriously  wounded  him,  two  had  cut  his 
clothes,  one  passing  through  his  cap,  the  other  through  his  pocket, 
indenting  the  steel  clasp  of  his  purse ;  and  a  third  one  had  struck 
him  on  the  breast,  making  a  severe  bruise.  The  courage  that  had 
thus  defied  death,  and  kept  the  field  with  five  unstaunched  wounds, 
was  sublime  ;  and  the  characters  of  heroic  resolution  were  written, 
clear  and  stern  to  the  last,  in  the  pale  face  stained  with  blood. 

He  fell  near  the  lines  of  the  enemy  and  was  for  a  brief  time 
unnoticed.  Describing  to  a  friend  his  sensations  as  he  awoke  to 
Consciousness,  Col.  Gordon  said :  "  While  lying  on  the  ground, 
my  thoughts  were  curious.  I  imagined  that  a  shell  had  carried 
away  about  half  of  my  head,  and  I  discussed  with  myself  the 
question  whether  I  was  a  dead  or  living  <  rebel.'  I  reasoned  thus : 
4  if  you  are  dead,  you  can't  move  a  limb  ;  if  you  are  not  dead, 
you  should  be  able  to  draw  up  your  right  leg.'  For  no  other 
reason  than  to  test  the  question  I  was  thus  discussing,  I  made  an 
eifort  and  moved  one  of  my  legs.  It  brought  me  into  full  pos 
session  of  my  senses,  when  I  scrambled  back  towards  my  men, 
and  was  carried  to  the  rear  by  some  of  them." 

For  several  months  his  life  hung  by  a  thread.  He  had  been 
conveyed  to  Winchester,  where  his  devoted  wife,  who  hovered 


540  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.    GORDON". 

near  him  like  a  guardian  angel  throughout  the  entire  war,  was 
soon  by  his  bed-side  to  administer  to  his  comfort,  and  with  .her 
own  hands  to  bathe  and  dress  his  many  wounds.  His  friends  and 
surgeons  had  but  little  hope  of  his  recovery  ;  but  he  never  des 
paired.  He  studied  to  be  cheerful,  and  when  so  weak  that  he 
could  not  speak  above  a  whisper,  he  was  making  playful  remarks 
to  cheer  his  anxious  wife,  who  could  ill -conceal  the  agony  of 
mind  she  was  suffering  on  his  account.  It  was  his  unfailing 
spirits,  with  the  assiduous  nursing  of  tender  and  affectionate 
hands,  that  effected  his  recovery,  and  restored  him  to  his  country's 
service. 

In  his  report  of  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill 
characterizes  Col.  Gordon  as  the  "  Chevalier  Bayard  of  the  army." 
His  gallantry  did  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  government,  and 
he  was  made  a  Brigadier-General,  after  his  recovery,  in  April, 
1863,  and  placed  in  command  of  the  Georgia  brigade  formerly 
commanded  by  Geu.  A.  K.  Lawton.  The  effect  of  his  fine  dis 
cipline  was  soon  recognized  and  noticed  in  the  reports  of  inspect 
ors.  In  little  more  than  a  month,  from  the  time  he  took  com 
mand,  he  fought  at  Marye's  Hill  in  front  of  Fredericksburg,  and 
retook  the  heights  by  a  brilliant  charge.  It  was  here  he  made  a 
stirring  speech  to  his  men,  the  effect  of  which  is  described  in  an 
anecdote,  characteristic  of  the  Southern  soldier.  After  the  action, 
one  of  the  men  remarked,  in  a  very  serious  manner,  that  he  never 
wished  to  hear  Gen.  Gordon  speak  before  a  battle  any  more. 
"Why?"  asked  his  comrades.  "Because  he  makes  me  feel  like 
I  could  storm  h — 11."  It  was  only  true  eloquence  that  could 
have  extorted  so  peculiar  and  unaffected  a  tribute  to  its  power. 

In  the  outset  of  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  Gen.  Gordon 
was  with  Ewell  at  the  capture  of  Milroy's  forces  in  Winchester. 
Here  he  made  a  handsome  charge  in  the  evening  previous  to  the 
evacuation  of  the  fort,  and  he  was  moving  his  troops  to  storm 
the  fort  itself,  when  it  was  discovered  to  be  evacuated.  He 
crossed  into  Maryland,  and  moved  in  front  of  the  Confederate 
army  on  the  Gettysburg,  Yorkville,  and  Wrightsville  pike. 
Entering  York  with  his  troops,  he  found  the  population  in  great 
alarm,  dreading  all  mariner  of  outrages,  and  the  women  and  chil 
dren  making  preparations  for  flight.  He  rode  quietly  up  to  a 
crowd,  composed  mostly  of  frightened  women,  and  made  them 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON.  541 

an  address  reported  as  follows :  "  Ladies,  this  to  you  is  a  sad 
sight — an  invading  army  in  your  midst.  But  it  is  just  what  our 
wives,  mothers,  and  sisters  have  been  looking  on  for  several 
years.  You  appear  frightened.  You  have  been  told  that '  rebels ' 
are  demons,  and  you  are  expecting  these  men  to  destroy  your 
property,  and  to  insult  you  in  your  streets.  I  am  their  com 
mander,  and  I  wish  to  assure  you  that,  ragged  and  war-worn  as 
you  see  them,  they  are  nevertheless  gentlemen.  They  do  not 
come  in  your  midst  to  burn  houses  and  terrify  women  and  chil 
dren.  It  is  true  you  might  reasonably  expect  such  conduct  in 
retaliation  for  what  they  witnessed  on  their  march  through  the 
Valley  of  Virginia — wagon-loads  of  women  and  children  driven 
from  their  own  homes,  and  allowed  but  sixty  pounds  of  their 
property.  Even  this  morning  I  read  in  the  Philadelphia  Enquirer 
of  the  burning  of  Darien,  in  Georgia,  the  home  of  some  of  these 
very  men  you  look  upon.  These  facts  are  calculated  to  infuriate 
them,  and.  as  I  said,  you  might  reasonably  expect  from  them 
retaliation.  But  they  have  come  to  fight  your  armies,  and  not 
defenceless  women  and  children.  I  pledge  you  that  not  one  pri 
vate  dwelling  will  be  burned  or  robbed  ;  and  so  well  do  I  know 
these  men,  that  I  may  safely  promise  the  head  of  any  one  of 
them  who  insults  a  lady  !  " 

Leaving  York,  with  its  people  wondering  at  the  courtesy  of 
"  the  mild-mannered  rebels,"  Gen.  Gordon  moved  on  to  Wrights- 
ville,  on  the  Susquehanna  river,  and,  by  a  flank  movement  on  the 
enemy's  intrenched  position,  caused  its  evacuation.  The  Federals 
fled,  and  fired  the  bridge  after  they  had  crossed  the  river.  The 
flames  were  communicated  to  adjoining  buildings,  and  the  whole 
town  would  have  been  reduced  to  ashes  but  for  the  generous  and 
supreme  efforts  of  Gordon's  troops  to  subdue  the  conflagration. 
Although  the  men  had  marched  twenty  miles  that  day,  and  had 
been  slightly  engaged  in  front  of  the  town,  Gen.  Gordon  formed 
them  in  lines  around  the  burning  houses,  and  it  was  by  their  per 
severing  work,  continued  far  into  the  night,  that  the  flames  were 
finally  extinguished. 

Next  day  Gen.  Gordon  returned  to  York,  and  thence  to  Get 
tysburg,  to  take  part  in  the  great  battles  fought  there.  On  the 
arrival  of  Early's  division,  Gordon  was  sent  in  to  support  Eodes, 
whose  left  was  being  turned.  He  saw  his  opportunity,  and,  by  a 


542  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   GORDON. 

bold  and  rapid  charge,  broke  the  line  guarding  the  right  flank 
of  the  Federal  army,  after  an  almost  hand-to-hand  conflict,  and 
then  struck  the  flank,  pressed  heavily  forward,  broke  everything 
in  his  front,  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle.  "  It  was  a  most  bril 
liant  charge,"  as  officially  reported ;  and  the  results  showed  an 
amount  of  execution  greater,  perhaps,  than  was  ever  accom 
plished,  in  similar  circumstances  of  the  war,  by  the  same  number 
of  men.  Gordon  left  on  the  field,  counted  by  the  inspectors, 
more  than  400  dead  of  the  enemy.  Taking  the  rate  of  wounded 
as  six  to  one,  there  must  have  been  2,400  of  these  (among  them 
Maj.-Gen.  Barlow) ;  and  there  were  captured  and  turned  over 
to  the  division-inspectors,  1,800  prisoners — the  aggregate  result 
being  that  Gordon's  little  command,  not  over  1,200  muskets,  had 
put  hors  de  combat  4,600  of  the  enemy  in  less  than  an  hour !  So 
great  was  the  success,  that  the  whole  Federal  line  had  retreated, 
and  Gordon  was  anxious  to  continue  the  pursuit  and  seize  the 
heights,  which  the  enemy  afterwards  so  strongly  fortified.  But 
he  was  halted  by  his  superiour  officers.  In  consultation  with 
senior  officers  at  the  close  of  the  day,  he  advised  an  advance  at 
once,  and  expressed  an  opinion  that  the  heights  could  be  taken 
even  at  that  time.  So  strongly  was  he  impressed  with  this  con 
viction,  that  at  night  he  saw  his  superiours  again  and  urged  the 
movement,  offering  to  lead  the  attack  with  his  brigade.  But 
other  counsels  prevailed,  and  the  Confederates  lost  the  opportu 
nity  of  winning  what  might  have  been  the  decisive  victory  of 
the  war. 

Despite  the  record  of  efficiency  and  gallantry  we  have  already 
passed  over,  it  was  not  until  the  momentous  and  vital  campaign 
of  1864,  that  Gordon  found  his  name  familiar  to  the  public,  and 
conspicuous  in  the  gazette.  It  was  on  the  stormy  lines  of  the 
Rapidan  that  he  performed  his  chief  part  in  history,  and  achieved 
his  great  renown.  In  the  first  day's  fight  he  was  in  a  position 
that  drew  all  eyes  upon  him.  On  the  5th  May,  his  command 
was  on  the  pike  leading  from  Orange  Court  House  to  Fredericks- 
burg.  The  Confederate  troops  in  his  front  had  been  engaged 
some  time,  when  they  were  overpowered  and  forced  to  retreat 
rapidly.  Gen.  Ewell  rode  up  to  Gordon,  who  was  quietly  mov 
ing  down  the  pike  at  the  head  of  his  column,  and  said,  "  Gen. 
Gordon,  they  are  driving  us;  the  fate  of  the  day  depends  on 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   GOKDON.  543 

S 

you."  Gordon  replied,  u  We  will  save  it,  General ; "  and  imme 
diately  wheeling  into  line,  he  told  his  men  what  was  expected 
of  them,  and  ordered  them  forward,  riding  in  their  front.  The 
charge  was  successful.  He  broke  the  Federal  line  in  front,  and 
then  designating  certain  troops  to  guard  the  front,  wheeled  his 
right  and  left,  and  swept  down  upon  the  enemy's  flanks  in  both 
directions,  capturing  many  prisoners  and  one  regiment  entire. 

During  the  night  of  the  5th  May,  Gordon  was  transferred  to 
the  extreme  left  of  the  Confederate  army.  As  soon  as  he  had 
got  his  troops  in  position,  and  the  light  of  day  began  to  break, 
he  commenced  himself,  to  reconnoitre  and  to  send  scouts  to 
locate  the  enemy's  right  flank.  He  discovered,  early  in  the 
morning,  that  it  rested  in  a  large  body  of  woods,  and  that  it  was 
assailable — indeed  that  it  was  only  protected  by  a  thin  line  of 
skirmishers.  Gen.  Gordon  was  eager  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  he  had  discovered.  He  rode  forward,  and  sent 
scouts  to  ascertain  if  the  Federals  had  any  force  in  rear  which 
would  endanger  his  command,  should  he  attack  the  exposed  flank. 
Having  satisfied  himself  on  every  point,  he  immediately  applied 
for  permission  to  make  the  attack  with  one  brigade,  supported 
by  two  others.  He  explained,  in  person,  the  situation,  and  sug 
gested  that  the  destruction  of  the  entire  right  wing  of  Grant's 
army  might  be  the  consequence  of  a  vigorous  flank  movement, 
other  Confederate  troops  swinging  around  into  the  attack,  as  their 
fronts  were  cleared,  and  thereby  making  the  movement  one  of 
constantly  increasing  strength.  But  his  suggestions  were  not 
adopted  until  very  late  in  the  afternoon.  Only  a  short  time 
before  the  sun  sank,  he  moved  out  with  his  brigade,  supported 
by  Johnson's  brigade  of  North  Carolinians.  The  probable  effect 
of  the  movement,  if  made  early  in  the  morning,  when  Gen.  Gordon 
fi.rst  suggested  it,  may  be  judged  from  the  success  which  attended 
it  at  dark.  He  struck  the  enemy's  flank  fairly  and  squarely. 
The  surprise  was  complete,  and  the  panic  very  great.  The  Fed 
eral  officers  endeavoured  to  draw  out  brigade  after  brigade,  divi 
sion  after  division,  and  form  at  right  angles  to  the  breastworks, 
so  as  to  check  the  impetuous  attack.  But  Gordon's  men  were 
upon  them  before  they  could  be  properly  placed  in  the  new  posi 
tion.  He  met  with  no  check  until  some  time  after  dark,  when, 
in  the  confusion  attending  all  night  attacks,  one  or  two  of  his 


54:4  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON. 

regiments  on  the  right  faltered  and  gave  way.  But  the  other 
troops  pressed  on  until  the  enemy's  lines  had  been  captured  by 
Gordon's  one  brigade  for  more  than  a  mile,  nearly  1,000  prisoners 
taken,  including  Brig.-Gens.  Seymour  and  Shaler,  and  a  complete 
disorganization  effected  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Sixth  Corps  of 
Grant's  army. 

After  the  battle  was  over,  and  the  pursuit  ended  by  the  dark 
ness,  Gen.  Gordon,  accompanied  by  a  courier,  rode  to  the  front, 
to  look  after  his  picket  lines.  Passing  these  in  the  darkness, 
he  rode  into  the  Federal  lines,  which  were  in  great  confusion, 
exhibiting  no  organization  whatever.  He  had  proceeded  some 
distance,  when  his  courier  said  in  a  low  tone,  "  General,  these  are 
Yankees."  Paying  no  attention  to  the  remark,  Gen.  Gordon 
rode  on,  when  the  courier  said  again,  "  General,  I  tell  you  these 
are  Yankees — their  clothes  are  too  dark  for  our  men."  At  this 
moment  the  General  heard  calls  around  him,  "  Rally  here,  Penn 
sylvania  Regiment."  The  critical  position  did  not  deprive  him 
of  his  presence  of  mind  ;  he  whispered  to  his  courier,  "  Follow  me 
quietly,  Beasley,  and  say  not  a  word."  He  had  not  gone  far, 
when  the  colour  of  his  uniform,  or  some  other  suspicious  circum 
stance,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Federals,  and  suddenly 
there  were  calls,  "  "Who  are  you  f  Halt,  halt ! "  Instantly,  the 
General  threw  himself  down  on  the  side  of  his  horse,  giving  him 
the  reins;  and  shouting,  "Come  on,  courier,"  the  two  dashed 
through  the  brush  and  into  the  woods,  escaping  without  hurt  to 
horse  or  rider,  though  a  shower  of  minie  balls  whistled  around 
them. 

At  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  Gordon  was  a  conspicuous  actor 
in  one  of  the  most  memorable  and  dramatic  passages  of  the  war. 
It  was  here  that,  put  in  command  of  Early's  division  (Early 
taking  command  of  A.  P.  Hill's  corps),  he  gave  the  first  check 
to  the  enemy  advancing  after  taking  the  salient  held  by  Gen. 
Johnson ;  and  it  was  here  occurred  the  affecting  and  noble  scene, 
when  he  seized  the  bridle  of  Gen.  Lee's  horse,  and  refused  to  let 
him  lead  the  Georgians  and  Virginians,  placed  in  line  for  a  despe 
rate  counter-charge  upon  the  enemy.  In  the  dark  and  misty  morn 
ing,  Gordon  had  been  guided  to  the  point  of  danger  by  the  volume 
of  fire.  Checking  the  enemy,  and  throwing  his  little  command 
against  the  heavy  tide  of  his  numbers,  he  afterwards  re-captured 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON.  545 

all  the  Confederate  line  to  the  right  of  the  salient,  some  of  the 
artillery  lost  in  the  morning,  and  held  during  the  day  the  salient, 
and  all  to  the  right  of  it  to  A.  P.  Hill's  line.  A  portion  of  the 
line  to  the  left  of  the  salient,  where  the  head  of  Gordon's  column 
first  struck  the  attacking  force,  was  held  by  the  Federals  and  was 
never  recovered.  So  thick  had  been  the  volleys  of  minie  balls 
here,  that  a  large  tree  was  cut  down  by  these  missiles  alone,  and 
its  stump  yet  remains  as  one  of  the  curiosities  of  what,  with  refer 
ence  to  its  limits,  was  the  bloodiest  field  of  the  war. 

After  this  battle,  marked  by  its  monument  of  carnage,  and 
illuminated  with  so  much  glory  to  the  Southern  arms,  Gordon 
took  part  in  the  various  engagements  of  the  two  armies  until  the 
13th  June,  when  he  was  sent  with  Early  to  l^nchburg,  to  meet 
Hunter,  and  afterwards  to  the  Valley  of  Virginia  and  into  Mary 
land.  Elsewhere  in  these  pages  we  have  given  the  general  nar 
rative  of  the  irregular  fortunes  of  this  campaign,  .so  full  of  prom 
ise  at  one  time  and  yet  terminating  in  a  fatal  disaster.  Gordon's 
part  in  it,  however,  was  equal  to  his  reputation,  and  honourable 
throughout.  It  was  his  division  that  won  the  victory  of  Mono- 
cacy — on  which  Gen.  Breckinridge  congratulating  him  said,  in 
presence  of  his  staff  officers  :  "  Gordon,  if  you  had  never  made  a 
fight  before,  this  ought  to  immortalize  you."  It  was  again  his 
command — consisting  of  the  old  Second  Corps,  composed  of 
Rodes'  division  now  commanded  by  Ramseur,  Pegram's  and  Gor 
don's  old  division — that  struck  the  enemy  that  almost  mortal  blow 
at  Cedar  Creek,  and  then,  palsied  by  the  command  of  superiours, 
had  the  mortification  of  seeing  a  brilliant  victory  changed  to  an 
irretrievable  defeat. 

On  the  eventful  19th  October,  when  Gordon  moved  around  the 
point  of  Massanutton  Mountain  and  in  the  grey  mists  of  the  break 
ing  day  surprised  the  enemy,  the  situation  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning  was  this :  two-thirds  of  Sheridan's  infantry  routed  and 
scattered,  leaving  but  one  corps  (the  Sixth)  unbroken  ;  two-thirds 
of  the  Confederates  not  engaged,  and  the  one-third,  which  had 
been  fighting,  in  the  most  excellent  spirits,  having  suffered  but 
little  loss ;  more  than  twenty  pieces  of  Sheridan's  artillery  cap 
tured,  and  none  of  the  Confederate  artillery  engaged ;  the 
loss  of  the  enemy  in  killed  and  wounded  and  prisoners,  8,000, 
and  that  of  the  Confederates  not  more  than  500 ;  and, 

35 


546  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   GOKDON. 

lastly,  the  Federal  cavalry  retreating  before  the  Confederates, 
though  but  slightly  engaged.  It  was  in  these  circumstances  that 
Gordon  quickly  decided  on  the  destruction  of  the  last  corps  of  the 
enemy,  by  a  rapid  concentration  of  the  entire  infantry  and  artil 
lery  upon  it.  He  therefore  ordered  two  divisions,  his  own  and 
Ramseur's,  to  demonstrate  in  front ;  he  directed  Col.  Carter,  com 
manding  the  artillery,  to  mass  his  thirty-nine  pieces  upon  the 
flank  of  the  corps ;  and  he  dispatched  staff-officers  to  hurry  Pe- 
gram's,  Wharton's  and  Kershaw's  divisions  to  mass  also  on  the 
flank — the  design  being,  when  the  artillery  had  thoroughly  torn 
to  pieces  the  enemy's  line,  to  make  a  simultaneous  assault  with 
three  divisions  in  flank  and  in  front.  It  was  the  skilful  combi 
nation  of  a  good  commander.  As  Gordon  prepared  to  execute 
his  plan,  Gen.  Early  arrived  on  the  ground  ;  he  first  explained  his 
plans  of  concentrating  everything  upon  the  enemy's  last  corps ; 
he  urged  his  views,  but  they  were  not  accepted  by  the  Com 
manding  General ;  and  from  the  time  when  Gordon  returned  to 
the  command  of  his  own  division,  a  little  after  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  until  Sheridan  assumed  the  offensive  in  the  after 
noon,  the  only  demonstrations  made  upon  the  enemy  were  by 
detachments  of  infantry.  "What  might  have  been  the  effect  of 
Gordon's  combination  and  attack — thirty-nine  pieces  of  artillery, 
three  divisions  in  flank  and  two  in  front — may  be  fairly  estimated, 
when  it  is  known  that  Pegram,  with  one  division  and  one  brigade 
from  Ramseur,  without  the  aid  of  artillery,  did  attack  the  Sixth 
Corps  in  front,  driving  it  back  and  capturing  six  pieces  of  artillery 
in  the  open  field. 

But  this  was  only  a  partial  success  and  a  deceptive  triumph. 
The  afternoon's  operations  may  be  described  in  a  few  words. 
Sheridan's  army,  rallied  and  re-assured,  while  the  Confederates 
were  losing  the  spirit  of  the  morning  and  being  demoralized  by 
plunder,  assumed  the  offensive  ;  and  his  cavalry  pouring  through 
a  long  gap  between  Evans'  and  Terry's  brigades,  to  close  which 
Gen.  Early  had  sent  Kershaw's  division  too  late,  broke  to  pieces 
these  bodies  of  troops,  and  at  last  compelled  the  whole  of  Early's 
army  to  recross  Cedar  Creek  in  such  disorder  that  the  different 
commands  were  mingled  together  and  lost  their  identity.  It  was 
a  disaster  which  Gordon  foresaw,  against  which  he  had  contended, 
and  come  in  conflict  with  the  views  of  his  superiour,  and  which 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.  'GOKDON.  '547 

his  plan  of  attack  in  the  morning  might  not  only  have  saved,  but 
have  erected  instead  of  it  a  glorious  victory. 

Returning  to  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  in  front  of  Pe 
tersburg,  Gen.  Gordon  found  but  little  opportunity  to  gather 
additional  laurels  in  the  declining  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy; 
and  it  only  remained  for  him  to  share  bravely  the  fate,  which, 
from  overwhelming  numbers  of  the  enemy,  had  now  become 
inevitable  to  that  army  which  his  courage,  chivalry,  and  good 
generalship  had  so  greatly  adorned.  Hi  s  part  was  heroic  to  the 
last.  It  was  Gordon's  command  chiefly  engaged  in  the  battle  of 
Hares  Hill  (March  25,  1865),  where  the  troops  "  fought  with  a 
vigour  and  brilliancy  that  reminded  one  of  Lee's  old  campaigns  ;" 
it  was  Gordon's  command  that  held  the  last  lines  in  front  of 
Petersburg ;  and  it  was  Gordon's  command  that  in  Lee's  final 
and  fatal  retreat  was  at  the  front,  and  gilded  the  last  scene  of 
surrender  with  the  spectacle  of  2,000  men,  prepared  to  cut 
through  Sheridan's  lines  at  Appomattox  Court-House,  and  only 
stayed  in  the  desperate  enterprise  by  the  flag  of  truce  that  con 
cluded  the  hostilities  of  that  day  and  signalled  the  close  of  the 
war. 

The  military  services  of  Gen.  Gordon,  which  we  have  briefly 
noticed,  constitute  for  him  one  of  the  first  reputations  in  the  war. 
But  he  appears  even  beyond  this  object  of  ambition  to  have  won 
a  peculiar  regard  from  his  countrymen ;  he  has  been  accepted, 
since  the  war,  in  some  manner,  as  the  representative  of  the  Young 
South,  and  the  writer  has  heard  intelligent  men  freely  designate 
him  as  the  future  military  leader  of  the  South  should  she  ever 
again  be  called  to  arms  in  any  cause  of  justice  and  honour.  He 
is  one  of  those  who  have  clearly  not  terminated  their  career,  and  is 
certain  to  appear  again  in  history.  His  fiery  courage,  his  ardent 
sentiments,  tempered  by  the  highest  tone  of  honour,  and  regu 
lated  by  a  strong  and  practical  intellect,  complete  a  character  to 
be  admired  and  trusted  beyond  that  of  most  men.  The  regard 
of  his  countrymen  has  been  abundantly  testified  ;  and,  in  the 
year  following  the  war,  he  was  strongly  urged  by  his  friends  to 
become  a  candidate  for  the  nomination  of  Governor  of  Georgia. 
He  declined  the  honour,  and  took  occasion  to  address  to  his 
countrymen,  in  one  of  the  most  graceful  compositions  of  words 
that  have  been  penned  by  any  politician,  the  most  noble  and 


548-  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   GORDON. 

honourable  advice  as  to  the  political  attitude  and  action  of  the 
South.  They  are  words  to  be  commemorated  by  every  citizen, 
and  fit  to  be  written  at  the  termination  of  the  career  of  every 
true  Confederate  soldier ;  "  Let  us  demonstrate  to  these  enemies 
to  truth,  to  principle  and  sound  policy  "  (the  Radicals  of  the 
North)  "  that  the  men  of  the  South  who  have  been  ready  to  vin 
dicate  with  their  lives  the  honour  of  their  section,  and  the  cause 
they  believed  just  and  holy,  are  most  reliable  in  their  observances 
of  plighted  faith  and  truest  to  the  principles  of  the  constitution. 
Difficulties  of  the  greatest  magnitude  oppose  our  political  and 
material  advancement ;  but  let  us  give  ourselves  to  the  task  of 
overcoming  them,  with  brave  hearts,  and  wise,  unremitting  toil." 


MAJ.-GEN.  FITZHUGH  LEE. 


CHAPTEK  LI. 

A  grandson  of  "Light  Horse  Harry."— A  "wild"  youth.— Tricks  at  "West  Point- 
Desperate  fights  with  Indians. — His  early  services  in  the  Confederacy. — Chivalrous 
incident  at  the  Second  Manassas. — Services  in  the  Maryland  campaign. — Action 
of  Kelly's  Ford.  —  With  Jackson  at  Chancellorsville. — Reorganization  of  the 
cavalry  commands  in  Yirginia. — A  complimentary  letter  from  Gen.  Robert  E. 
Lee. — Fitzhugh  Lee's  division  in  the  campaign  of  1864-5. — Spottsylvania  Court 
House. — Yellow  Tavern. — Reams'  Station. — Five  Forks.  — Conduct  of  the  cavalry 
on  the  retreat. — Personal  recollections  of  Fitzhugh  Lee. 

FITZHUGH  LEE,  or  "  Fitz  Lee,"  as  lie  was  generally  known 
during  the  war,  was  born  at  "  Clermont,"  the  residence  of  his 
grandfather,  Gen.  John  Mason,  in  Fairfax  County,  Yirginia,  on 
the  19th  November,  1835.  His  father  is  Captain  Sydney  Smith 
Lee,  who  resigned  his  commission  in  the  United  States  Navy, 
and  accepted  one  in  the  Confederate  service,  at  the  time  of  the 
secession  of  his  native  State  from  the  Federal  Union.  He  was 
the  third  son  of  General  Henry  Lee,  or  "  Light  Horse  Harry,"  of 
the  Revolution,  and  a  brother  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee.  During 
the  late  war  he  commanded  for  a  long  time  the  important  post 
of  Drewry's  Bluff,  and  was  at  its  close  chief  of  the  Bureau  of 
orders  and  details  under  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  The  mother 
of  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  a  grand-daughter  of  Virginia's 
celebrated  statesman,  George  Mason ;  a  daughter  of  Gen.  John 
Mason,  and  a  sister  to  James  M.  Mason,  so  long  a  United  States 
Senator  from  Yirginia,  and  who  represented  the  interests  of  the 
Confederate  States  in  England  during  the  war. 

The  author  has  been  able  to  obtain  but  few  recollections  of 
the  boyhood  of  Fitz  Lee ;  but  he  strongly  suspects  that  he  was  an 


550  MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH  LEE. 

unruly  youth.  An  old  citizen  of  Fredericksburg  testifies  that 
his  earliest  recollection  of  the  future  military  hero  was  habit 
ually  seeing  him  when  a  small  boy,  attired  in  a  scarlet  shirt, 
struggling  and  screaming  on  the  back  of  a  big  black  negro  who 
was  used  to  convey  him  to  school.  It  must  have  been  a  pictu 
resque  affair.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  Fitz  was  appointed  a  cadet 
"at  large"  at  West  Point,  through  the  favour  of  President  Fill- 
more.  As  a  cadet,  he  was  classed  with  the  "  wild  ones."  Unlike 
his  distinguished  uncle,  who  never  received  a  dement,  Fitz 
managed  to  get  the  maximum  allowance  within  the  bounds  of 
a  dismissal.  It  is  said  that,  in  order  the  better  to  elude  the  vigil 
ance  of  the  officers  and  guards,  he  used  to  exchange  his  cadet 
grey  for  women's  clothes,  whilst  his  room-mate,  S.  Wragg  Fergu 
son,  of  South  Carolina  (a  General  of  cavalry  in  Gen.  Johnston's 
army  during  the  war),  would  dress  in  citizen's  clothes  with  false 
moustache  and  beard,  and  the  two,  thus  accoutred  as  lady  and 
gentleman  visiting  the  Academy,  would  pass  and  repass  with 
impunity  the  prescribed  limits.  His  term  of  service  at  West 
Point  expired  in  1856,  and  his  having  graduated  at  the  head  of 
his  class  in  horsemanship,  secured  vfor  him  a  commission  as 
second  lieutenant  in  the  then  Second  (now  Fifth)  United  States 
Cavalry;  a  regiment  eagerly  sought  for  by  a  large  majority  of 
the  class.* 

Fitzhugh  Lee's  first  service  was  at  Carlisle  barracks,  Penn 
sylvania,  whither  he  was  ordered  after  leaving  the  Military  Acad 
emy,  to  report  to  Col.  Charles  A.  May  (who  had  made  a  great 
reputation  in  Mexico),  to  drill  cavalry  recruits  preparatory  to 
their  being  sent  to  join  their  regiments  on  the  frontier.  It  hap 
pened  curiously  that  these  same  barracks  were  burnt  during  the 
war  by  the  orders  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee.  After  a  year's  service 

*  We  have  repeatedly  referred  to  this  famous  regiment,  as  commanded  by  Col. 
A.  S.  Johnston,  with  R.  E.  Lee  as  lieutenant-colonel.  It  contained  other  names 
which  mounted  to  fame  in  the  war,  and  was  a  singular  galaxy  of  genius.  Hardee 
and  George  H.  Thomas  were  its  majors.  Earl  Yan  Dorn  was  the  senior  captain, 
and  E.  Kirby  Smith  the  next  captain  in  rank.  Oakes  Palmer  and  R.  W.  Johnson, 
afterwards  known  in  the  war  as  general  officers  on  the  Federal  side,  were  also  cap 
tains  in  this  regiment ;  and  N.  G-.  Evans,  Charles  W.  Fields,  John  B.  Hood,  Greorge 
Cosby,  and  James  P.  Major — the  two  first  captains,  and  the  last  three  lieutenants  of 
the  regiment — afterwards  rose  to  the  rank  of  general  officers  in  the  service  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 


MAJ.-GEN.    FITZHUGH   LEE.  551 

at  Carlisle  Barracks,  Lieut.  Lee  was  sent  to  join  his-  regiment, 
serving  on  the  frontiers  of  Texas,  and  soon  came  into  notice  in 
the  various  conflicts  with  the  Indians.  He  was  the  second-lieu 
tenant  of  Kirby  Smith's  company,  and  when  that  company  joined 
the  celebrated  and  successful  Wichita  expedition,  under  Yan 
Dorn,  Lee  was  selected  by  Yan  Dorn  as  his  adjutant.  In  the 
battle  of  May  13th,  1859,  between  six  companies  of  his  regiment 
and  a  large  force  of  Cornanche  Indians  (the  largest  fight  that  had 
ever  taken  place  between  Indians  and  U.  S.  troops),  he  was  cho 
sen  to  command  a  picked  body  that  charged  on  foot  the  thick 
jungle  in  which  the  Indians  had  taken  refuge.  .He  fell  towards 
the  conclusion  of  the  fight,  pierced  through  the  lungs  with  an 
arrow,  was  carried  out  on  the  prairie,  and  for  some  weeks  his  life 
was  despaired  of.  He  was  borne  over  200  miles  across  the 
prairie,  back  to  his  post,  in  a  horse-litter.  He  finally  recovered 
from  the  wound,  and  regained  his  health,  contrary  to  the  expec 
tations  of  his  physicians.  Gen.  Scott,  in  published  orders,  men 
tioning  this  success  and  referring  to  the  commanding-officer's 
report,  says :  "  Major  Yan  Dorn  notices  the  conspicuous  gallantry 
and  energy  of  second-lieutenant  Fitzhugh  Lee,  adjutant  of  the 
expedition,  who  was  dangerously  wounded."  On  the  15th  Jan 
uary,  1860,  we  find  him  again  mentioned  in  orders  by  Gen.  Scott, 
as  having,  in  command  of  a  portion  of  his  company,  had  another 
fight  with  Indians,  in  which  his  rapid  pursuit,  recovery  of  stolen 
property,  and  personal  combat  with  one  of  the  chiefs,  are  all 
highly  commended. 

In  the  latter  part  of  November,  1860,  Lee  was  detached  from 
his  regiment  and  ordered  to  report  to  West  Point  as  an  instructor 
of  cavalry — a  complimentary  detail,  and  one  eagerly  sought  for 
by  the  officers  of  mounted  regiments.  Under  his  tuition  at  that 
time  were  Kilpatrick,  Ouster,  and  others,  who  have  obtained  some 
fame  since  among  their  comrades.  The  commencement  of  the 
war  found  him  at  his  post  at  the  Military  Academy,  and  upon 
the  secession  of  Yirginia  his  commission  as  first-lieutenant  in  the 
U.  S.  Army  was  promptly  resigned,  and  his  services  offered  to 
his  native  State. 

His  first  service  in  the  Confederacy  was  in  the  Adjutant-Gen 
eral's  department  in  Gen.  Beauregard's  army  at  Manassas,  and, 
at  the  battle  of  July  21, 1861,  he  acted  in  that  capacity  on  the 


552  MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH   LEE. 

staff  of  Gen.  Swell.  In  September  following  he  was,  upon  the 
recommendation  of  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston,  then  in  command  of 
the  Army,  and  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  commanding  its  cavalry, 
made  the  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  1st  Virginia  cavalry  (Stuart's 
old  regiment),  and  at  the  reorganization  of  that  command,  in 
April,  1862,  near  Yorktown,  he  was  elected  Colonel,  receiving 
all  the  votes  of  the  regiment  except  four. 

On  the  retreat  from  Yorktown,  to  Lee's  regiment  was  given 
the  duty  of  watching  the  York  river,  and  he  first  gave  informa 
tion  of  the  flanking  movement  up  that  river  of  Franklin  and  his 
landing  at  Barhamsville — personally  reconnoitering  so  close  that 
he  gave  not  only  the  number  but  the  names  of  the  enemy's 
transports  and  gunboats.  In  the  succeeding  operations  around 
Richmond,  Lee  was  with  the  command  of  Geri.  Stuart  and  par 
ticipated  in  all  the  enterprises  of  that  officer.  About  the  middle 
of  June,  1862,  Stuart  performed  his  famous  raid  around  the  army 
of  McClellan,  as  it  lay  in  front  of  Richmond.  Lee,  with  his 
regiment,  was  selected  to  accompany  him,  and  shared,  with  one 
other  regiment  and  a  battalion,  the  dangers  of  that  enterprise 
which  u  blazed  the  way  for  Jackson's  subsequent  flank  move 
ment."  After  the  battles  around  Richmond,  more  cavalry  were 
brought  from  the  South,  and  formed  into  a  brigade  under  Gen. 
Wade  Hampton.  Stuart  was  made  a  Major-General,  and  Fitz- 
hugh  Lee  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier,  taking  Stuart's 
place,  the  latter  commanding  the  two  brigades.  Lee's  brigade 
consisted  of  the  1st,  3d,  4th,  5th  and  9th  Virginia  regiments,  with 
a  battery  of  horse-artillery  under  Capt.  James  Breathed. 

In  the  campaign  against  the  Federal  General  Pope,  Fitzhugh 
Lee's  command,  together  with  B.  H.  Robertson's  brigade  (Ash- 
by's  old  brigade),  constituted  the  command  of  Stuart.  Hamp 
ton  was  left  in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond,  and  joined  the  army 
afterwards  in  Maryland.  The  services  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee  in 
this  campaign  were  important  and  valuable,  and  were  recognized 
by  the  Commanding-General  in  lively  terms.  Just  before  the 
second  battle  of  Manassas  a  chivalrous  incident  occurred.  Gen. 
Fitzhujgh  Lee  had  surprised  and  captured  a  squadron  of  the  2d 
U.  S.  dragoons  (regulars),  and  discovering  some  old  comrades 
among  the  officers,  he  merely  took  their  word  that  they  would 
not  escape,  and  kept  them  at  his  headquarters  as  guests.  They 


MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH   LEE.  553 

rode  with  his  staff  and  himself,  during  a  few  days'  subsequent 
operations,  and  were  occasionally  under  the  fire  of  their  own 
men.  Through  the  intercession  of  Gen.  Lee,  these  captives  were 
made  an  exception  to  the  retaliatory  rule  against  the  officers  of 
Pope's  army,  and  were  paroled.  They  were  furnished  with 
horses  to  ride  to  their  own  lines. 

On  the  night  of  the  14th  September,  after  D.  H.  Hill's  defence 
of  South  Mountain  pass,  near  Boonsboro',  and  it  was  decided  to 
retire  him  to  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee,  who  had  just 
returned  to  the  army  from  a  long  reconnoissance,  was  ordered  to 
relieve  the  pickets  then  in  close  proximity  to  those  of  the  enemy, 
in  order  that  Hill  might  withdraw  undiscovered.  This  was  a 
most  difficult  and  dangerous  enterprise.  It  was  so  admirably 
performed,  and  such  was  the  vigour -of  Lee's  opposition,  that  the 
enemy  did  not  appear  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Antietam  until 
the  afternoon  of  the  next  day. 

After  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  and  when  it  was  decided  to 
withdraw  the  army  to  the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac,  Gen. 
Fitzhugh  Lee  was  again  chosen  to  relieve  the  pickets  of  the 
army,  while  it  was  withdrawn  under  cover  of  the  night.  It  was 
a  hazardous  operation.  Gen.  Lee  had  to  string  his  whole  brigade 
out  the  length  of  the  line  of  battle  of  the  army,  dismount  his  men 
some  distance  in  the  rear,  and  send  them  to  relieve  the  infan 
try  pickets  of  the  entire  army,  which  were  within  easy  hearing  of 
those  of  the  enemy.  It  had  to  be  done  in  such  a  way  that  the 
enemy  should  not  discover  the  change,  but  continue  to  imagine 
the  whole  Confederate  force  in  their  front.  The  Potomac  rolled 
only  three  miles  off,  and  there  was  but  one  ford,  and  that  a  bad 
one  to  cross.  Should  the  enemy  discover  the  ruse  and  advance,' 
there  was  the  difficulty  of  getting  this  brigade,  in  its  scattered, 
dismounted  condition,  across  the  river  to  rejoin  the  army.  Dur 
ing  the  night  of  the  18th  September,  the  army  of  Northern  Yir- 
ginia  was  safely  withdrawn  to  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac, 
and,  when  day  dawned  on  the  19th,  in  its  place,  confronting 
the  whole  army  of  McClellan,  was  Fitzhugh  Leds  brigade  of 
cavalry  \  It  was  soon  in  the  saddle,  and  before  McClellan  could 
recover  from  his  surprise  had  safely  recrossed  the  river,  having 
first  given  the  enemy's  advance  a  parting  salute  on  the  Maryland 
side. 


554  MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH   LEE. 

The  services  of  the  cavalry  in  this  campaign  were  remarkable ; 
and  in  the  official  report  of  the  Commanding-General  it  was  de 
clared:  "  Its  vigilance,  activity  and  courage  were  conspicuous; 
and  to  its  assistance  is  due  in  a  great  measure  some  of  the  most 
important  and  delicate  operations  of  the  campaign."  In  subse 
quent  operations  near  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock,  Gen.  Fitz- 
hugh  Lee  was  active,  co-operating  with  other  portions  of  Stuart's 
cavalry  in  the  attack  on  the  enemy's  rear  at  Dumfries,  and  in 
Februrary,  1863,  having  an  independent  affair  with  the  enemy, 
breaking  through  his  outposts  near  Falmouth  and  taking  150 
prisoners.  Having  retired  to  his  camp  in  the  vicinity  of  Culpep- 
per  Court-House,  he  was  called  upon  to  meet  a  retaliatory 
movement  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which,  having  crossed  the 
Eappahannock  on  the  17th  March,  designed  to  overwhelm  his 
detached  brigade.  An  entire  division  of  cavalry  under  Averill, 
about  3,000  men,  was  assigned  to  the  enterprise.  With  not 
more  than  800  of  his  command  (many  of  the  men  having  been 
sent  home  to  recruit  their  horses),  Gen.  Lee  moved  out  to  meet 
the  enemy,  and  fought  the  brilliant  battle  of  Kelly's  Ford.  It 
was  a  decisive  victory  for  the  Confederates,  and  the  hardest  cav 
alry  fight  of  the  war  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  engaged. 

In  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee's  brigade 
was  selected  to  precede  the  troops  in  Gen.  Jackson's  grand  flank 
movement,  and  was  disposed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  guard  the 
front  and  flanks  of  the  column  from  observation.  It  was  the  close, 
personal  reconnoissance  of  Lee  that  gave  Gen.  Jackson  the  point 
of  view,  where  he  could  observe  the  lines  and  batteries  of  How 
ard's  corps,  and  where,  comprehending  the  situation  at  a  glance, 
he  instantly  changed  his  plan  of  attack  to  that  which  completely 
surprised  the  enemy.  By  this  observation  Gen.  Jackson  discov 
ered  a  way  which  would  let  Rodes'  division  into  the  rear  of 
Howard's  line,  and  at  once  gave  a  new  command  to  it  to  cross 
the  plank-road  on  which  it  was  moving.  The  result  was  that 
this  division  came  so  unexpectedly  upon  the  enemy  that  some 
of  his  batteries  were  captured  with  their  muzzles  pointing  in  an 
opposite  direction. 

In  the  Pennsylvania  campaign  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee  was  with 
Stuart,  and  his  command  was  constantly  engaged  with  the 
enemy.  In  the  severe  fight  at  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  he  saved 


MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH   LEE.  555 

the  day  by  coming  in  on  the  enemy's  rear  and  routing  Kil pat- 
rick's  division.  At  Gettysburg  he  was  on  the  extreme  left,  hotly 
engaging  the  enemy's  cavalry ;  and  on  the  subsequent  retreat  of 
the  army  he  did  his  accustomed  good  service  in  bringing  up  the 
rear. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1863,  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  North 
ern  Virginia  was  divided  into  two  divisions,  of  three  brigades 
each ;  and  Hampton  and  Fitzhugh  Lee  were  promoted  to  com 
mand  them,  the  two  being  under  Stuart  as  senior  Major-General. 
This  promotion  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee  had  obtained  on  a  record  of 
almost  unexampled  success ;  his  active  disposition  and  brilliant 
courage  had  by  this  time  made  for  him  one  of  the  first  reputa 
tions  in  the  army.  The  repeated  mention  of  his  name  in  the 
careful  reports  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  had  made  it  familiar  and 
clear  to  the  public ;  and  in  May,  1863,  shortly  after  the  battle  of 
Chaucellorsville,  we  find  the  Commanding  General  warmly  writ 
ing  to  him  as  follows :  "  Your  admirable  conduct,  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  your  country,  and  devotion  to  duty,  fill  me  with 
pleasure.  I  hope  you  will  soon  see  her  efforts  for  independence 
crowned  with  success,  and  long  live  to  enjoy  the  affection  and 
gratitude  of  your  country."  No  doubt  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee  felt 
honourable  pride  in  the  achievements  of  his  gallant  nephew.  At 
another  time  he  wrote :  "  Your  division  has  always  had  a  high 
reputation.  It  must  not  lose  it."  And  it  never  did  lose  it,  to 
the  last  day  of  the  Confederacy. 

We  must  pass  to  the  vital  campaign  of  1864  to  find  the  most 
memorable  and  brilliant  passages  in  the  military  career  of  Gen. 
Fitzhugh  Lee.  In  the  very  opening  of  that  campaign,  when 
Grant  crossed  the  Rapidan,  Lee's  division  was  called  upon  for  a 
decisive  action.  It  then  formed  the  right  of  the  long  Confed 
erate  line,  extending  from  Madison  Court- House  to  a  point  below 
Fredericksburg,  and  was  rapidly  moved  to  cover  Spottsylvania 
Court-House.  From  this  time  commenced  a  series  of  cavalry 
fights  running  from  North  Virginia  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
Richmond.  On  the  day  on  which  Longstreet's  advance  arrived 
at  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  the  Federal  cavalry  were  relieved 
by  the  Fifth  corps  of  infantry  (the  advance  of  Grant's  army) ;  and 
against  this  force  the  cavalry  division  of  Fitzhugh  Lee  held  its 
ground  most  manfully,  until  the  Confederate  infantry  arrived, 


556  MA J. -GEN.   FITZHUGH  LEE. 

and  the  position  was  secured  to  Gen.  Lee.  The  importance  of 
Spottsylvania  Court-House,  as  a  military  position,  was  then  vital, 
and  the  service  of  Lee's  cavalry  on  this  occasion  was  an  impor 
tant  element  of  the  campaign. 

Scarcely  a  day  elapsed  when  it  was  called  to  another  and 
imminent  field.  Sheridan  had  started  on  a  raid  to  the  Central 
railroad,  and  in  the  direction  of  Richmond ;  and  Lee's  division 
was  ordered  to  follow,  Gen.  Stuart  having  joined  it,  and  rein 
forced  the  expedition  by  Gordon's  brigade,  which,  however, 
moved  by  a  different  route.  On  the  entire  march  Lee's  advance 
was  engaged  with  the  enemy's  rear ;  it  chased  out  of  Ashland  a 
Massachusetts  regiment,  which  had  already  fired  three  houses  in 
the  village  ;  and  the  same  day  at  Yellow  Tavern,  six  miles  from 
Richmond,  it  fought  in  oiie  of  the  most  thrilling  conjunctures, 
within  hearing  of  the  alarmed  population  of  the  capital.  From 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  six  in  the  evening  Fitzhugh  Lee's 
seven  regiments  contested  the  ground  with  Sheridan's  whole 
corps,  and  accomplished  the  object  of  the  action  in  the  purchase 
of  time,  although  forced  at  last  to  retire.  It  was  in  this  engage 
ment  that  Gen.  Stuart  fell ;  and  it  must  have  comforted  the  heroic 
heart  of  the  dying  man  that  the  favourite  division  of  his  com 
mand  had  won  such  an  important  day.  A  letter  from  Gen.  Bragg 
to  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee,  after  the  battle,  assured  him  that  the 
safety  of  Richmond  had  been  accomplished  at  Yellow  Tavern,  as 
the  resistance  there  had  enabled  him  to  withdraw  troops  from 
Drewry's  Bluff  to  man  the  works  on  that  side  of  the  city. 

It  is  not  possible  within  the  limits  and  designs  of  this  sketch 
to  include  all  the  operations  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee's  command, 
when  the  campaign  lingered  around  Richmond,  and  the  cavalry 
was  almost  daily  skirmishing  on  the  lines,  or  making  excursions 
to  check  Sheridan's  active  and  erratic  movements.  The  action, 
however,  of  Reams  Station  claims  notice  as  the  most  important 
incident  of  these  operations;  the  prize  contested  here  was  the 
Danville  railroad ;  and  the  glory  achieved  here  by  Fitzhugh 
Lee's  division  is  a  laurel  of  the  command  not  to  be  omitted.  Two 
divisions  of  Federal  cavalry,  under  Wilson,  were  returning  from 
their  raid  on  railroad,  when  Lee,  in  concert  with  two  of  Mahone's 
brigades  struck  them,  stripped  them  of  their  spoils  and  artillery, 
and  put  them  to  shameful  rout.  Wilson  carried  back  to  his 


MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH  LEE.  557 

lines  nothing  on  wheels ;  his  wagons,  eighteen  pieces  of  artillery, 
and  even  his  ambulances,  fell  into  Lee's  hands,  besides  800  negroes 
who  had  been  abducted  from  their  homes. 

Shortly  after  this  event,  Fitzhugh  Lee's  division  was  ordered  to 
report  to  Lieut. -Gen.  Anderson,  who  was  sent  to  Early  with 
Kershaw's  division,  and  the  campaign  of  the  Valley  was  inaugu 
rated.  The  important  events  of  that  campaign  have  already  been 
related.  In  the  disastrous  battle  of  Winchester,  Gen.  Lee  was  con 
spicuous  for  his  gallantry,  and  exposed  his  life  on  every  part  of  the 
field.  Three  horses  were  shot  under  him — one  his  beautiful  mare, 
"  Nelly  Gray,"  a  favourite  of  the  command — and  at  last  he  was 
brought  to  the  ground  by  a  minie  ball,  which  pierced  his  thigh. 

He  was  kept  from  duty  by  the  wound  for  several  months.  In 
the  spring  of  1865,  he  was  summoned  to  Richmond,  and  by  order 
of  the  Commanding  General  placed  in  command  of  the  cavalry 
corps  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Shortly  thereafter 
followed  the  battle  of  Five  Forks,  in  which  the  mistake  was  made 
— not  by  Fitzhugh  Lee — of  not  following  up  the  first  success, 
when  the  enemy  was  driven  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  Din- 
widdie  Court-House.  The  superiority  of  the  Virginia  cavalry 
was  never  better  shown  than  on  the  retreat,  ending  at  Appo- 
mattox  Court-House.  Fitzhugh  Lee  was  one  of  the  three  corps 
commanders,  who,  with  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  composed  the  coun 
cil  of  war  just  before  the  surrender.  His  cavalry  had  covered  the 
retreat,  and  been  in  one  scene  of  incessant  fight ;  and  though  pass 
ing  events  and  knowledge  of  the  failure  of  the  cause  were  depress 
ing  the  spirits  of  the  men,  a  more  gallant  or  more  faithful  body 
never  resisted  the  enemy.  It  was  ultimately  determined  in  the 
council  of  war  referred  to  that  Fitzhugh  Lee  and  Gordon  should 
attack  the  enemy  on  the  road  to  Appomattox  Station,  so  as  to 
cut  an  exit  to  Lynchburg  ;  the  conditions  of  attack  being 
reduced  to  this :  if  cavalry  only  was  found  in  front,  they  might 
push  on ;  if  infantry,  a  surrender  was  inevitable.  It  is  well 
known  that  heavy  masses  of  infantry  were  discovered  in  front; 
that  the  enemy  showed  himself  on  all  sides,  arid  that  the  neces 
sity  of  surrender  was  then  accepted. 

The  career  of  Gen.  Fitzhugh  Lee  entitles  him  to  a  marked 
place  in  all  records  of  the  war.  He  won  many  victories,  and 
never  sustained  a  considerable  disaster,  when  he  was  independent 
in  command.  His  courage  was  of  the  chivalric  type ;  his  temper, 


558  MAJ.-GEN.   FITZHUGH   LEE. 

quick  but  placable  ;  his  inspiration  in  the  war  that  of  a  champion 
of  a  cause  rather  than  a  personal  enemy.  He  had  none  of  the 
coarser  animosities  of  the  war;  he  was  animated  by  the  princi 
ples  he  fought  for,  rather  than  by  the  phobia  of  brutal  conflict. 
He  was  faultlessly  brave ;  he  had  social  qualities  of  the  highest 
order ;  his  genial  humour,  his  high  spirits,  his  strong  friendships, 
made  him  not  only  a  popular  man,  but  a  choice  and  admirable 
companion. 

It  is  said  of  him  that  he  had  not  a  personal  enemy  in  the 
world.  He  was  always  the  favourite  of  his  school  companions ; 
and  the  pranks  we  have  related  at  West  Point  were  conceived  in 
the  purest  spirit  of  fun.  He  was  merry  and  innocent,  all  his 
tricks  and  jokes  being  rather  for  sport  than  injury.  His  habit 
of  signing  his  name  "  F.  Lee  "  gave  a  handle  to  his  gay  compan 
ions  at  West  Point  to  nickname  him  "  Flea."  He  was  the  most 
popular  cadet  in  the  academy.  In  the  stern  task  of  war  he  never 
abandoned  his  gaiety  of  disposition.  He  was  always  in  for  any 
thing  like  "  fun,"  and  nothing  pleased  him  better  than  to  get  off 
jokes  on  his  staff  and  couriers.  In  this  respect  he  resembled 
Stuart  very  much.  The  two  commanders  seemed  to  have 
established  a  mutual  admiration  society,  and  suited  each  other 
famously;  and,  next  to  killing  Yankees,  they  enjoyed  cracking 
jokes  at  each  other  more  than  anything  else.  On  the  march 
they  generally  rode  together,  and  the  peals  of  laughter  and  cav 
alry  songs  which  they  gave  vent  to  in  unison  could  often  be 
heard  far  down  the  column,  above  the  tramping  of  the  horses  and 
the  clinking  of  the  sabres.  Both  were  very  fond  of  music,  and 
during  the  winter  of  '63  Fitz.  Lee  organized  in  his  brigade  a 
band  of  ten  or  twelve  musicians,  who  were  known  as  "  Fitz. 
Lee's  Minstrels." 

A  prominent  trait  in  his  character  (and  in  that  of  all  the  Lees) 
was  an  excessive  fondness  for  the  fair  sex ;  and,  it  is  said,  he  has 
been  seen  to  produce  from  his  pocket-book  a  dozen  rings  received 
from  a  dozen  young  ladies,  to  prove  that  he  was  not  a  badly- 
treated  man. 

His  character  may  be  summed  up  as  an  excellent  soldier,  a 
true  patriot,  a  boon  companion,  a  remarkable  type  of  engaging 
manners.  Virginia  has  reason  to  be  proud  of  him  as  one  of  her 
first  living  gentlemen,  and  a  brilliant  contribution  to  her  history 
in  the  war. 


BBIG.-GEN.  HENRY  1.  WISE. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

An  extraordinary  excitement  in  Richmond. — The  days  of  the  Secession  Convention. — 
"Wise's  idea  of  "  fighting  in  the  Union."- — His  style  of  eloquence  in  the  Conven 
tion. — A  remarkable  conversation  in  his  hotel. — His  rhetorical  bravura. — 
Short-sighted  vanity  of  the  South. — Gen.  Wise's  campaign  in  Western  Vir 
ginia. — The  disaster  of  Roanoke  Island. — Gen.  Wise  relieved  from  censure. — 
Death  of  his  sou. — An  affecting  scene. — Interview  between  Gen.  Wise  and  Sec 
retary  Randolph. — His  command  in  South  Carolina. — At  Petersburg. — Gen. 
Wise's  fame  as  a  soldier. — His  mental  gifts. — Marks  of  an  afflicted  intellect. — 
His  tribute  to  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Confederacy. 

IN  the  latter  days  of  April,  1861,  there  was  in  Kichmond,  Vir 
ginia — a  city  already  of  no  mean  historical  memories — an  excite 
ment  unsurpassed  within  the  memory  of  its  living  citizens,  and 
equal  to  any  that  had  occurred  in  the  political  annals  of  America. 
The  Convention,  summoned  by  the  voters  of  the  State,  was  debat 
ing  the  high  question  of  peace  or  war,  and  the  revolution  that  had 
gathered  in  the  Cotton  States  paused  for  the  decision  of  the  powerful 
and  dominant  commonwealth  of  Virginia.  All  commercial  busi 
ness  in  Richmond  was  well  nigh  suspended ;  the  political  excite 
ment  involved  all  classes  of  the  population ;  and,  in  a  city  which 
had  voted  largely  for  the  Union  in  the  call  of  the  Convention, 
secession  demonstrations  were  now  prevalent  on  the  streets,  and 
the  nightly  caucuses  and  political  gatherings  in  the  hotels  pro 
nounced  for  war,  declared  themselves  the  equivalents  of  the  Con 
vention,  and  even  threatened  it  with  the  violence  of  the  mob. 
Men  who,  a  few  days  before,  had  upheld  Governor  Letcher  in  his 
"  conservatism,"  were  now  stricken  dumb  amid  the  popular  clamour 
for  immediate  action ;  all  the  newspapers  of  the  city  declared  for 


560  BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE. 

instant  Secession,  and  complained  that,  on  the  verge  of  a  plain 
necessity  for  war,  the  Convention  were  splitting  hairs  over  pro 
posed  amendments  to  the  Federal  Constitution;  large  crowds 
besieged  the  hall  in  which  this  body  deliberated,  and  on  one  occa 
sion  a  procession  of  citizens,  dragging  cannon  and  making  some 
military  show,  proceeded  to  the  Public  Square,  and,  mounting  their 
spokesman  on  the  portals  of  the  State  House,  declared  that  the 
secession  of  the  State  should  be  accomplished,  even  if  popular  vio 
lence  had  to  be  invoked,  and  the  arms  of  the  people  turned  against 
the  Governor,  who,  with  pale  face,  watched  from  his  windows  this 
demonstration  of  the  people,  and  heard,  not  without  alarm,  the  near 
outcry  against  himself.  So  far  indeed  did  this  violence  progress 
that  it  was  seriously  proposed  that  a  mass-meeting,  assuming  the 
character  of  another  Convention,  should  declare  the  popular  will, 
and  by  the  shortest  and  most  expeditious  method,  override  the 
Federal  and  all  other  authority  that  stood  between  Virginia  and 
the  cause  of  the  seceded  States.  It  was  a  period  of  great  excite 
ment,  in  which  the  clash  and  outcry  of  popular  revolution  mingled 
with  the  anxious  and  serious  tones  of  the  official  debate. 

The  Convention  that  held  suspended  the  choice  of  Virginia  was 
composed  of  the  first  men  of  the  commonwealth ;  and  whatever 
clamour  was  raised  against  it,  there  was  no  charge  of  intellectual 
deficiency.  Among  its  most  distinguished  members  was  Henry 
A.  Wise. .  His  life  anteriour  to  this  period  belonged  to  the  general 
political  history  of  the  country  ;  and  there  is  but  little  necessity  of 
reviewing  it  here  to  remind  the  reader  of  one  of  the  most  famous 
party-leaders  of  America.  He  had  enjoyed  the  first  honours  of 
Virginia  as  her  Governor;  he  had  made  the  greatest  partisan  repu 
tation  of  the  country  in  defeating  the  Know-Nothing  organization, 
and  reestablishing  the  Democratic  supremacy  of  Virginia ;  a  true 
Southerner,  a  "fire-eater,"  according  to  the  classification  of  the 
New  York  Herald  ;  a  Virginian  intus  et  in  cute,  by  his  own  definition, 
he  was  likely,  in  a  Convention  called  to  consider  sectional  ques 
tions,  to  excite  an  unusual  interest,  and  to  occupy  a  prominent 
place  in  the  public  eye. 

But  ex-Governor  Wise  entered  the  Convention,  in  some  sense, 
as  a  Union  man.  His  characteristic  fondness  for  paradox,  which 
always  made  it  difficult  to  identify  him  with  any  party  or  with 
any  well-established  set  of  opinions,  had  at  first  led  him  to  take 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE.  561 

the  novel  and  most  extraordinary  ground  tbat  the  South  should 
fight  in  the  Union,  and  maintain  the  character  of  legitimacy,  by 
holding  on  to  the  Federal  insignia,  and  claiming  the  sword  and 
purse  at  Washington.  Whatever  the  merit  of  this  ill-defined 
advice,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  it  contemplated  an  adequate  coup 
d'etat,  on  the  part  of  the  South,  before  the  inauguration  of  Presi 
dent  Lincoln,  and  that,  with  that  opportunity  passed,  it  was  no 
longer  available.  There  was,  perhaps,  a  possibility  of  such  an 
adventure  when  the  Democratic  party  was  writhing  under  the  sting 
and  mortification  of  defeat,  and  ready  for  desperate  enterprises; 
but  when  the  Government  had  been  suffered  to  fall  into  possession 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  sword  and  the  purse  had  been  seized,  it  was 
too  late  to  dream  of  peace — in  or  out  of  the  Union — and  submission 
or  secession  became  the  only  and  severe  alternative. 

In  the  progress  of  events,  ex- Governor  Wise  soon  became  a 
violent,  uncompromising  advocate  of  Secession,  and  whenever  he 
raised  his  voice  in  the  Convention  it  was  in  behalf  of  the  South, 
and  in  bitter  denunciation  of  the  authority  that  had  taken  control 
at  Washington.  He  was  regarded  as  the  most  effective  orator  of 
the  Secession  party ;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that,  in  addition  to 
the  natural  force  of  his  utterances,  his  tones  were  threatening,  his 
manner  overbearing,  and  his  style  of  eloquence  too  violent  and 
excessive  for  the  chaste  appreciation  of  the  scholar.  In  one  pas 
sage  of  debate  it  is  remembered  that  he  descended  to  a  threat, 
which  was  too  common  in  the  Convention.  When  it  was  pro 
posed  to  send  a  committee  to  ask  Mr.  Lincoln  what  was  the  object 
of  his  military  movements,  Mr.  Carlisle,  a  marked  Union  man  in 
the  Convention,  suggested  that  a  similar  committee  should  be  sent 
to  Montgomery,  to  ascertain  from  Jefferson  Davis  what  he  intended 
to  do  with  the  troops  he  was  raising.  Ex-Governor  Wise  inquired 
whether  Mr.  Carlisle  would  be  named  as  one  of  the  committee  to 
be  sent  to  Montgomery,  for,  "  if  so,  that  would  be  the  last  they 
would  ever  see  of  him."  The  remark  was  in  the  true  spirit  of 
that  day;  but  there  is  a  coarse  unpleasantness  about  it,  when 
repeated  in  history. 

A  friend  who  visited  ex-Governor  Wise  in  his  hotel  in  Kich- 
mond,  in  the  heat  of  the  political  excitement,  thus  describes  an 
interesting  and  characteristic  interview : — "He  was  worn  out  and 
prostrated  by  a  distressing  cough  which  threatened  pneumonia. 

36 


562  BRIG.-GEN.    HENRY  A.   WISE. 

But  ever  and  anon  his  eagle  eye  assumed  its  wonted  brilliancy 
He  was  surrounded  by  a  number  of  his  devoted  friends,  who 
listened  with  rapt  attention  to  his  surpassing  eloquence.  A  test 
question,  indicative  of  the  purpose  of  the  Convention  to  adjourn 
without  action,  had  that  day  been  carried  by  a  decided  majority. 
The  Governor  once  rose  from  his  recumbent  position  on  the  sofa 
and  said,  whatever  the  majority  of  Union  men  in  the  Convention 
might  do,  or  leave  undone,  Virginia  must  array  herself  on  one 
side  or  the  other.  She  must  fight  either  Lincoln  or  Davis.  If 
the  latter,  he  would  renounce  her,  and  tender  his  sword  and  his 
life  to  the  Southern  Confederacy.  And  although  it  was  apparent 
that  his  physique  was  reduced,  as  he  said,  to  a  mere  '  bag  of  bones,' 
yet  it  was  evident  that  his  spirit  yet  struggled  with  all  its  native 
fire  and  animation. 

###*##-3f-X- 

"  Smiling,  he  rose,  and  walked  to  a  corner  of  the  room,  where 
I  had  noticed  a  bright  musket  with  a  sword-bayonet  attached. 
He  took  it  up,  and  criticized  the  sword  as  inferiour  to  the  knife. 
Our  men  would  require  long  drilling  to  become  expert  with  the 
former  like  the  French  Zouaves;  but  they  instinctively  knew 
how  to  wield  the  bowie-knife.  The  conversation  turning  upon 
the  probable  deficiency  of  a  supply  of  improved  arms  in  the  South, 
if  a  great  war  should  ensue,  the  Governor  said,  with  one  of  his 
inevitable  expressions  of  feeling,  that  it  was  not  the  improved 
arm,  but  the  improved  man,  which  would  win  the  day.  Let  brave 
men  advance,  with  flint-locks  and  old-fashioned  bayonets,  on  the 
popinjays  of  the  Northern  cities — advance  on  arid  on,  under  the 
fire,  reckless  of  the  slain — and  he  would  answer  for  it  with  his  life 
that  the  Yankees  would  break  and  run." 

This  nonsense  about  finishing  the  war  with  a  flourish  of  bowie- 
knives,  etc.,  appears  to  have  been  a  characteristic  delusion  of  other 
minds  quite  as  great  as  that  of  ex-Governor  Wise,  and  may  be 
taken  as  a  reflection  of  the  popular  Southern  vanity  of  the  times, 
insolent  almost  to  madness.  But  Wise  appears  to  have  fallen  in 
love  with  this  nonsense  beyond  all  hope  of  recovery  ;  it  gave  him 
a  stock  of  rhetorical  bravura  from  which  he  furnished  a  number 
of  speeches,  and,  although  guilty  of  many  extravagances  on  the 
hustings,  he  fairly  surpassed  in  absurdity,  in  sound  and  in  fury, 
all  the  demagogical  utterances  about  the  war.  Contrary  to  his 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY   A.   WISE.  563 

anticipations,  the  State  of  Virginia  did  secede ;  and  a  few  weeks 
after  the  conversation  referred  to  above,  the  city  of  Richmond  was 
welcoming,  with  all  her  municipal  honours,  the  advent  of  Presi 
dent  Jefferson  Davis.  On  the  occasion  of  the  reception  ex-Gov 
ernor  Wise  spoke  again.  He  said:  " The  man  who  dares  to  pray ; 
the  man  who  dares  to  wait  until  some  magic  arm  is  put  into  his 
hand ;  the  man  who  will  not  go  unless  he  have  a  minie,  or  per 
cussion  musket,  who  will  not  be  content  with  flint  and  steel,  or 
even  a  gun  without  a  lock,  is  worse  than  a  coward — he  is  a 
renegade.  If  he  can  do  no  better,  go  to  a  blacksmith,  take  a  gun 
along  as  a  sample,  and  get  him  to  make  you  one  like  it.  Get  a 
spear — a  lance.  Take  a  lesson  from  John  Brown.  Manufacture 
your  blades  from  old  iron,  even  though  it  be  the  tires  of  your  cart 
wheels.  Get  a  bit  of  carriage  spring,  and  grind  and  burnish  it  in 
the  shape  of  a  bowie-knife,  and  put  it  to  any  sort  of  a  handle,  so 
that  it  be  strong — ash,  hickory,  oak.  But,  if  possible,  get  a 
double-barrelled  gun  and  a  dozen  rounds  of  buckshot,  and  go 
upon  the  battle-field  with  these.  If  their  guns  reach  further  than 
yours,  reduce  the  distance ;  meet  them  foot  to  foot,  eye  to  eye, 
body  to  body,  and  when  you  strike  a  blow,  strike  home.  Your 
true-blooded  Yankee  will  never  stand  still  in  the  face  of  cold  steel. 
Let  your  aim,  therefore,  be  to  get  into  close  quarters,  and  with  a 
few  decided,  vigorous  movements,  always  pushing  forward,  never 
back,  my  word  for  it,  the  soil  of  Virginia  will  be  swept  of  the 
Vandals  who  are  now  polluting  its  atmosphere."  At  the  conclu 
sion  of  this  speech,  as  reported  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  a 
band  of  music  struck  up  "Dixie,"  which  was  followed  by  "We 
may  be  Happy  yet." 

It  appears,  indeed,  as  if  ex-Governor  Wise,  who  had  much  of 
the  quick,  ardent  mind  of  his  countrymen,  many  of  the  accomplish 
ments  of  the  scholar  and  stores  of  real  eloquence,  had  yet  con 
stituted  himself  the  representative  of  all  the  follies  in  which  the 
South  entered  upon  the  war.  A  gentleman,  fresh  from  observa 
tions  in  the  North,  visited  him  a  few  days  after  the  Convention 
had  declared  for  secession,  and  endeavoured  to  impress  him  with 
serious  views  of  the  future,  with  what  effect  his  own  statement 
will  show: — 

"  I  called  on  Wise,  and  informed  him  that  Lincoln  had  called 
out  70,000  men.  He  opened  his  eyes  very  v  lely  and  said, 


564  BRia.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE. 

emphatically,  '  I  don't  believe  it.'  The  greatest  statesmen  of  the 
South  have  no  conception  of  the  real  purposes  of  the  men  now  in 
power  in  the  United  States.  They  cannot  be  made  to  believe 
that  the  Government  at  Washington  are  going  to  wage  war  imme 
diately.  But  when  I  placed  the  President's  proclamation  in  his 
hand,  he  read  it  with  deep  emotion,  and  uttered  a  fierce  '  Hah !' 
Nevertheless,  when  I  told  him  that  these  70,000  were  designed  to 
be  merely  the  videttes  and  outposts  of  an  army  of  700,000,  he  was 
quite  incredulous.  He  had  not  witnessed  the  Wide- Awake  gather 
ings  the  preceding  autumn,  as  I  had  done,  and  listened  to  the 
pledges  they  made  to  subjugate  the  South,  free  the  negroes,  and 
hang  Governor  Wise.  I  next  told  him  they  would  blockade  our 
ports,  and  endeavour  to  cut  off  our  supplies.  To  this  he  uttered 
a  most  positive  negative.  He  said  it  would  be  contrary  to  the 
laws  of  nations,  as  had  been  decided  often  in  the  Courts  of  Admi 
ralty,  and  would  be  moreover  a  violation  of  the  Constitution.  Of 
course  I.  admitted  all  this ;  but  maintained  that  such  was  the  inten 
tion  of  the  Washington  Cabinet.  Laws  and  Courts  and  Constitu 
tions  would  not  be  impediments  in  the  way  of  Yankees  resolved 
upon  our  subjugation.  Presuming  upon  their  superiour  numbers, 
and  under  the  pretext  of  saving  the  Union  and  annihilating  slavery, 
they  would  invade  us  like  the  army-worm,  which  enters  the  green 
fields  in  countless  numbers.  The  real  object  was  to  enjoy  our  soil 
and  climate  by  means  of  confiscation.  He  poohed  me  into  silence 
with  an  indignant  frown." 

These  passages  of  short-sighted  vanity  with  respect  to  the  war, 
and  glimpses  of  absurd  prophecy,  are  not  very  creditable  to  the 
subject  of  our  sketch,  and  are  really  ludicrous  in  view  of  the  sequel. 
But  their  interest  is  historical ;  and  .they  have  besides  a  curious 
significance  in  showing  how  certain  cultivated  but  strange  minds 
may  be  populated  by  crude  fancies,  and  controlled  by  delusions 
worse  than  positive  ignorance. 

On  the  Confederate  authority  taking  control  at  Eichmond, 
Henry  A.  Wise  was  commissioned  a  Brigadier  General,  and  desig 
nated  to  open  the  campaign  in  what  is  properly  called  Western 
Virginia.  Early  in  June,  1861,  Gen.  Wise  had  organized  a  force 
of  about  four  thousand  men,  and  advanced  as  far  as  Charlestown 
on  the  Kanawha  Kiver,  where  he  was  opposed  by  Gen.  Cox. 
Hearing  of  the  result  of  the  battle  of  Kich  Mountain,  he  retired  to 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.    WISE.  565 

Lewisburg,  on  the  Greenbrier  'Kiver,  at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains.  Thus  the  Federal  lines  were  pushed  forward  from  the 
Ohio  Eiver  to  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  a  distance  of  about  one 
hundred  miles,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  people  of  Western  Vir 
ginia,  who  had  shown  symptoms  of  a  wish  to  separate  from  the 
Eastern  portion  of  the  State  and  to  remain  in  the  Union,  received 
the  support  of  the  Federal  army. 

Gen.  Wise  had  attempted  with  but  little  effect  to  keep  the 
population  in  his  department  firm  in  their  allegiance  to  Virginia, 
and  had  hoped  to  gather  from  it  a  large  force  of  recruits.  On 
taking  command  he  had  issued  the  following  pertinent  and  well- 
prepared  proclamation : 

EIPLEY,  VA.,  July  6,  1861. 

To  the  true  and  loyal  citizens  of  Virginia  on  all  the  Ohio  bor 
der,  and  more  particularly  to  those  of  Jackson  County,  I  would 
earnestly  appeal  to  come  to  the  defence  of  the  Commonwealth, 
invaded  and  insulted  as  she  is  by  a  ruthless  and  unnatural  enemy. 
None  need  be  afraid  that  they  will  be  held  accountable  for  past 
opinions,  votes,  or  acts,  under  the  delusions  which  have  been  prac 
tised  upon  the  Northwestern  people,  if  they  will  now  return  to 
their  patriotic  duty  and  acknowledge  their  allegiance  to  Virginia 
and  her  Confederate  States,  as  their  true  and  lawful  sovereigns. 
You  were  Union  men,  so  was  I,  and  we  had  a  right  to  be  so  until 
oppression  and  invasion  and  war  drove  us  to  the  assertion  of 
a  second  independence.  The  sovereign  State  proclaimed  it  by  her 
Convention,  and  by  a  majority  of  more  than  100,000  votes  at  the 
polls.  She  has  seceded  from  the  old  and  established  a  new  Con 
federacy.  She  has  commanded,  and  we  must  obey  her  voice.  I 
come  to  execute  her  command — to  hold  out  the  olive  branch  to  her 
true  and  peaceful  citizens — to  repel  invasion  from  abroad,  and 
subdue  treason  only  at  home.  Come  to  the  call  of  the  country 
which  owes  you  protection  as  her  native  sons. 

HENRY  A.  WISE,  Brigadier- General. 

The  unfortunate  results  of  the  campaign  in  Western  Virginia 
are  in  some  measure  to  be  ascribed  to  the  disappointed  hopes  of 
enlisting  its  resident  population  in  the  Southern  cause.  But,  in 
any  view,  it  is  to  be  taken  as  an  undoubted  failure.  Gen.  Wise's 
campaign  appears  to  have  tested  the  endurance  of  the  men  in 


566  BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE. 

marches  and  counter-marches,  and  in  scouting  and  skirmishing  in 
the  Kanawha  Valley ;  but,  although  no  great  battle  was  fought, 
his  men  proved  their  courage  and  constancy  in  a  number  of  affairs, 
such  as  Scary  Creek,  Hawk's  Nest,  Honey  Creek,  Big  Creek, 
Carnifax  Ferry  and  Camp  Defiance.  As  winter  approached, 
Western  Virginia  was  practically  abandoned  by  order  of  the 
authorities  at  Kichmond ;  and  the  enemy,  without  the  force  or 
merit  of  a  single  victory,  came  into  possession  of  a  country  of  more 
capacity  and  resources  than  any  other  of  equal  limits  on  the 
American  continent. 

The  defence  of  Roanoke  Island  again  brought  Gen.  Wise  before 
public  attention,  and  coupled  his  name  with  a  great  disaster.  But 
in  this  matter  he  was  both  officially  and  popularly  acquitted  of  all 
blame ;  so  much  so  that  an  active  sympathy  was  excited  in  his 
favour,  which,  however,  unfortunately  for  his  hopes  of  promotion, 
put  him  in  opposition  to  the  Richmond  Cabinet,  and  stirred  the 
animosity  of  President  Davis.  The  fact  was,  as  developed  by  an 
investigation  in  Congress,  that  his  command  of  less  than  2,000 
men  had  contended  against  a  force  represented  by  sixty  ves 
sels,  twenty-six  of  them  gunboats,  and  not  less  than  15,000 
men,  and  had  "  fought  firmly,  coolly,  efficiently,  and  as  long 
as  humanity  would  allow."  Why,  it  may  be  asked,  did  Gen. 
Wise  fight  his  men  against  such  odds  ?  The  simple  answer  is,  that 
he  had  no  election.  When  the  department  was  organized,  and 
before  his  Legion  left  Richmond,  he  repaired  in  person  to  the 
island,  examined  into  its  condition,  and  hurried  back  to  warn  his 
superiours  at  Norfolk  and  Richmond  of  the  indefensible  condition 
of  the  island,  and  its  utter  want  of  means  of  defence.  His  remon 
strance  at  Richmond  was  met  by  a  peremptory  order  to  the  island, 
and  there  to  defend  it ;  and  at  Norfolk  he  was  told  that  men  were 
not  wanted.  All  we  wanted  were  "supplies,  coolness,  and  hard 
work?  After  this,  he  was  obliged  to  work  and  fight  without 
means  and  without  men.  No  men  ever  behaved  with  greater 
coolness;  but  there  was  no  time  to  work,  and  his  command  fought 
ten  to  one  up  to  the  muzzles,  and  without  flinching.  The  Govern 
ment  had  permitted  the  golden  time  for  work  to  pass  unimproved; 
the  delay  of  the  enemy,  caused  by  providential  interference,  had 
not  been  used  by  the  Confederate  authorities,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  glorious  performance  of  Gen.  Wise's  command,  all  was  lost — 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE.  567 

the  granary  and  the  larder  of  Norfolk  was  gone— and  the  enemy 
was  at  the  back-door  of  that  city. 

The  investigating  committee  raised  in  Congress  declared  that 
the  battle  of  Roanoke  Island  was  "  one  of  the  most  gallant  and 
brilliant  actions  of  the  war;"  and  concluded  that  whatever  of 
blame  and  responsibility  was  justly  attributable  to  any  one  for  the 
defeat,  should  attach  to  Gen.  Huger,  in  whose  military  department 
the  island  was,  and  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Judah  P.  Benjamin, 
whose  positive  refusal  to  put  the  island  in  a  state  of  defense  secured 
its  fall. 

The  exculpation  of  Gen.  Wise  was  complete.  At  the  time  of 
the  battle  he  had  been  prostrated  by  illness ;  and,  affected  as  the 
public  was  by  the  fall  of  Roanoke  Island,  it  yet  had  no  word  of 
blame  for  the  unfortunate  General,  who  was  compelled  to  hear  on 
a  sick-bed — perhaps  to  witness  from  the  windows  of  a  sick  chamber 
— the  destruction  of  his  army  and  the  death  of  his  son.  The  pride 
of  his  age,  his  son  of  great  promise,  Capt.  0.  Jennings  Wise,  com 
manding  the  Richmond  Blues,  had  fallen  in  the  action,  in  circum 
stances  of  gallantry  that  were  noticed  by  the  Federals,  and  obtained 
from  them  a  rare  and  noble  tribute  of  respect.*  He  was  tenderly 
nursed  by  the  enemy  until  death  closed  his  eyes,  and  his  body  was 
then  conveyed  to  the  main  land  with  every  mark  of  respect.  Gen. 
Wise  met  the  remains  at  Currituck ;  and  then  ensued  a  touching 
scene,  for  the  father  insisted  that  the  coffin  should  be  opened  that 
he  might  gaze  for  the  last  time  upon  the  body  of  his  son.  The 

*  The  following  acrostic,  in  memory  of  0.  Jennings  "Wise,  appeared  in  a  California 
newspaper: — 

O'er  his  cold  brow, 

Just  touched  by  time's  soft,  silvery  tracing, 
Entwine  immortelles  with  the  unfading  laurel, 
Nor  fear  the  mildew  of  the  grave  will  blight  their  fragrance, 
Nor  the  rustle  of  the  icy  worm  'mid  its  green  leaves 
Impair  the  freshness  of  the  dead  soldier's  coronal 

Not  for  the  grave  is  the  wreath  woven,  but, 
Glorious  dust !  when  the  last  loud  reveille 
Shall  wake  thee  from  thy  slumbers,  as  one  of  those, 
Whose  flitting  wings  reflect  heaven's  opening  light, 
In  the  full  blaze  of  glory  shalt  thou  rise, 
Soaring  on  high,  with  earth's  long  line  of  heroes, 
Enwreathed  with  this,  the  patriot's  fadeless  crown 


568  BRIG. -GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE. 

powerful  old  hero  of  Eastern  Virginia,  the  man  of  many  sorrows 
and  of  many  triumphs,  bent  over  the  body  of  his  son,  on  whose 
pale  face  the  full  moon  threw  its  light,  kissed  the  cold  brow  many 
times,  and  exclaimed  in  an  agony  of  emotion :  "Oh,  my  brave 
boy !  You  have  died  for  me,  you  have  died  for  me  1" 

The  acquittal  of  Gen.  Wise  by  Congress  was  coupled  with  the 
first  severe  censure  that  that  body  had  yet  dared  to  cast  upon  the 
Richmond  Cabinet,  and  thus  became  the  occasion  of  Executive 
prejudice,  sustained  to  the  end  of  the  war,  against  the  already  ill- 
used  commander.  For  several  months  after  the  event  of  Roanoke 
Island,  he  remained  without  any  active  command.  He  was  highly 
recommended  by  Gen.  Beauregard,  who  was  always  favourably 
impressed  with  his  military  character;  he  was  advised  by  his 
friends  to  ask  for  another  command ;  and  he  was  too  patriotic  not 
to  overcome  some  personal  sensitiveness,  to  the  end  that  he  might 
make  another  effort  in  defence  of  his  country.  He  waited  upon 
the  Secretary  of  War,  and  ascertained  that  there  was  no  brigade 
for  him.  Returning  from  the  War  Department,  some  of  his  offi 
cers  who  had  escaped  "  the  slaughter  pen"  at  Roanoke  Island, 
crowded  around  him  to  learn  the  issue  of  his  application.  "  There 
is  no  Secretary  of  War !  "  said  he.  "  What  is  Randolph  ?  "  asked 
one.  "He  is  not  Secretary  of  War!  "  said  he;  "  he  is  merely  a 
clerk,  an  underling,  and  cannot  hold  up  his  head  in  his  humiliating 
position.  He  never  will  be  able  to  hold  up  his  head,  Sir."  It 
was  finally  through  the  influence  of  Gen.  Lee,  that  Gen.  Wise 
was  ordered  into  the  field.  It  was  decided  that  he  should  have 
a  brigade,  but  not  with  Beauregard.  In  the  battles  around  Rich 
mond  he  commanded  three  regiments  of  infantry,  the  4tb,  26th, 
and  46th  Virginia,  and  four  batteries  of  light  artillery ;  but  he  was 
only  slightly  engaged,  acting  under  the  orders  of  Gen.  Holmes. 
He  was  stationed  for  some  time  at  Chafnn's  Farm.  When  Nor 
folk  was  given  up,  his  home  and  all  his  possessions  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy;  and  without  a  shelter  for  his  head,  he  bivou 
acked  with  his  devoted  brigade  near  the  city  of  Richmond. 

He  was  already  the  senior  Brigadier-General  in  the  Confederate 
army.  He  was  finally  sent  without  promotion  to  the  department 
of  Gen.  Beauregard,  embracing  the  coasts  of  South  Carolina  and 
Florida.  Here  he  did  some  hard  service,  trying  the  temper  and 
spirit  of  his  troops  in  the  lagoons  and  galls  of  the  Edisto  and  Stono, 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE.  569 

and  their  pluck  on  John's  Island  in  South  Carolina,  at  which  latter 
place  he  drove  the  enemy  from  a  strong  position,  and  was  honoura 
bly  and  gratefully  mentioned  by  Gen.  Beauregard  in  his  dispatches. 

When,  in  the  spring  of  1864,  his  Virginia  troops  were  ordered 
back  from  South  Carolina  and  Florida,  to  rally  again  around  the 
altars  of  home,  they  showed  an  unconquerable  ardour,  "raising 
the  slogan  of  Old  Virginia  Never  Tire,"  and,  opening  the  defile  at 
Nottoway  Bridge,  rushed  to  Petersburg  in  time  twice  to  save  that 
city  against  odds  of  more  than  ten  to  one.  In  all  the  terrible  trials 
that  awaited  them  in  the  last  defence  of  Richmond ;  in  meeting 
again  and  again  the  shock  of  attack  on  the  thin  line ;  in  rolling  a 
Sisyphean  stone  of  parapet  and  traverse  and  breastwork  and 
bomb-proof;  in  contending  with  hunger  and  nakedness,  often  with 
out  food  fit  to  feed  brutes,  without  forage  for  transportation,  and 
without  transportation  for  forage,  the  devoted  men  of  Wise's  com 
mand  made  a  glorious  and  unbroken  record  in  the  last  periods  of 
the  war,  terminating  only  when  they  fired  their  last  volleys  at 
Appomattox  Court- House. 

But  little  commentary  is  necessary  on  the  military  record  of 
Gen.  Wise.  It  was  generally  esteemed  a  fair  one ;  although  it 
must  be  confessed  that  it  fell  below  the  expectation  of  his  friends, 
and  that  his  fame  as  a  soldier  is  likely  to  constitute  but  the  lesser 
part  of  his  reputation  in  history.  He  was  generally  fettered  in 
his  military  commands,  and,  although  a  gallant  and  successful 
fighter  in  what  affairs  he  had,  he  was  thought  to  lack  that  prudence 
which  is  often  the  better  part  of  valour,  and  is  always  the  indis 
pensable  element  in  a  great  commander's  action.  It  was  said  that 
his  courage  was  Quixotic,  and  that  he  would  fight  anything  that 
stood  in  his  way.  His  superiours,  although  unwilling  to  trust  him 
for  detached  service,  yet  were  always  ready  to  designate  his  com 
mand  for  desperate  action,  and  put  him  in  where  the  fight  went 
hardest ;  and  it  was  on  the  memorable  days  of  the  29th  and  31st 
March,  1865,  that  his  command,  with  two  other  brigades,  was  hurled 
against  two  corps  of  the  enemy  on  the  Military  and  Boydton  plank 
roads,  and  staggered  them  so  that  they  dared  not  follow  the  retreat. 
No  one  ever  doubted  a  courage  that  was  as  much  above  suspicion 
as  that  of  an  ancient  Eoman ;  no  one  questioned  Gen.  Wise's  in 
fluence  over  the  men  he  commanded,  and  his  faculty  of  inspiring 
them ;  and  yet  he  had  only  the  chances  of  a  subordinate  for  dis- 


570  BR1G.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE. 

tinction,  was  never  trusted  with  a  separate  command,  and  accom 
plished  a  reputation  that  must  be  classed  among  the  minor  ones  of 
the  war. 

The  intellectual  gifts  of  Gen.  "Wise  are  his  best  title  to  fame. 
These  gifts  are  remarkable;  his  oratory  has  given  him  a  name 
known  in  every  part  of  the  country ;  and  his  eccentricities  yet  excite 
curiosity,  and  are  often  quoted  with  marks  of  admiration.  It  is  with 
regard  to  these  eccentricities  that  we  hazard  a  critical  remark.  We 
sometimes  find  intellect  of  the  highest  order  abused  by  a  fondness 
for  paradox,  and  a  disposition  to  make  strong  and  startling  effects 
by  sudden  contradictions  of  the  received  opinions  of  the  public, 
and  novelties  of  literary  style.  So  great  is  this  affliction  of  Gov. 
Wise,  that  the  peculiarity  of  his  conversation  is  never  to  agree  with 
any  opinion  that  is  advanced ;  no  matter  what  that  opinion  is,  no 
matter  how  firmly  fixed  the  common-place  may  be  in  the  ordinary 
judgment  of  men,  he  makes  a  point  to  go  off  at  a  tangent,  to  dis 
sent  for  the  sake  of  argument,  and  to  discharge  the  abundant 
vivacity  of  his  mind  in  eloquent  dissertations  at  variance  with  his 
audience.  His  "  table  talk,"  as  brilliant  as  that  of  Coleridge,  is 
equally  as  rambling,  inconsistent,  and  yet,  after  all,  rather  showing 
a  vivacity  of  intellect  than  an  insincerity  of  conviction.  Men  who 
can  talk  well  on  all  sides  of  a  question  are  often  sincere  for  the 
moment  in  what  they  profess  to  believe,  and  persuade  themselves 
as  well  as  the  audience  to  accept  the  novelty  of  their  opinions. 
Yet  this  disposition  of  mind,  entertaining  as  it  may  be,  and  partak 
ing  of  a  certain  sort  of  genius,  is  an  affliction — at  least,  it  borders  on 
a  moral  infirmity ;  it  reduces  the  intellect  that  should  command 
by  its  convictions  to  the  evanescent  triumphs  of  the  brilliant  dis 
putant.  Such  have  been  the  triumphs  which  Gen.  Wise  has 
achieved,  rather  than  those  of  the  deliberate  and  trusted  statesman. 
His  disordered  and  inconsistent  political  life ;  his  strain  after  novel 
ty  in  whatever  he  speaks  or  writes;  his  almost  matchless  com 
mand  of  language,  and  an  eloquence  rich,  affluent,  but  often  dis 
figured  by  word  coinage,  and  an  affectation  of  carelessness  mixed 
up  with  classical  severity,  are  marks  of  an  afflicted  intellect  that, 
with  better  training,  might  have  conquered  fortune,  and  made  him 
a  reputation  that  would  have  been  a  possession  for  ever. 

Since  the  war  Gen.  Wise  has  made  but  little  figure  before 
the  public.  A  recent  address  of  his  in  behalf  of  charity  for  the 


BRIG.-GEN.   HENRY  A.   WISE.  571 

orphans  of  deceased  Confederate  soldiers,  is  all  that  has  been  heard 
of  him  outside  his  profession,  as  a  lawyer,  in  Eichmond ;  and  it  is 
so  remarkable  for  his  best  style  of  eloquence,  and  for  the  historical 
tribute  it  contains  to  the  private  soldiers  of  the  Confederate  army, 
that,  in  this  double  interest,  we  quote  a  portion  of  it  as  a  fit  con 
clusion  to  this  sketch  : 

"  The  noblest  band  of  men  who  ever  fought  or  who  ever  fell  in 
the  annals  of  war,  whose  glorious  deeds  history  ever  took  pen 
to  record,  were,  I  exultingly  claim,  the  private  soldiers  in  the 
armies  of  the  great  Confederate  cause.  Whether  right  or  wrong 
in  the  cause  which  they  espoused,  they  were  earnest  and  honest 
patriots  in  their  convictions,  who  thought  that  they  were  right  to 
defend  their  own,  their  native  land,  its  soil,  its  altars,  and  its 
honour.  They  felt  that  they  were  no  rebels  and  no  traitors  in 
obeying  their  State  sovereignties,  and  they  thought  that  it  was  law 
ful  to  take  up  arms  under  their  mandates,  authorized  expressly  by 
the  Federal  Constitution,  to  repel  invasion  or  to  suppress  insur 
rection,  when  there  was  such  '  imminent  danger  as  not  to  admit  of 
delay}  The  only  reason  for  the  delay  which  could  have  been  de 
manded  of  them  was  to  have  appealed  to  the  invaders  themselves 
for  defence  against  their  own  invasion ;  and,  whether  there  was  im 
minent  danger  or  not,  events  have  proved.  They  have  been 
invaded  until  every  blade  of  grass  has  been  trodden  down,  until 
every  sanctuary  of  temple,  and  fane,  and  altar,  and  home,  has 
been  profaned.  The  most  of  these  men  had  no  stately  man 
sions  for  their  homes ;  no  slaves  to  plow  and  plant  any  broad 
fields  of  theirs ;  no  stocks  or  investments  in  interest-bearing  funds. 
They  were  poor,  but  proudly  patriotic  and  indomitably  brave. 
Their  country  was  their  only  heritage.  The  mothers  and  wives 
and  daughters  buckled  on  the  belts,  and  sent  husbands  and  sons 
and  brothers  forth,  and  women  toiled  for  the  bread  and  spun  the 
raiment  of  '  little  ones  '  of  '  shanty '  homes  in  country,  or  of  shops 
in  town,  whilst  their  champions  of  defence  were  in  their  country's 
camps,  or  marches,  or  trenches,  or  battles !  They  faithfully  fol 
lowed  leaders  whom  they  trusted  and  honoured.  Nor  Cabinets, 
nor  Congress,  nor  Commissariat,  nor  Quartermaster's  Department, 
nor  speculators,  nor  spies,  nor  renegades,  nor  enemy's  emissaries, 
nor  poverty,  nor  privation,  nor  heat,  nor  cold,  nor  sufferings,  nor 
toil,  nor  danger,  nor  wounds,  nor  death,  could  impair  their  con- 


572  BRIG.-aEN.   HENRY   A.   WISE. 

stancy !  They  fought  with  a  devout  confidence  and  courage  which 
was  unconquerable  save  by  starvation,  blockade,  overwhelming 
numbers,  foreign  dupes  and  mercenaries,  Yankeedom,  Negrodom, 
and  death  !  Prodigies  of  valour,  miracles  of  victories,  undoubted 
and  undoubting  devotion  and  endurance  to  the  last,  entitled  them 
to  honours  of  surrender  which  gilded  the  arms  of  their  victors  and 
extorted  from  them  even  cheers  on  the  battle-field,  where  at  last 
they  yielded  for  Peace !  " 


BRIG.-GEK  TURNER  ASHBY. 


CHAPTEE  LIII. 

Definition  of  Chivalry. — Its  peculiarities  and  virtues. — A  notable  picture  of  chivalric 
courage. — Turner  Ashby's  family. — His  early  life. — He  raises  a  company  of  cav 
alry. — His  famous  white  steed. — Death  of  his  brother. — The  devotion  of  Ashby. — 
Habits  and  appearance  of  the  cavalier. — Purity  of  his  life. — Adventure  with 
the  enemy  at  "Winchester. — Ashby  on  the  retreat  from  Kernstown. — Chased  by 
the  enemy. — His  horse  killed. — Promoted  a  Brigadier. — His  limited  military  edu 
cation. — A  scene  around  the  camp-fires. — Dramatic  death  of  Ashby. — G-en.  Jack 
son's  tribute  to  his  memory. — Honours  to  the  deceased  cavalier. — His  place  in 
history. 

THERE  is  a  sense  of  inferiourity  among  certain  men,  which 
gladly  revenges  itself  by  miscalling,  or  caricaturing  whatever  is 
superiour  to  them.  To  certain  low  and  grovelling  minds  it  is  a 
great  contentment  and  delight  to  represent  men  more  famous 
than  themselves  as  accidents ;  to  describe  great  conquerors  as 
felons ;  to  write  down  military  commanders  as  murderers  on  a 
large  scale  ;  to  designate  virtues  in  which  they  have  no  share  as 
affectations  and  shams ;  and  to  style  the  chivalry  which  they  do 
not  possess,  the  splutter  of  bullies. 

It  is  well  to  define  here  that  very  peculiar  quality  of  manhood, 
which  we  entitle  chivalry,  and  of  which  we  claim  that  the  late 
war  has  given  on  the  part  of  the  South,  peculiar  proofs  and 
examples.  The  term,  perhaps,  has  been  much  abused  and 
misused  ;  but  we  recognize  in  it  a  well-defined  idea,  and  a  basis 
of  estimate  of  men,  sufficiently  distinct  and  characteristic.  To 
be  sure,  chivalry  as  an  institution  of  the  eleventh  century  has 
been  dead  some  time  ago  ;  but,  as  a  sentiment,  it  has  fought  its 
way  against  much  of  the  utilitarian  spirit  of  modern  times,  and 
yet  survives  in  some  parts  of  the  world. 


574  ERIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

We  have  no  hesitation  in  naming  the  most  characteristic  ele 
ment  of  chivalry,  a  passion  for  danger — a  love  of  danger  for 
itself.  There  are  men  who  enjoy  the  emotions,  the  thrill,  the 
sublime  intoxication  of  danger.  Some  court  it  in  the  forces  of 
nature,  and  are  known  as  a  peculiar  sort  of  adventurous  trav 
ellers.  But  it  is  the  characteristic  and  office  of  chivalry  to  court 
danger  in  the  arms  of  men,  and  in  the  character  of  champion  of 
a  principle.  It  is  not  the  animal  desire  of  fight ;  the  brutal  con 
sciousness  of  power  impelled  to  exercise  itself;  it  is  the  sentiment 
of  championship,  and  the  pure  grand  desire  of  the  emotion  of 
danger  in  the  combat  of  man  against  man.  In  such  a  disposi 
tion,  there  is  a  natural  fondness  for  single  combat — the  duello. 
It  is  to  be  remarked,  indeed,  that  chivalry  is  not  gregarious,  and 
prefers  always  the  individual  risk  and  enterprise — the  clear-cut 
front  of  man  to  man — to  the  mixed  dangers  of  a  general  battle. 

What  is  sentimental  in  chivalry  quickly  allies  itself  with 
positive  virtues.  The  true  knight  has  an  unfailing  scorn  of  all 
under-handed  means.  He  observes  truth  with  the  rigour  of  the 
saint ;  his  regard  for  it  not  being  necessarily  moral,  but  senti 
mental — because  to  lie  is  cowardly.  He  is  unwilling  to  admit 
any  trace  of  malice  or  revenge  in  his  adventure ;  and  to  the 
vanquished  foe  his  magnanimity  is  instant,  and  his  generosity 
unbounded.  He  is  in  constant  search  of  good  causes  of  contest. 
He  has  a  ready  and  tender  regard  for  whatever  is  weak  and 
unprotected,  and  shows  it  especially  in  his  behaviour  towards 
women. 

Here  are  elements  enough  to  constitute  and  define  a  distinct 
quality  of  mind.  The  term,  chivalry,  has  been  used  in  many 
broad  and  vague  senses,  and  especially  confounded  with  moral 
questions.  There  is  certainly  a  conviction  of  duty  in  chivalry  ; 
it  must  have  its  good  cause  and  its  conscientious  occasion  ;  but 
that  is  not  sufficient  to  characterize  it.  It  is  not  courage  alone. 
It  is  not  generosity  alone.  It  is  not  prowess  alone.  It  is  not 
high  morality  alone.  It  is  a  distinct  quality,  sui  generis  :  a  dedi 
cation  of  self,  a  joy  of  contest,  and,  with  all,  a  royal  passion  for 
danger.  Especially,  must  we  distinguish  this  rare  quality  of 
mind  from  fanatical  fervour ;  for  chivalry,  although  essentially 
in  the  character  of  champion,  goes  past  the  idea  it  fights  for, 
and  finds  a  second  object  in  the  gaudium  certaminis^  the  delight 


BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY.  575 

of  contest  and  danger.  If,  by  this  definition,  we  have  nar 
rowed  the  term  from  any  of  its  general  uses,  we  have  done  so 
justly,  and  with  a  view  of  having  this  quality  of  manhood 
severely  separated  to  itself,  and  judged  on  its  own  merits. 

In  tracing  that  series  of  characters,  which  in  the  records  of 
the  late  war  illustrate  our  subject,  we  shall  find  different  types 
and  varieties  of  chivalry.  Wade  Hampton  with  his  manners 
severe  almost  to  haughtiness ;  Heniy  A.  Wise,  raging  like  a 
lion  in  battle,  or  stooping  to  kiss  the  cold,  mute  lips  of  his 
dead  son  ;  Morgan  with  his  rollicking  humour  and  fondness  for 
practical  jokes ;  the  sweet-tempered,  pious  Ashby,  waving  his 
sword  over  his  head  with  the  simple,  habitual  words,  "  Follow 
me,"  or  surrounded  by  children-scholars  in  the  Sunday  school ; 
Forrest  with  his  coarse  strength  and  bad  grammar,  and  Titanic 
genius ;  John  M.  Daniel  with  meteor  pen,  the  first  scholar  of 
America  ;  "  Young  Pelham,"  cheering  while  his  body  is  stricken 
with  death  ;  Churchill  Clarke,  the  Missouri  boy,  dying  like  a 
young  martyr  in  sheets  of  artillery  fire — all  these  illustrating 
different  ranks  and  employments,  jet  agree  in  the  same  grand 
sentiment  of  championship,  the  same  joy  of  defiance,  and  each, 
in  his  history,  weaves  the  golden  thread  and  superb  mark  of 
chivalry. 

In  characters  such  as  these  the  people  of  the  South  may  find 
the  peculiar  ornament  of  their  country,  and  their  youth  a  model 
of  true  glory.  The  love  of  glory  may  be  nearly  translated  as  a 
passion  for  danger  incurred  in  the  cause  of  right.  But  the  more 
exact  term  we  have  chosen  for  that  disposition  of  mind  is  chivalry, 
so  clearly  is  it  marked  by  a  delight  in  and  the  positive  court  of 
peril.  A  man  may  be  deeply  affected  by  the  justice  and  merit 
of  some  cause ;  he  may  make  great  sacrifices  in  its  name ;  he 
may  serve  it  with  an  iron  will ;  he  may  pursue  it  with  unconquer 
able  ardour ;  but  it  is  the  chivalric  champion  who  advances 
bej^ond  what  is  demanded  of  him,  goes  in  search  of  danger  and 
rejoices  when  he  sees  it.  He  who  does  this  is  the  true  knight  ot 
modern  times ;  the  example  of  manhood  in  which  justice  and 
romance  are  beautifully  mixed ;  the  rare  instance  of  an  epicene 
nature ;  an  object  of  regard,  which  affection  seeks  to  embrace, 
while  admiration  crowns ;  a  delight  unto  himself,  and  an  orna 
ment  to  any  people. 


576  BRIG.-GElSr.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

The  art  of  the  painter  has  found  many  subjects  in  the  late 
war — its  contests,  the  scenes  it  traversed,  heroic  deeds  of  heroic 
men.  If  we  had  to  suggest  an  impersonation  of  chivalry  which 
it  might  catch  on  its  canvas,  and  by  a  picture  give  the  best  idea 
of  this  peculiar  quality  of  manhood,  we  would  take  a  scene,  often 
described,  in  the  famous  life  of  Turner  Ashby  of  Virginia.  It 
was  one  of  those  irregular  fights  often  occurring  on  the  lines  of 
the  Potomac  in  the  early  periods  of  the  war.  A  body  of  the 
enemy  was  encamped  on  the  other  side  of  the  Potomac,  opposite 
Boteler's  mills ;  they  had  posted  themselves  on  the  bank  with 
long  range  guns,  from  which  they  kept  up  a  prodigious  fire. 
Ashby  commanded  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  a  body  of  raw 
troops,  who  were  evidently  very  much  affected  by  the  terrific 
sound  of  artillery.  To  reassure  his  men,  and  to  gratify  his  love 
of  danger,  Ashby  advanced,  alone,  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and 
rode  his  white  horse  up  and  down,  within  point  blank-range  of 
the  enemy's  fire.  When  the  balls  were  hurtling  thickest,  he 
would  rein  in  his  horse  and  stand  perfectly  still.  Abreast  to  the 
red  crash  of  the  artillery,  himself  and  white  steed  in  defiant  poise, 
he  challenged  danger  like  an  olden  knight.  He  mocked  terrour ; 
he  courted  peril ;  he  stood  still  in  the  face  of  death,  and  the  blood 
sang  in  his  veins ! 

But  this  picture  anticipates  our  narrative.  "We  propose  to 
give,  in  its  natural  order,  though  briefly,  some  account  of  a  life 
which  so  adorned  its  age  and  country — which  indeed  made 
Turner  Ashby  the  type  of  what  was  most  glorious  in  the  late 
war,  and  the  glass  of  Southern  chivalry. 

The  ancestral  stock  of  Ashby  was  well  known  in  Virginia,  and 
did  patriotic  service  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  that  of  1812. 
His  grandfather,  Captain  Jack  Ashby,  was  a  man  of  mark  in  the 
day  in  which  he  lived.*  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Eevolu- 

*  An  anecdote  of  this  person,  belonging  to  the  Colonial  times  of  Virginia,  is  not 
out  of  place  here,  and  has  been  told  in  his  neighbourhood  as  illustrating  the  heredi 
tary  horsemanship  hi  the  Ashby  family : 

When  the  news  of  the  disastrous  defeat  and  death  of  Gen.  Braddock  reached  Fort 
Loudoun  (now  Winchester,  Virginia),  John  Ashby  was  there,  and  his  celebrity  as  a 
horseman  induced  the  British  commandant  of  the  post  to  secure  his  services  as 
bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  vice-royal  governor  at  Williamsburg.  Ashby  at  once 
proceeded  on  his  mission,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  presented  himself  before  the 


BRIG. -GEN.  TURNER  ASHBY.  577 

tion  of  1776,  he  raised  a  company  in  his  neighbourhood  in  the 
upper  part  of  Fauquier.  It  was  attached  to  the  third  Virginia 
regiment,  under  command  of  Gen.  Marshall.  He  was  in  the 
battles  of  Brandywine,  Germantown,  and  several  other  of  the 
most  desperately  contested  fields  of  the  Revolution.  From  expo 
sure  and  hardships  endured  upon  the  frontiers  of  Canada,  he 
contracted  disease,  from  which  he  was  never  entirely  relieved  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  Four  of  his  sons  served  in  the  war  of  1812. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  the  second  son  of  Col.  Turner 
Ashby,  a  worthy  planter  of  Fauquier  county,  Virginia.  He  lost 
his  father  at  an  early  age,  and  he  and  his  several  brothers  and 
sisters  received  their  youthful  training  from  a  truly  pious  and 
intelligent  mother,  who  belonged  to  the  large  and  influential 
Green  family  of  that  section. 

After  the  school-days  of  Ashby  were  ended,  he  settled  on 
the  paternal  estate,  and  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuits  and  pleas 
ures  of  the  country  in  which  he  resided,  avoiding,  however,  the 
dissipations  too  common  among  the  young  men  of  that  day,  but 
the  foremost  in  all  innocent  sports,  the  first  to  get  up  tournaments 
and  fox-chases,  and  almost  always  the  successful  competitor  in 
all  manly  games.  His  public  career  may  be  dated  from  the  time 
of  the  John  Brown  raid.  When  this  monstrous  invasion  of  his 
native  State  took  place,  Ashby,  then  Captain  of  a  volunteer  com 
pany  of  cavalry,  summoned  his  men,  and  was  among  the  first  to 
hasten  to  Harper's  Ferry.  When  this  insurrection  was  subdued, 
he  knew  very  well  that  the  end  had  not  yet  come,  and. he  con 
tinued  to  devote  his  time  and  means  to  the  drilling  and  equip- 
ping  of  his  company.  When  the  State  of  Virginia  seceded  from 
the  Union,  and  news  came  thereupon  that  the  Federals  had  fired 
the  armory  at  Harper's  Ferry,  Ashby  was  in  the  city  of  Rich 
mond.  He  immediately  started  for  his  home,  to  summon  his 
cavalry,  and  raise  the  standard  of  his  insulted  and  outraged  State. 
A  neighbour  and  friend  of  his  (Mr.  H.)  learning  his  arrival  at 

commander  at  Fort  Loudoun.  This  official,  of  choleric  disposition,  upon  the  appear 
ance  of  Ashby,  broke  out  in  severe  reproach  for  his  delay  in  proceeding  on  his  mis 
sion,  and  was  finally  struck  dumb  with  astonishment  at  the  presentation  of  the  gover 
nor's  reply  to  the  dispatch  I  The  ride  is  said  to  have  been  accomplished  in  the 
shortest  possible  time,  and  the  fact  is  certified  in  the  records  of  Frederick  county 
court. 

37 


578  BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

home,  and  the  purpose  he  had  in  view,  sent  for  him.  Ashby 
obeyed  the  summons.  At  their  meeting,  Mr.  H.  said :  "You 
know  how  I  prize  my  white  stallion,  by  Talbrim,  and  of  my 
intention  not  to  sell  him.  Now,  I  present  him  to  you  as  your 
battle-horse.  You  will  make  your  mark  in  the  coming  war.  I 
desire  you  to  ride  the  horse  for  my  sake."  The  gift  was  accepted 
in  the  same  generous  spirit  in  which  it  was  offered.  The  prophecy 
was  fulfilled.  Ashby,  indeed,  made  his  mark,  and  his  white 
steed  became  historical. 

On  the  commencement  of  hostilities,  he,  with  his  company, 
reported  for  duty  to  General  Johnston  at  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
was  placed  in  command  at  Point  of  Rocks,  where  he  was  sup 
ported  by  two  other  cavalry  companies.  About  this  time,  Col. 
Angus  "W.  McDonald,  a  prominent  citizen  of  Winchester,  was 
commissioned  to  raise  a  legion  of  mounted  men  for  border  ser 
vice,  and  Ashby's  cavalry  was  transferred  to  the  legion.  Capt. 
Ashby  was  then  tendered  the  post  of  Lieutenant- Colon  el.  But 
the  brave  captain  was  loth  to  leave  the  camp-fire  of  his  old  asso 
ciates,  until  the  arrival  of  his  brother,  Richard,  from  Texas,  who 
joined  the  company  as  a  private.  This  circumstance  appeared 
to  open  the  way  to  Turner's  promotion.  The  men  were  willing 
to  accept  Richard  Ashby  as  their  leader ;  but  before  the  neces 
sary  arrangements  could  be  made,  he  was  killed  in  a  skirmish 
with  the  enemy. 

The  tragical  death  of  this  gallant  young  man  was  affecting  to 
the  last  degree.  On  the  29th  June,  1861,  the  two  brothers  left 
their  camp,  six  miles  from  Romney,  on  a  scouting  expedition. 
Turner  Ashby,  with  eleven  men,  approached  the  Potomac. 
Richard,  with  nineteen,  skirted  the  line  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  railroad.  Dividing  his  force,  the  latter  proceeded  with 
seven  men  up  the  road,  deceived  by  a  traitor,  who  promised  to 
guide  him  to  a  spot  where  he  could  capture  some  of  the  enemy. 
Suddenly  a  body  of  fifty  Federal  cavalry  appeared  from  ambush, 
and  rushed  on  them.  No  line  of  retreat  was  open  except  a  deep 
cut  for  the  railroad.  Down  this  Richard  Ashby  and  his  brave 
men  rode,  halting  often  and  firing  at  the  foe,  who  kept  at  a  good 
distance.  He  would  probably  have  made  good  his  retreat,  but  in 
seeking  to  wheel  and  front  their  pursuers,  himself  and  five  of  his 
men  were  thrown  into  an  open  culvert,  or  "  cow-pit"  across 


BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY.  579 

the  track.  Seeing  the  accident,  the  enemy  galloped  on  them. 
Some  of  his  men  escaped,  but  their  gallant  leader,  after  cutting 
down  one  with  his  sabre,  and  striking  another  senseless  with  the 
butt  of  his  pistol,  was  overpowered,  and  fell  to  the  ground  with 
four  sabre  cuts  on  his  head  and  forehead.  While  thus  helpless, 
one  of  the  cowardly  assailants  asked  if  he  was  a  Unionist.  The 
dying  soldier  gasped,  " no — a  /Secessionist"  and  instantly  a  bayo 
net  was  plunged  through  his  breast ! 

The  death  of  his  brother  was  the  occasion  of  deep,  unspeak 
able  grief  to  Turner  Ashby,  and  from  that  time  a  change  appears 
to  have  come  over  his  life.  It  seems  that  this  early  tragedy  of 
the  war,  gave  his  first  enthusiasm  a  deeper  and  sadder  tinge ; 
and  from  this  time  he  relinquished  all  other  pursuits  and  concerns 
but  that  of  repelling  the  invaders  of  his  country.  He  shared 
every  hardship  with  his  men,  refusing  to  avail  himself  of  any  of 
the  privileges  of  his  rank,  and  not  only  led  them  as  an  officer,  but 
took  delight  in  individual  feats  of  enterprise  and  swordsmanship. 
A  splendid  horseman,  almost  constantly  in  the  saddle,  he  trav 
ersed  every  part  of  his  district,  and  would  "  come  and  go  like  a 
dream."  He  would  be  heard  of  at  one  time  in  one  part  of  the 
country,  and  then,  when  least  expected,  would  come  dashing  by 
on  the  famous  and  well-known  steed  which  was  his  pride.  It 
was  incessant  work  with  him ;  he  courted  danger  everywhere, 
and  delighted  only  in  its  excitements  ;  and  the  brown  eyes  which 
spoke  the  gentle  disposition  of  the  young  cavalier,  flashed  glori 
ously  in  battle. 

Accepting  the  position  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  McDonald's 
Legion,  he  was  on  duty  for  some  months  in  Hampshire  county. 
He  was  afterwards  sent  on  detached  duty  to  Jefferson,  into  which 
county  the  enemy  was  then  making  frequent  incursions  from  Har 
per's  Ferry  and  Maryland.  Here  he  had  command  of  four  compa 
nies  of  cavalry  and  about  800  militia ;  and  with  this  small  force  he 
was  for  months  occupied  in  keeping  Yankee  invaders  and  rough- 
riders  from  the  doors  of  the  inhabitants,  with  such  effect  that  the 
enemy  could  obtain  no  foothold  in  this  portion  of  Virginia,  until 
Banks  crossed  the  Potomac  in  force  in  1862.  It  was  in  this  field 
that  Ashby's  cavalry  acquired  its  great  renown.  The  men  could 
never  find  their  commander  idle  ;  they  were  stimulated  not  only 
by  the  brilliant  and  amazing  example  of  personal  courage  which 


580  BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

he  always  gave  them  in  front  of  the  battle,  but  by  his  exhibition 
of  activity,  his  sudden  apparitions  in  all  parts  of  the  country, 
annoying  the  skirts  of  the  enemy  and  daring  him  to  combat.  The 
chaplain  of  his  regiment  testifies  that  it  was  not  an  infrequent 
feat  for  him  to  ride  daily  over  a  line  of  pickets  sixty  or  seventy 
miles  in  extent.  He  always  looked  like  work  ;  the  gray  coat  and 
pants  with  boots  and  sash,  were  frequently  covered  with  mud  ; 
but  the  daring  and  adventurous  rider  appeared  to  be  never 
fatigued  or  dejected.  He  treated  his  men  as  companions;  he 
had  no  idea  of  military  discipline  ;  he  was  so  ignorant  of  the  art 
of  war  that  his  friends  say  that  he  was  incapable  of  drilling  a 
regiment;  but,  though  no  stickler  for  military  rules,  and  preserv 
ing  among  his  men  scarcely  anything  more  than  the  rude  discipline 
of  camp-hunters,  he  governed  so  by  his  personal  influence  that  his 
command  never  gave  way  before  the  enemy,  was  never  circum 
vented  and  never  surprised.  His  own  vigilance  was  something 
marvellous  ;  and,  no  matter  what  hour  of  the  night  he  was  aroused, 
he  was  always  wakeful,  self-possessed,  and  ready  to  do  battle. 

It  is  curious  how  the  popular  imagination  draws  of  men 
renowned  in  war  the  pictures  of  fierce,  stalwart  and  relentless 
adventurers.  Such  a  picture  was  never  more  at  variance  with  the 
reality  than  in  the  case  of  Turner  Ashby.  He  was  of  small  stat 
ure  ;  his  eyes  were  luminous  and  soft  except  in  the  excitement 
of  battle ;  his  gentle  manners,  his  deference  to  sex,  his  grave  re 
gard  for  truth,  his  touching  respect  for  religion,  his  severe  and 
ascetic  virtues — all  united  with  enthusiastic  courage,  were  qualities 
of  the  true  knight,  and  made  a  combination  of  character  at  once 
rare  and  admirable.  A  long  black  beard  gave  character  to  a 
youthful  face,  dark  and  swarthy  as  that  of  the  Spaniard ;  but  there 
was  no  cast  of  ferocity  in  it.  There  was  a  sweet  solemnity  in  his 
countenance  as  of  the  self-devoted,  and  a  beautiful  and  thrilling 
charm  in  a  manner  that  never  betrayed  violence  and  yet  contained 
the  pulses  of  a  deep  and  true  enthusiasm.  When  he  gave  his 
most  daring  commands  he  would  gently  draw  his  sabre,  wave  it 
around  his  head,  and  then  his  clear  voice  would  sound  the  simple, 
thrilling  words,  "  Follow  me !"  He  was  different  from  other 
famous  cavaliers  of  the  war,  in  that  his  manners  were  more  sober 
and  cultivated,  sharing  none  of  the  humour  of  the  war.  There 
were  no  taunts  or  witticisms  with  the  enemy — no  rude  jokes ;  and 


BRIGL-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY.  ^ 

although  he  delighted  in  all  excitements  it  was  only  in  pure  and 
virtuous  exercises  that  he  sought  them.  It  is  said  of  him  that  he 
was  never  known  to  engage  in  any  game  of  chance,  to  use  an  oath, 
or  to  employ  an  expression  that  could  offend  the  most  polite  ears. 
He  had  the  traits  of  a  gentle  and  firm  manhood  observed  only  in 
the  best  examples  of  chivalry.  He  was  a  polished  gentleman, 
self-contained,  careful  of  right  speech,  disposed  to  solitude  ;  but 
deferent  to  social  etiquette,  and  at  his  ease  in  all  companies. 

The  most  notable  adventures  of  Ashby's  career  are  contained 
in  that  famous  campaign  of  Jackson  in  the  Valley  already  so  often 
recited  and  celebrated  in  these  pages.  His  affair  with  two  Federal 
cavalrymen  on  the  outskirts  of  Winchester  is  told  as  a  remarkable 
instance  of  the  determination  and  bodily  strength  of  the  man. 
It  was  in  the  month  of  March,  1862,  when  Jackson,  finding  the 
enemy  approaching  his  flanks  and  about  to  overwhelm  him  with 
greatly  superiour  numbers,  determined  to  fall  back  from  Win 
chester.  The  next  day  a  column  of  eight  thousand  Federal  troops 
entered  the  town  and  took  possession.  The  Confederates  had  un 
willingly  and  doggedly  retired  ;  and  Col.  Ashby,  commanding  the 
cavalry,  which  composed  the  rear-guard  of  the  army,  remained  be 
hind  his  men,  alone,  in  Winchester,  until  the  enemy  had  swarmed 
into  the  ancient  town,  and  were  within  two  hundred  yards  of  his 
position.  He  appeared  to  defy  the  enemy ;  reining  his  horse  up 
steadily  on  a  slight  eminence  he  watched  the  approach  of  the 
haughty  and  unprincipled  foe.  Observing  the  daring  horseman, 
two  Federal  soldiers  made  a  circuit  to  intercept  his  retreat ;  and 
as  Ashby.  at  last  wheeling  his  trusted  charger  and  uttering  a  de 
fiant  cheer  for  the  Southern  Confederacy,  dashed  off  for  the  Val 
ley  turnpike,  he  found  two  cavalrymen  in  the  road  to  dispute  his 
progress.  Dashing  straight  down  upon  them,  paying  no  attention 
to  their  loud  "  halt,"  he  sent  a  pistol  ball  through  the  head  of  one 
of  them,  and  seizing  the  other  bodily,  grasping  him  by  the  throat, 
he  dragged  him  from  the  saddle  and  carried  him  at  full  gallop. 
This  feat  is  authenticated  beyond  question,  and  could  only  have 
been  performed  by  the  best  rider  and  one  of  the  strongest  men 
for  his  size  in  the  Confederate  army. 

The  unequal  battle  of  Kernstown  was  brought  on  by  false  in 
formation  as  to  the  enemy's  strength  ;  but  despite  the  odds  against 
him  Jackson  came  very  near  winning  the  day.  When  the  enemy 


582  BRIG.-GEN".  TURNER  ASHBY. 

at  last  drove  his  centre,  and  lie  was  about  to  retire,  Ashby  sent 
him  word  that  if  he  could  only  hold  his  ground  ten  minutes  longer 
the  Federal  forces  would  retire.  u  I  know  this  to  be  so,"  said 
Ashby.  He  had  captured,  it  is  said,  a  courier  of  Gen.  Shields, 
bearing  the  order.  But  it  was  too  late,  the  day  was  decided,  and 
nothing  was  left  but  the  alternative  of  retreat. 

Jackson's  little  army  paused  near  Mount  Jackson  ;  and  in  the 
month  of  April,  being  again  pressed  by  the  enemy,  he  moved 
slowly  across  the  Shenandoah  towards  Swift  Run  Gap,  through 
whiten  ran  the  road  to  Richmond,  giving  the  enemy  the  idea  that 
he  had  abandoned  the  Yalley.  In  all  this  time  the  energy  of 
Ashby  was  exercised  to  an  extraordinary  degree  in  protecting  the 
retreat.  In  thirty-eight  out  of  forty-two  days  after  the  battle  of 
Kernstown  he  was  fighting  the  enemy,  keeping  him  in  check,  or 
cutting  off  his  communications.  When  Jackson's  army  thundered 
across  the  Shenandoah  bridge,  with  the  roar  of  the  enemy's  guns 
sounding  in  their  rear,  Ashby  was  left  to  destroy  the  structure. 
But  before  the  wet  timbers  could  be  kindled  into  flame  the  enemy 
was  upon  him  and  an  excited  chase  ensued.  Ashby  found  that 
he  could  easily  distance  his  pursuers,  and  observing  that  two  of 
them  were  considerably  in  advance,  disdaining  the  odds,  he  reined 
in  and  turned  to  confront  them,  although  both  'of  his  pistols  were 
empty  and  he  had  nothing  to  depend  upon  but  his  sabre.  As 
they  came  on  at  a  headlong  gallop  a  bullet  from  one  of  Ashby's 
men  on  the  roadside  terminated  the  career  of  one,  and  as  the  other, 
carried  forward  by  his  horse,  arrived  abreast  of  Ashby,  a  blow 
from  his  sword  arm  brought  him  to  the  ground.  In  a  few  minutes 
more,  the  adventurous  commander  was  up  with  the  retreating 
army ;  he  had  escaped  without  a  wound ;  but  his  beautiful  charger 
had  received  a  mortal  hurt,  and  as  Ashby  rode  up  to  his  men  it 
was  observed  that  blood  was  gushing  from  the  side  of  the  noble 
animal  that  had  saved  his  life.  The  whole  army  had  admired 
this  historic  horse ;  and  now,  as  he  was  led  along  the  line  of  the 
regiment  under  arras,  an  eye-witness  declares  that  he  never  had 
imagined  so  spirited  and  magnificent  an  animal.  •  "  He  was  white 
as  snow,  except  where  his  side  and  legs  were  stained  with  his  own 
blood.  His  mane  and  tail  were  long  and  flowing ;  his  eye  and 
action  evinced  distinctly  the  rage  with  which  he  regarded  the 
injury  which  he  had  received.  He  trod  the  earth  with  the  grandeur 


.  BRIG.-GEtf.   TUENER  ASHBY.  583 

of  a  wounded  lion,  and  every  soldier  looked  upon  him  with  sym 
pathy  and  admiration.  He  had  saved  his  master  at  the  cost  of 
his  own  life.  He  almost  seemed  conscious  of  his  achievement, 
and  only  to  regret  death  because  his  own  injuries  were  unavenged." 

At  a  later  period  of  the  Yalley  campaign,  when  Banks  was 
chased  from  Strasburg,  Ashby  hung  on  the  heels  of  his  army, 
fighting  wherever  opportunity  offered.  It  was  on  the  occasion 
of  this  race  for  Winchester,  that  Ashby  rode  twice  through  the 
lines  of  a  Yermont  regiment,  cutting  through  them  with  his 
sword,  and  then  wheeling  his  horse  and  performing  the  same  feat 
again,  besides  seizing  the  flag  of  the  regiment  and  bringing  it  off  as 
a  trophy.  The  flag  was  presented  to  the  State  Library  at  Rich 
mond,  and  was  often  noticed  there  as  a  testimony  to  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  deeds  of  Virginia's  youthful  hero. 

On  his  return  to  Winchester  from  the  pursuit  of  Banks,  Ashby 
was  met  by  the  commission  of  Brigadier-General  of  cavalry  ;  an 
honour  he  had  well  earned  by  his  arduous  and  brilliant  services. 
He  had  now  command  of  the  2d,  6th,  7th  and  10th  Virginia 
regiments,  besides  Chews'  battery.  It  was  a  promotion  he  had  not 
sought.  Unsuited  for  the  drudgery  of  the  drill  and  military 
police,  he  was  in  this  respect  unequal  to  the  care  of  a  brigade ; 
but  he  had  every  other  quality  of  a  brilliant  commander  in  the 
field,  and,  seconded  by  able  colonels  in  his  regiments,  there  is  no 
doubt  that,  had  he  lived,  he  would  have  led  his  brigade  in  a 
career  of  glory  surpassing  all  his  previous  successes.  But  his 
days  were  already  nearly  numbered.  When  the  announcement 
of  his  promotion  was  made,  it  was  observed  that  his  face  was 
lighted  up  by  one  of  those  sad  smiles  which  had  occasionally 
brightened  it  since  the  death  of  his  brother. 

•  On  the  night  of  the  5th  June,  Jackson's  army  was  on  its 
forced  march  for  Port  Republic ;  and  Ashby's  brigade,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Harrisburg,  snatched  the  rest  which  exhausted 
nature  demanded.  After  the  informal  camp-supper,  most  of  the 
men  and  officers  sank  into  the  arms  of  a  heavy  undisturbed 
sleep.  ISTot  so,  however,  with  their  loved  commander.  This 
night  Ashby  is  said  to  have  been  more  watchful  and  vigilant 
than  ever.  Ordinarily,  after  the  duties  of  the  day,  he  would 
come  into  camp,  and  sink  down  in  his  buffalo-robes  and  elk-skins, 
and  sleep  as  sweetly  as  a  child.  But  on  this  night  he  paced  up 


584  BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

« 

and  down  before  the  camp-fire — the  last  camp-fire — indisposed  to 
sleep,  and  apparently  lost  in  reverie  or  meditation.  The  whole 
camp,  save  the  guard,  was  slumbering,  and  nought  could  be 
heard  but  the  slow-measured  tread  of  the  sentinel.  Occasionally, 
the  commander  would  pause  and  listen,  as  the  clear  voice  of  the 
guard  cried  out,  "Who's  there?"  and  hearing  the  answer, 
"  Friend,"  would  resume  his  walking.  Who  can  tell  the  thoughts 
that  occupied  the  mind,  and  banished  sleep  from  the  eye-lids  of 
Turner  Ashby,  on  this,  his  last  night  on  earth  !  Alas !  none  but 
He  who  "  holdeth  the  wind  in  his  hand."  But  whatever  may 
have  been  the  character  of  his  reflections,  they  did  not  cause  him 
to  bend  one  moment  from  his  duty,  and  they  left  no  shade  upon 
his  face. 

The  next  day  Ashby  held  the  rear  of  the  retreating  army,  with 
Swell's  division  next  to  him.  About  two  miles  east  of  Harris- 
burg  a  body  of  the  enemy's  infantry  was  found,  strongly  posted 
in  the  woods,  and  the  1st  Maryland  regiment  of  Col.  Bradley  T. 
Johnson  and  the  58th  Virginia  were  advanced  to  drive  them  from 
a  heavy  fence  of  timber.  Ashby  was  on  the  right  of  the  58th 
Virginia,  directing  the  attack  in  front,  while  the  Marylanders 
were  disposed  in  the  woods,  so  as  to  take  the  enemy  in  flank. 
From  their  partial  cover  the  Federals  were  pouring  destructive 
voll-eys  into  the  ranks  of  the  58th  Virginia,  when  Ashby,  seeing 
at  a  glance  their  disadvantage,  ordered  them  to  charge  and  drive 
the  enemy  from  his  vantage  ground.  He  waved  his  hand  towards 
the  enemy — "  Virginians,  charge !"  At  this  moment  his  horse 
fell.  Extricating  himself  from  the  dying  animal,  and  starting  to 
his  feet  he  shouted,  "Men,  cease  firing!  charge,  for  God's  sake, 
charge !"  The  words  were  on  his  lips  when  a  bullet  from  a  con 
cealed  enemy,  not  twenty  yards  from  where  he  stood,  pierced 
him  full  in  the  breast,  and  he  fell  dead. 

His  death  was  fiercely  avenged,  for  the  Marylanders,  dashing 
upon  the  enemy's  flank,  forced  him  from  his  cover,  and  poured 
into  the  fleeing  mass,  now  fully  exposed,  successive  volleys  of 
musketry.  But  blood,  so  common,  could  not  pay  for  that  of  the 
generous  Virginian.  "When  the  action  was  over,  strong  men  wept 
to  know  that  he  was  dead,  and  even  prisoners,  taken  from  the 
enemy,  removed  their  caps  as  the  lifeless  body  of  the  young  hero 
was  borne  through  their  midst.  The  tribute  of  Gen.  Jackson  to 


BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY.  585 

his  dead  companion  in  arms,  was  perhaps  the  most  emphatic  that 
ever  came  from  his  moderate  and  careful  pen.  He  wrote  :  "  An 
official  report  is  not  an  appropriate  place  for  more  than  a  passing 
notice  of  the  distinguished  dead ;  but  the  close  relation  which 
Gen.  Ashby  bore  to  my  command,  for  most  of  the  previous  twelve 
months,  will  justify  me  in  saying  that,  as  a  partisan  officer,  I 
never  knew  his  superiour.  His  daring  was  proverbial,  his  pow 
ers  of  endurance  almost  incredible,  his  tone  of  character  heroic, 
and  his  sagacity  almost  intuitive  in  divining  the  purposes  and 
movements  of  the  enemy." 

The  obsequies  of  Gen.  Ashby  were  celebrated  at  Charlottes- 
ville,  Virginia.  The  services  were  performed  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Norton  and  Rev.  Mr.  Avery — the  latter  Chaplain  in  Ashby's 
cavalry  from  the  opening  of  the  war.  Both  spoke  of  the  deceased 
in  terms  of  high  praise  as  a  man,  a  soldier,  and  a  Christian.  The 
brave  soldiers  wept  as  they  listened  to  the  pious  exhortations  of 
the  clergymen.  They  had  lost  much  in  Gen.  Ashby,  but  they 
were  exhorted  to  imitate  him  in  all  things,  and  especially  in  his 
veneration  and  respect  for  Christianity.  The  country  looked  to 
them  for  deeds  of  greater  valour  than  had  ever  yet  been  accom 
plished  by  them ;  and  there,  on  the  dead  body  of  their  late  com 
mander,  they  were  called  upon  to  swear  not  to  sheathe  their  swords 
while  a  hostile  army  polluted  the  soil  of  Virginia  and  the  South. 
After  the  services  in  the  chapel  the  remains  were  conveyed  to 
the  University  cemetery  and  committed  "earth  to  earth,  ashes  to 
ashes,  and  dust  to  dust," — the  Professors  of  the  University  assist 
ing  in  the  ceremony.  It  was  thought  appropriate  that  here  the 
tomb  of  Ashby  should  remain,  a  memorial  to  the  generous  youth 
of  Virginia  gathered  at  the  State  University,  to  learn  not  only 
the  lore  of  the  scholar,  but  the  virtues  and  patriotism  which 
adorn  manhood  and  perfect  citizenship. 

In  this  brief  memoir  of  the  services  of  Gen.  Ashby,  there  is  no 
pretence  that  he  was  a  great  military' man  ;  and  we  have  already 
suggested  his  defects  in  this  regard.  He  had  no  idea  of  the 
principles  of  military  subordination  or  order;  he  never  had  one- 
half  of  his  command  well  in  hand  ;  and  his  exploits  were  all  per 
formed  with  a  few  hundreds,  or  often  scores,  of  men  who  followed 
him  from  personal  devotion  rather  than  the  force  of  discipline. 
The  chief  interest  of  his  life  attaches  to  his  peculiar  representation 


586  BRIG.-GEN.   TURNER  ASHBY. 

of  the  orave  and  cultivated  manhood  of  the  South.  He  was  the  glass 
of  chivalry;  the  perfection  of  courage ;  a  noble  and  pure  example 
of  all  the  virtues  of  the  citizen.  The  qualities  which  he  displayed 
in  modern  war  are  as  admirable  now  as  in  the  days  of  Froissart's 
Chronicles.  "  No  coarse  excess  soiled  for  a  moment  the  maidenly 
delicacy  of.  his  morals ;  no  plunder  ever  stained  his  hands ;  nor 
did  woman,  nor  disarmed  enemy,  ever  meet  anything  but  mag 
nanimous  kindness  from  him."  Remembered  by  his  countrymen 
tenderly ;  honoured  by  the  enemy  whom  he  fought  with  untar 
nished  sword,  no  man  in  the  South  has  happier  memory,  or  sleeps 
more  sweetly  in  the  soldier's  grave. 

"  He  was  Freedom's  champion ;  one  of  those, 
The  few  in  numbers,  who  had  not  o'er-stept 
The  charter  to  chastise  which  she  bestows 
On  such  as  wield  her  weapons.    He  had  kept 
The  whiteness  of  his  soul,  and  thus  men  o'er  him  wept." 


LIEUT-GEN.  LEONIDAS  POLK. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

Exchange  of  the  Bishopric  of  Louisiana  for  a  military  command. — Eeasons  why  Bishop 
Polk  resigned  his  holy  calling  for  arms. — Reflections  on  the  ethics  of  war. — 
Bishop  Polk  a  graduate  of  "West  Point. — Adventures  as  a  Missionary  Bishop  in 
"Western  wilds. — Matboat-men  and  gamblers. — Gen.  Polk  wins  the  victory  of  Bel- 
mont.— A  serious  accident. — Battle  of  Shiloh.— The  battle  of  Perrysville  fought 
under  Gen.  Polk's  direction. — His  adventure  with  an  Indiana  Colonel. — Interest 
ing  incident  in  the  -battle  of  Murfreesboro. — Gen.  Polk's  conduct  at  Chickamau- 
ga. — Censured  by  Gen.  Bragg. — Transferred  to  command  in  the  Southwest. — He 
frustrates  Sherman's  expedition.  —  Returned  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — His 
death  at  Marietta. — Anecdotes  illustrative  of  his  character. 

WHEN  in  the  commencement  of  the  war,  proclaimed  by  the 
South  in  the  interest  of  liberty  and  independence,  it  was  announced 
that  Leonidas  Polk,  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  had  resolved  to  suspend 
his  holy  calling  and  accept  a  military  command  as  Major-General 
in  the  Confederate  service,  an  event  so  extraordinary  made  a  great 
impression  on  the  popular  mind,  while  it  was  variously  commented 
upon  by  the  clerical  public.  While  some  of  the  latter  warmly 
commended  the  act,  and  saw  in  it  nothing  inconsistent  with  the 
Christian  profession,  there  were  others  who  looked  upon  it  as  a 
lapse  from  duty,  and  thought  the  bishop's  robe  ill-exchanged  for 
the  uniform  of  the  soldier.  The  venerable  Bishop  Meade,  of  Vir 
ginia,  perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  Episcopal  divine  of  the  country, 
suggested  the  impropriety  of  the  act,  and  wrote  a  fraternal  letter 
to  Bishop  Polk,  reminding  him  that  he  already  had  a  commission 
in  a  very  different  army,  to  which  he  should  still  hold  allegiance ; 
but  Polk  replied,  that  while  he  accepted  the  major-generalship,  he 
did  not  intend  to  resign  his  right  to  the  bishopric.  "  When," 


583  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

said  he,  "  I  accept  a  commission  in  the  Confederate  army,  I  not 
only  perform  the  duties  of  a  good  citizen,  but  contend  for  the  prin 
ciples  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  our  social,  political,  and  reli 
gious  polity."  In  subsequent  letters  and  conversations  he  pleaded 
his  justification  more  strongly  ;  he  appeared  to  regard  it  as  a  com 
manding  duty  and  a  special  call  that  he  should  join  in  fighting  the 
battles  of  his  country ;  and  yet  in  the  hard  and  perilous  tasks  of 
the  field  he  never  ceased  to  anticipate  joyfully  the  time  when, 
released  from  this  duty,  he  might  resume  his  religious  charge,  and 
go  back  to  the  quiet  walks  of  his  life.  It  was  the  impulse  of  duty, 
of  necessity,  of  self-preservation,  rather  than  the  transport  of  en 
thusiasm  that  carried  him  to  the  field  of  battle.  He  remarked  to 
a  friend,  only  a  short  time  before  his  death :  "  I  feel  like  a  man 
who  has  dropped  his  business  when  his  house  is  on  fire,  to  put  it 
out ;  for  as  soon  as  the  war  is  over,  I  shall  return  again  to  my 
sacred  calling."  The  fond  anticipation  was  never  realized,  and  he 
sleeps  in  a  soldier's  grave. 

The  course  of  Bishop  Polk  in  giving  to  his  country  the  benefit 
of  his  military  skill  and  learning  was  commended  by  a  majority  of 
the  Southern  clergy,  and  was  acclaimed  by  the  people  as  a  sort  of 
sanctification  of  their  struggle  with  despotism  and  oppression. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  peculiarly  and  abundantly  sustained 
by  the  justice  of  the  cause  and  the  exigencies  of  the  country.  The 
circumstance  of  his  early  education  as  a  soldier  gave  additional 
propriety  to  his  assumption  of  martial  duty  ;  and  Gen.  Polk  had, 
doubtless,  reason  to  thank  God  that  he  had  been  trained  to  combat 
in  the  armies  of  men,  as  well  as  to  contend  in  the  cause  of  his  Re 
deemer.  He  maintained  the  Confederate  cause  as  a  righteous  one ; 
and,  at  the  head  of  a  large  and  devoted  body  of  men,  he  prepared 
to  battle  with  the  wicked  and  malignant  spirits  who  warred  upon 
the  peace,  happiness,  and  indisputable  rights  of  the  Southern 
people. 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  ethics  of  war ;  and  if  we  intro 
duce  some  reflections  on  it  here,  it  is  not  because  the  subject  is 
new,  but  because  we  believe  it  to  be  misunderstood  from  the  very 
excess  of  cant  and  sermonizing  on  the  subject.  It  is  to  be  ob 
served  that  we  have  had  in  the  South  but  little  of  that  sickly 
whine  that  war  is  impious,  that  it  is  an  exaggeration  of  murder 
and  other  crimes,  and  that  men  should  pray  for  the  world  to  be 


LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK.  589 

governed  by  peace  conventions.    But  war,  civilized  war,  is  not  this 
horrible  thing — its  proper  impersonation  not  the  frightful  giant, 

"  His  blood-red  tresses  deepening  in  the  sun, 
With  death-shot  glowing  in  his  fiery  hands." 

True,  war  may  be  degraded  to  a  system  of  beastly  ferocity, 
ravaging  the  fair  earth,  invading  the  homes  of  women  and  child 
ren  with  the  firebrand,  and  carving  out  with  its  unsightly  arms 
the  rewards  of  the  plunderer  and  assassin.  This  may  be  war  as  the 
North  made  it  when  it  smoked  the  fat  of  the  land,  struck  at  every 
blade  of  grass  in  the  South,  destroyed  twelve  hundred  churches, 
and  fired  tens  of  thousands  of  homes ;  and  this  may  be  what  Gen. 
Sherman  meant  in  the  brutal  and  absurd  definition :  "  war  is 
cruelty." 

But  no !  war,  honourable  war  is  beautiful !  It  is  the  noble 
exercise  of  manhood  ;  it  is  the  expression  of  human  progress  ;  it  is 
the  purification  and  economy  of  the  human  race,  ordained  of  God 
since  the  world  has  stood. 

Strike  from  the  records  of  the  human  race  war,  and  all  that 
relates  to  war,  and  what  a  blank — what  a  dreary  tract  of  com 
monplaces — would  there  be!  The  most  splendid  pages  would 
be  lost ;  virtues  for  which  there  would  have  been  no  occasion 
would  be  unknown  ;  a  thousand  graces  would  never  have 
bloomed ;  the  most  brilliant  parts  of  literature  would  be  extin 
guished ;  the  most  fruitful  themes  of  genius  and  art  would  not 
exist ;  the  Iliad  would  never  have  been  written  ;  the  noblest  texts 
of  Shakspeare's  dramas  would  have  been  wanting ;  in  short,  by 
far  the  better  half  of  the  glory  and  interest  of  history  would  be 
annihilated.  This  is  a  plain  test,  and  any  one  may  use  his  scissors 
on  history  to  determine  how  little  would  be  left  of  its  charms  and 
glories  if  there  were  no  wars. 

Let  us  imagine  in  a  general  way  that  state  of  things  in  which 
there  was  no  war.  Nations  would  degenerate  into  herds  of  cowards, 
eaten  up  with  selfish  lusts,  timid,  emasculated,  without  even  schools 
of  physical  exercise.  Honour  would  have  no  place  in  our  voca 
bulary,  and  Courage  would  be  the  idlest  of  ornaments.  Those 
who  would  have  us  immolate  our  manhood  do  not  reflect  that 
such  a  condition  is  shown  to  be  productive  only  of  cunning,  vice, 


590  LIEUT.-GEST.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

and  unnatural  practice.  Those  who  would  have  all  wars  to  cease 
would  merely  give  us  over  to  the  dead-rot  of  peace.  The  sickly 
preachers  who  dab  their  mouths  with  soft  handkerchiefs  and  pray 
for  the  universal  season  of  peace,  forget  that  St.  Paul  in  his  in 
spired  epistles  found  his  favourite  images  in  the  camp  and  pano 
plies  of  war,  recognising  the  virtues  that  make  at  once  the  good 
soldier  in  the  field  and  the  good  soldier  of  Christ.* 

*  Let  us  be  done  with  paying  out  the  greased  coin  of  cant  and  saying  that  war  is 
murderous,  and  that  the  armed  contest  of  man  with  man,  is  a  relic  of  barbarism  ;  and 
let  us  have  the  courage  to  carry  a  principle,  once  admitted,  to  all  its  consequences. 
As  circumstances  will  arise  in  the  life  of  nations  justifying  war,  creating  the  necessity 
for  it,  making  it  a  useful  and  honourable  exercise,  so  in  the  community  there  will  be 
occasions  of  individual  combat.  An  outcry  has  been  raised  against  the  duello,  when 
the  fact  is  that  the  duello  is  simply  the  unit  of  war,  justifiable  on  the  same  grounds — 
war  in  fact  reduced  to  its  simplest  form,  that  form  the  best-matched,  and  therefore  the 
most  honourable.  It  is  said  that  the  duetto  is  unequal,  and  yet  after  all,  whatever 
may  be  the  difference  of  skill  in  arms,  what  other  form  of  combat  is  more  equal  than 
that  where  a  code  of  honour  gives  to  the  antagonists  the  same  weapon,  and  attempts 
every  expedient  of  fairness,  within  the  range  of  man's  natural  and  moral  invention. 
Is  the  combat  of  mere  physical  strength  more  equal,  where  the  strong  man  strikes 
down  the  weak ;  or  that  of  cunning,  where  the  simple  man  is  at  the  mercy  of  the 
villain ;  or  that  of  words,  where  the  pure  and  honourable  have  to  compete  with  the 
foul  libeller,  and  the  ingenious  liar  ?  But  it  is  said  that  the  law  affords  redress,  and 
that  the  injured  party  should  hi  all  things  complain  to  it.  Do  we  not  know  and  feel 
that  the  law  takes  no  account  of  the  sensibilities ;  and  that  pecuniary  damages  do  not 
satisfy  the  wounds  of  honour,  the  murdered  peace  of  one's  family,  the  libel,  the  se 
duction,  the  nameless  outrages  of  cowardly  villany.  To  those  who  would  hiss  down 
the  duello,  we  would  reply  with  calm  reason  that,  as  the  unit  of  war,  it  is  as  justifiable 
as  war  itself;  that  it  is  the  most  equal  form  of  combat  yet  devised ;  and  that,  in  a 
certain  class  of  outrages,  it  is  the  only  effective  mode  of  redress.  These  are  solid 
considerations  in  opposition  to  a  mere  clamour.  Those  who  exclaim  against  the  duello, 
are  generally  those  who  shrink  from  a  just  responsibility  for  their  acts,  and  prefer  to 
keep  their  own  advantages  in  the  unequal  contest  of  underhanded  villainy  and  dirty 
words.  When  Master  Bridgenorth  pleaded  conscientious  scruples,  and  refused  to 
accept  the  cartel  of  Sir  Pevertt,  the  old  knight  well  replied :  '•'  In  return  for  your 
uncivil  advice,  be  pleased  to  accept  of  mine,  namely:  that  as  your  religion  prevents 
your  giving  a  gentleman  satisfaction,  it  ought  to  make  you  very  cautious  of  offering 
him  provocation." 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  indeed,  that  the  duello,  as  a  peculiar  institution  of  combat  among 
the  people  of  the  South,  may  be  long  preserved  and  cherished  by  them,  and  that, 
even  when  the  aping  spirit  of  Puritanism  may  invade  their  Legislatures  and  Courts, 
the  legal  authorities  may,  in  this  respect,  be  disarmed  by  public  opinion.  This  insti 
tution  of  combat  should  be  prized  by  the  South  as  a  noble  inheritance,  a  relic  of  chival 
ry,  an  honourable  peculiarity,  the  best  element  of  their  social  system ;  at  once  a 
genius  of  civilization,  a  teacher  of  manners,  and  a  guardian  of  the  household.  We 
believe  that  the  time  will  yet  come  when  the  world,  often  governed  as  it  is  by  a  mere 


LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK.  591 

But  we  return  to  the  subject  of  our  sketch.  We  have  already 
referred  to  the  fact  of  Bishop  Folk's  education  as  a  military  man. 
He  also  belonged  to  a  family  that  had  been  distinguished  in  arms, 
and  was  connected  with  the  early  traditions  of  American  liberty. 
He  was  born  in  Kaleigh,  North  Carolina,  about  the  year  1808. 
His  father,  the  late  Col.  William  Polk,  was  a  highly  meritori 
ous  and  distinguished  soldier  in  the  Eevolutionary  war.  He  was 
a  near  relation  of  Thomas  Polk,  who  was  in  the  van  of  the  few 
intrepid  spirits  that  inaugurated  the  freedom  of  the  American  colo 
nies,  by  issuing  the  famous  Mecklenburg  declaration  of  indepen 
dence. 

Young  Polk  acquired  the  elementary  part  of  his  education  at 
an  excellent  academy  in  his  native  State.  His  father,  however, 
having  an  earnest  desire  that  his  son  should  adopt  the  military 
profession,  availed  himself  of  the  earliest  opportunity  that  presented 
to  place  him  at  West  Point.  Here  he  remained  the  usual  term  ; 
and  upon  his  graduation,  instead  of  entering  the  army,  he  resolved 
to  engage  in  the  peaceful  calling  of  the  ministry.  Accordingly  he 
applied  for,  and  took  orders  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church. 
In  1838,  he  received  an  appointment  as  Missionary  Bishop  in 
Arkansas  and  part  of  the  Indian  Territory,  with  a  provisional  charge 

clamour,  will  take  a  second  thought  on  this  subject,  and  be  anxious  to  restore  an  insti 
tution  of  combat  that  has  been  replaced  by  unmatched  methods  of  controversy,  scan 
dalous  inventions,  and  every  vile  and  dirty  expedient.  It  is  the  duello  that  truly  pro 
tects  the  weak  against  the  strong,  silences  the  bully,  gives  the  lesson  to  the  powerful 
villain,  compels  decency  of  manners,  purifies  the  language  of  conversation,  raises 
the  tone  of  society,  puts  under  stern  guard  the  integrity  of  the  household,  and  gives 
protection  against  that,  of  which  Charles  Dickens  says,  referring  to  the  newspaper 
press  in  the  northern  cities  of  America : 

"  It  has  its  evil  eye  in  every  house,  and  its  black  hand  in  every  appointment  in 
the  State,  from  a  president  to  a  postman ;  with  ribald  slander  for  its  only  stock  in 
trade.  *  *  *  When  any  man  of  any  grade  of  desert  in  intellect  or  character  can 
climb  to  any  public  distinction,  no  matter  what,  in  America,  without  first  grovelling 
down  upon  the  earth,  and  bending  the  knee  before  this  monster  of  depravity ;  when 
any  private  excellence  is  safe  from  its  attacks,  and  when  any  social  confidence  is  left 
unbroken  by  it,  or  any  tie  of  social  decency  or  honour  is  held  in  the  least  regard  ; 
when  any  man  in  that  Free  Country  has  freedom  of  opinion,  and  presumes  to  think 
for  himself,  without  humble  reference  to  a  censorship,  which  for  its  rampant  igno 
rance  and  base  dishonesty  he  utterly  loathes  and  despises  in  his  heart ;  when  those 
who  most  acutely  feel  its  infamy  and  the  reproach  it  casts  upon  the  nation,  arid  who 
most  denounce  it  to  each  other,  dare  to  set  their  heels  upon  it,  and  crush  it  openly  in 
the  sight  of  all  men — then  I  will  believe  its  influence  is  lessening." 


592  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

of  the  diocese  of  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  the  Repub 
lic  of  Texas.  In  1841,  he  was  ordained  regular  Bishop  of  Louisi 
ana,  and  held  that  post  for  twenty  years. 

His  personal  appearance,  even  at  the  sacred  desk,  was  decidedly 
military,  and  in  every  word  and  glance  he  bore  the  impress  of  the 
soldier  rather  than  that  of  the  divine.  He  was  a  large,  well-pro 
portioned  man,  with  florid  complexion  and  intellectual  face.  His 
hair  was  slightly  grey,  and  his  whiskers,  which  had  the  military 
cut,  were  completely  so.  His  eyes  were  grey  and  keen,  his  nose 
of  the  Roman  order  and  his  mouth  sunken,  with  straight  and  tightly 
compressed  lips.  Affable  in  manner,  agreeable  in  conversation, 
there  was  yet  an  expression  of  unconquerable  determination  in  his 
countenance,  and  the  air  of  one  accustomed  to  command..  An 
anecdote  describes  with  great  neatness  and  character  the  tout  ensem 
ble  of  the  man.  Stopping  at  the  house  of  a  Mississippi  planter, 
when  engaged  in  his  early  missionary  labours  in  the  Southwest, 
his  host  addressed  him  at  the  table  as  General.  Being  corrected 
and  told  he  was  Bishop  Polk,  the  man  replied  quickly,  "  I  knew 
he  was  a  commanding  officer  in  the  department  to  which  he  be 
longed." 

As  Missionary  Bishop  in  a  wild  country,  and  among  a  lawless 
population,  he  had  a  field  of  singular  adventure,  and  we  find  him 
sometimes  displaying  a  "  muscular  Christianity,"  in  keeping  with 
his  character  and  constitutional  bravery,  and  not  out  of  place 
among  the  rude  and  turbulent  men  by  whom  he  was  often  sur 
rounded.  There  is  a  collection  of  anecdotes  in  this  portion  of  his 
life,  some  of  which  we  quote  as  showing  the  character  of  the  man, 
and  exhibiting  a  curious  picture  of  the  society  in  which  he  was 
first  called  to  break  the  bread  of  life. 

Upon  one  occasion,  descending  one  of  the  Southwestern  rivers 
in  a  small  steamer,  the  boat  struck  a  snag  and  sank.  The  passen 
gers  got  ashore  with  part  of  their  baggage,  when  it  was  proposed 
to  walk  some  seventy  miles  to  the  nearest  port,  the  chances  for 
another  boat  overtaking  them  speedily  being  very  slight.  The 
Bishop,  an  excellent  mechanic,  thought  the  boat  could  be  raised, 
and  submitted  a  plan  to  the  captain,  who  begged  him  to  undertake 
it.  With  the  aid  of  the  crew  and  some  deck  passengers,  this  was 
accomplished ;  when,  a  boat  passing,  the  Bishop,  with  the  others, 
went  to  the  next  town  below.  Here,  on  asking  the  inn-keeper  if 


LIEUT.- GEN".   LEONID  AS  POLK.  593 

there  was  a  place  for  holding  church  services,  he  was  told  that 
there  never  had  been  any  preaching  in  the  town,  and  that  they  did 
not  want  it,  and  that  he  would  be  mobbed  if  he  attempted  it ;  how 
ever,  if  Mr. ,  the  principal  merchant  in  the  place,  would  agree, 

they  would  not  object.  On  being  applied  to,  Mr. 's  exclama 
tion  was:  "I  left  New  England  to  get  rid  of  preaching,  and  don't 
want  it  here."  His  consent,  however,  having  been  obtained,  arrange 
ments  were  being  made  for  service  on  the  following  Sunday.  Flat- 
boatmen,  always  a  lawless  set,  being  in  strong  force  in  the  town, 
declared  there  should  be  no  preaching,  and  if  it  was  attempted  they 
would  break  it  up.  In  the  meantime,  the  steamer  which  the 
Bishop  had  assisted  in  raising  came  down,  and  the  hands  hearing 
of  this,  said  "  this  was  not  a  common  preacher,  he  knew  how  to 
work,  and  if  he  chose  to  preach  he  should  preach,  and  they  would 
like  to  see  the  flatboat-men  who  would  hinder  it."  A  row  between 
the  parties  was  apprehended,  but  the  steamboat  hands  being  most 
numerous,  the  boatmen  were  quiet,  and  the  services  passed  off 
without  disturbance,  a  very  large  and  attentive  congregation  being 
present.  Four  years  after,  the  Bishop  made  another  visit  to  this 
town,  and  was  told  there  had  been  no  preaching  there  since  his 
last  visit. 

An  incident  is  often  related  which  occurred  at  the  mouth  of 
White  Eiver.  The  Bishop,  from  constant  living  in  the  open  air, 
a  great  deal  of  exercise,  and  very  temperate  habits,  had  acquired 
an  appearance  of  robust  health.  He  always  wore,  even  in  the 
days  of  thin  boots,  soles  as  thick  as  the  present  Balmoral,  and  had 
an  overcoat  of  pilot  cloth  capable  of  resisting  all  weathers.  Land 
ing  at  the  mouth  of  White  River,  to  take  a  boat  for  Little  Rock, 
he  found  the  regular  packet  did  not  leave  until  an  early  hour  in 
the  morning,  and  that  no  one  was  allowed  to  sleep  on  board.  He 
was  therefore  compelled  to  go  to  the  tavern,  which  at  that  time  en 
joyed  a  most  unenviable  reputation  as  the  resort  of  robbers,  gam 
blers,  and  cut-throats,  the  former  members  of  Murrell's  gang. 
There  was  no  one  in  the  miserable  place  but  himself.  He  sat  with 
the  landlord  by  the  fire  until  some  time  after  dark,  when  the  inn 
keeper  advised  him,  if  he  wished  a  place  to  sleep,  to  secure  it  be 
fore  the  boys  came  in,  as  they  were  now  drinking  and  gambling 
on  board  the  flatboats  at  the  wharf,  and  would  be  up  before  long. 
He  was  accordingly  shown  into  a  long  room,  with  more  than  a 

38 


594  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

dozen  beds,  none  of  the  cleanest  in  the  world,  where  his  host  left 
him  to  go  to  bed,  by  the  light  of  a  candle  stuck  in  a  bottle.  Every 
thing  was  so  exceedingly  filthy  that,  protecting  his  head  with  a 
silk  handkerchief,  he  turned  up  the  collar  of  his  coat,  took  off  his 
boots,  which  he  placed  by  the  side  of  his  bed — which,  by  the  way, 
he  had  chosen  near  the  door — and  composed  himself  to  sleep. 
About  midnight  he  was  aroused  by  the  rush  of  feet  up  the  stairs, 
and  in  a  few  moments  the  room  was  filled  with  men,  who  began 
to  undress  as  soon  as  they  entered,  and  appropriated  the  various 
beds.  One  man  was  left  out,  and  coming  to  the  side  of  the  bed, 
he  said,  addressing  himself  to  the  Bishop  :  "  Well,  stranger,  I  am 
going  to  turn  in  with  you."  The  Bishop  merely  looked  up,  and 
said :  "  You  cannot  come  here,  sir."  "  Oh  !  there's  two  to  that — 
I'm  coming."  "You  cannot  come  here,  sir."  "  You  do  not  mean 
it — I  am  coming,"  accompanied  by  a  volley  of  oaths.  "You  can 
not  corne  here,  sir,"  was  still  the  quiet  answer  to  this.  The  man 
began  to  falter,  evidently  not  liking  the  appearance  of  determina 
tion.  The  others  called  out  not  to  quarrel  with  the  fellow,  they 
would  settle  with  him  in  the  morning,  and  they  would  make  room 
for  their  companion  in  one  of  the  other  beds. 

Early  in  the  morning,  while  they  were  in  their  drunken  slum 
bers,  Bishop  Polk  was  up  and  away,  steaming  up  the  river.  On 
reaching  Little  Eock  he  met  some  old  friends,  and  on  chancing  to 
mention  this,  they  told  him  men  had  been  killed  in  that  house  for 
much  less,  and  they  considered  it  a  wonderful  escape.  One  asked, 
"  Did  the  fellow  see  those  boots  ?"  "  Yes,  they  were  at  the  side 
of  the  bed."  "Ah  !  that  accounts  for  it.  He  concluded  any  man 
who  wore  such  boots  and  such  a  coat,  and  was  so  quiet,  must  be 
armed  to  the  teeth,  and  was  certain  if  he  had  touched  the  bed  he 
would  have  been  shot."  The  Bishop's  ignorance  of  the  risk  run 
saved  him ;  but  his  constitutional  bravery  never  allowed  him  to 
hesitate  a  moment  for  fear  of  consequences. 

On  entering  the  Confederate  service  as  Major-General,  he  re 
ceived  a  command  which  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Arkan 
sas  River,  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  northern  limits 
of  the  Confederate  States,  and  took  in  the  encampment  at  Corinth. 
His  first  notable  action  in  this  department  was  the  battle  of  Bel- 
mont  (November  7,  1861),  in  which  the  Federal  General  Grant 
.secured  a  landing  on  the  Missouri  shore,  nearly  opposite  the  town 


LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK.  595 

of  Columbus,  and,  driving  back  Pillow's  division,  had  almost 
won  the  day,  when  Gen.  Polk  crossed  the  river  with  Cheatham's 
Tennesseeans,  and  gained  a  decisive  victory — the  Federals  falling 
back  from  their  main  attack  and  seeking  to  regain  their  boats. 
For  this  action  he  was  highly  commended  by  his  superiour,  Gen. 
Albert  Sj^dney  Johnston,  and  thanked  by  President  Davis  for  "  the 
glorious  contribution  "  he  had  made  to  the  Confederate  cause. 

An  officer  who  was  engaged  at  Belmont  thus  writes  of  the  fluc 
tuations  of  the  battle  and  Polk's  merit  in  striking  the  decisive 
blow :  "  Gen.  Pillow  has  to  thank  his  stars  that  Polk  so  quickly 
came  to  his  succour,  or,  instead  of  being  hailed  as  victors,  we 
might  all  have  been  snugly  provided  for  in  some  New-England 
fort  or  penitentiary.  Yet  his  vanity  is  not  less  conspicuous  now 
than  it  was  in  Mexico,  and  he  is  eternally  carping  at  '  the  Bishop/ 
as  he  terms  Polk,  who,  nevertheless,  is  a  capable  and  laborious 
commander,  accessible  at  all  times  by  high  and  low,  a  thorough 
disciplinarian  and  fine  engineer.  If  he  chose  to  leave  the  army  in 
former  times  and  enter  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  become  a  learned 
bishop  among  his  brethren,  it  surely  does  not  detract  from  his 
reputation  as  a  gentleman,  a  Christian,  and  a  scholar,  to  say  that 
he  resigned  his  charge  in  answer  to  the  especial  call  of  the  Execu 
tive,  who  demanded  the  service  of  all  talented  men  in  behalf  of 
the  common  cause.  Polk  was  a  good  Bishop ;  he  is  now  an  excel 
lent  and  accomplished  Major-General,  and  possesses  the  entire 
confidence,  love  and  respect  of  all  who  know  or  serve  under  him. 
Pillow  is  annoyed,  however,  because  he  himself  was  not  placed 
in  chief  command  at  Columbus — a  position  for  which  he  is  totally 
unfitted,  as  subsequent  events  will  fully  demonstrate." 

A  few  days  after  the  battle  of  Belmont,  a  serious  accident 
occurred,  which  was  near  terminating  with  fatal  results  to  Gen. 
Polk.  A  large  Dahlgren  gun  had  been  loaded  during  the  above- 
mentioned  battle,  but  not  fired.  It  was  discharged  on  the  llth 
November,  when  it  exploded,  caught  the  magazine  of  the  piece 
which  was  immediately  below  it,  and  killed  eight  men,  besides 
seriously  wounding  five  others.  Among  these  latter  was  Gen. 
Polk,  who  was  knocked  down  senseless  by  the  concussion,  and 
had  his  clothes  rent  in  a  number  of  places.  Fortunately,  he  soon 
recovered,  and  sustained  no  permanent  injury. 

When  the  fall  of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson  compelled  the 


596  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

evacuation  of  Columbus,  and  created  the  necessity  of  selecting  a 
defensive  position  lower  down,  Gen.  Polk  retreated,  by  the  way  of 
Humboldt,  towards  Corinth,  where  the  principal  portion  of  the 
armies  of  the  West,  under  Gens.  Beauregard,  Johnston  and  him 
self,  were  to  unite.  Here  he  commanded  one  of  the  three  grand 
corps  cTarmee  which  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and  was  offi 
cially  noticed  by  Gen.  Beauregard  for  "the  foresight  and  military 
ability  he  displayed,  as  well  as  for  his  fearless  deportment  in  per 
sonally  leading  his  command  against  the  adversary." 

He  accompanied  Gen.  Bragg  in  the  subsequent  campaign  in 
Kentucky ;  and  the  successful  battle  of  Perrysville  was  fought 
under  his  direction,  Bragg  relinquishing  to  him  the  active  com 
mand  of  the  field.  In  this  action  Gen.  Polk  distinguished  himself 
by  his  bravery  and  gallantry.  After  the  sun  had  gone  down  on 
the  bloody  field,  and  the  gloom  of  evening  overhung  the  scene  of 
carnage  and  death,  even  then,  at  intervals,  bodies  of  the  two  armies 
would  occasionally  come  in  collision.  Brig.-Gen.  Cleburne's  com 
mand,  with  which  was  Gen.  Polk,  just  at  night-fall,  came  upon 
an  Indiana  regiment.  Gen.  Polk  was  some  distance  in  advance  of 
the  Confederates,  and  suddenly  found  himself  in  the  very  midst  of 
the  Indiana  troops,  who  were  firing  briskly  upon  Cleburne's  col 
umns.  Gen.  Polk,  seizing  the  Indiana  Colonel  by  the  shoulder, 
demanded  "  why  he  was  firing  upon  his  friends  ?"  The  Colonel 
said  he  did  not  know  he  was  guilty  of  such  a  blunder,  and  asked, 
"  Who  are  you?"  "I'll  show  you  who  I  am,"  replied  Gen.  Polk, 
and,  rising  in  his  stirrups,  he  gave  the  order  in  a  firm,  loud  tone 
to  the  Indiana  troops,  "  Cease  firing !"  Then  saying  to  the  Colonel, 
"  You  shall  at  once  hear  from  me,  sir,"  Gen.  Polk  rode  quietly 
away.  But  he  was  no  sooner  out  of  sight  than,  with  accelerated 
velocit}7,  he  came  dashing  at  headlong  speed  to  the  spot  where 
Cleburne  stood.  Pointing  to  the  Yankees,  he  exclaimed:  "Let 
them  have  it,  boys  ;  they  are  Yankees.  /  have  been  there"  In  re 
lating  the  adventure  to  a  friend,  Gen.  Polk  described  the  feeling 
with  which  he  cantered  down  the  Federal  line,  not  daring  to  put 
his  horse  to  his  speed  until  out  of  sight,  as  "  a  sensation  of  one  screw 
ing  up  his  back  and  calculating  every  moment  how  many  bullets 
would  be  between  his  shoulders." 

At  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Polk,  now  a  Lieutenant-General, 
commanded  the  First  Corps,  and  well  shared  in  the  terrible  and 


LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK.  597 

bloody  struggle  of  those  three  days.  The  following  anecdote, 
narrated  in  his  report  of  this  battle,  illustrates  the  peculiarities  of 
fighting  in  the  cover  of  woods,  at  the  same  time  that  it  bears  wit 
ness  to  the  gallantry  of  two  brave  men : — "  A  battery,"  writes  the 
General,  "  was  pouring  a  murderous  fire  into  the  brigade  of  Gen. 
Maney,  from  a  point  which  made  it  doubtful  whether  it  was  ours 
or  the  enemy's.  Two  unsuccessful  efforts  had  been  made  by  staff 
officers — one  of  whom  was  killed  in  the  attempt — to  determine  its 
character.  The  doubt  caused  the  brigade  on  which  it  was  firing  to 
hesitate  in  returning  the  fire,  when  Sergeant  Oakley,  colour-bearer 
of  the  Fourth  Tennessee  Confederate  regiment,  and  Sergeant  M.  C. 
Hooks,  colour-bearer  of  the  Ninth  Tennessee  regiment,  gallantly 
advanced  eight  or  ten  paces  to  the  front,  displaying  their  colours, 
and  holding  themselves  and  the  flag  of  their  country  erect,  re 
mained  ten  minutes  in  a  place  so  conspicuous  as  to  be  plainly  seen 
and  fully  to  test  from  whom  their  brigade  was  suffering  so  severely. 
The  murderous  fire,  instead  of  abating,  increased  and  intensified, 
and  soon  demonstrated  that  the  battery  and  its  supports  were  not 
friends,  but  enemies.  The  sergeants  then  returned  deliberately  to 
their  proper  positions  in  the  line  unhurt,  and  the  enemy's  battery 
was  silenced,  and  his  column  put  to  flight." 

At  Chickamauga  there  was  an  unpleasant  occurrence  between 
Gens.  Bragg  and  Polk ;  and  the  latter,  being  charged  with  delay 
in  bringing  on  the  battle  and  "  dereliction  of  duty,"  was  deprived 
of  his  command.  Of  this  event  he  wrote  very  nobly:  "Without 
attempting  to  explain  the  circumstances  of  this  disagreement,  or 
prejudicing  the  public  mind  by  a  premature  appeal  to  its  judgment, 
I  must  be  permitted  to  express  my  unqualified  conviction  of  the 
rectitude  of  my  conduct,  and  that  time  and  investigation  will  amply 
vindicate  my  conduct  on  the  field  of  Chickamauga."  The  vindi 
cation  was  not  insisted  upon ;  the  investigation  was  recalled  by 
President  Davis ;  and  Gen.  Polk  was  actually  promoted  by  assign 
ment  to  a  separate  and  important  command  including  the  depart 
ment  of  Alabama,  Mississippi  and  East  Louisiana. 

He  assumed  this  command  late  in  December,  1863,  and  had 
scarcely  time  to  organize  his  troops  and  collect  the  energies  of  his 
department  for  the  task  of  obstructing  Gen.  Sherman's  progress 
in  his  Mississippi  expedition.  The  latter  left  Vicksburg  the  1st 
February,  1864,  at  the  head  of  thirty -five  thousand  infantry,  two  or 


598  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEOKIDAS  POLK. 

three  thousand  cavalry,  and  from  sixty  to  eighty  pieces  of  artillery. 
Almost  simultaneously  Grierson  or  Smith  began  the  march  through 
North  Mississippi  with  about  ten  thousand  cavalry  and  mounted 
infantry.  Mobile,  at  the  same  time,  was  threatened  by  water  with 
the  enemy's  fleet  of  gunboats,  and  by  land  from  Pensacola  and  Pas- 
cagoula.  As  Sherman  advanced  upon  Meridian,  the  railroad-centre 
of  the  Southwestern  department,  Gen.  Polk  evacuated  the  place  and 
retired  to  Demopolis  in  Alabama,  leaving  the  enemy  in  a  country 
of  pine  barrens,  where  subsistence  was  scant  and  his  communica 
tions  were  in  constant  danger  of  being  cut.  At  this  conjuncture  of 
affairs,  the  co-operating  column  of  the  enemy  was  defeated  by  For 
rest,  and  the  disastrous  retreat  of  Grierson  and  Smith  upon  Memphis 
was  decisive  of  the  campaign.  Their  retreat  naturally  interrupted 
Sherman's  communications  all  along  the  line  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio 
Eailroad,  and  deprived  his  army  of  an  important  source  of  supply, 
without  which  he  was  incapable  of  maintaining  his  ground.  Worse 
still,  the  falling  back  of  these  two  officers  took  away  from  him  the 
cavalry  force  upon  which  he  relied  to  prosecute  his  operations. 
He  was  left  to  retrace  his  steps  in  disappointment  and  disgrace,  and 
retire  to  Yicksburg. 

In  a  congratulatory  order  to  his  army,  Gen.  Polk  said :  "  The 
concentration  of  our  cavalry  on  the  enemy's  column  of  cavalry 
from  West  Tennessee  formed  the  turning  point  of  the  campaign. 
That  concentration  bro*ke  down  his  only  means  of  subsisting  his 
infantry.  His  column  was  defeated  and  routed,  and  his  whole 
force  compelled  to  make  a  hasty  retreat.  Never  did  a  grand  cam 
paign,  inaugurated  with  such  pretension,  terminate  more  inglori- 
ously.  With  a  force  three  times  that  which  was  opposed  to  its 
advance,  they  have  been  defeated  and  forced  to  leave  the  field  with 
a  loss  of  men,  small-arms  and  artillery." 

When  Sherman  carried  his  operations  into  North  Georgia,  and 
Gen.  Johnston  required  all  the  force  that  could  be  brought  to  him, 
Lieut.-Gen.  Polk  was  sent,  with  his  troops,  to  form  the  left  wing 
of  the  army.  At  Dalton,  and  again  at  Eesaca,  Polk  placed  his 
troops  with  great  skill,  and  in  the  retreat  did  effective  service.  It 
was  in  this  memorable  retreat  towards  Atlanta,  that  he  lost  his 
life. 

He  was  killed  at  Marietta,  June  14th,  1864,  while  making  a 
telescopic  observation  of  the  Federal  position.  A  projectile  struck 


LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK.  599 

his  left  arm,  passing  through  his  body,  killing  him  instantly.  The 
body  was  terribly  mangled ;  the  right  arm  was  carried  off ;  and  the 
enemy  afterwards  curiously  noticed  on  the  spot,  where  the  ill-fated 
commander  had  fallen,  a  large  spatter  of  blood.  The  ghastly  re 
mains  were  taken  to  Atlanta,  where  funeral  services  were  per 
formed. 

While  it  can  scarcely  be  claimed  that  the  military  reputation 
of  Leonidas  Polk  takes  rank  with  the  first  of  the  war,  he  yet 
proved  an  able  and  brave  commander,  and  his  memory  will  be 
cherished  on  many  accounts.  His  men  were  devotedly  attached 
to  him,  not  only  for  his  humane  and  generous  character,  but  they 
were  filled  with  admiration  of  his  noble  courage  and  personal  dar 
ing.  No  commander  ever  risked  his  person  more  in  battle,  or 
appealed  more  strongly  to  the  sympathies  of  his  soldiers. 

In  conversation  he  was  always  genial  and  agreeable.  As  a 
friend  and  companion  he  had  not  his  equal.  His  manner  had  an 
indescribable  charm,  while  at  the  same  time  it  was  commanding. 

As  an  instance  of  his  readiness  in  conversation  and  pleasant 
retort,  the  following  is  related :  While  stationed  at  Columbus, 
Kentucky,  he  met  the  Federal  Gen.  Buford  under  flag  of  truce, 
the  rendezvous  taking  place  on  board  a  steamer  in  the  river.  Gen. 
Buford  said  that  he  had  a  toast  to  propose  which  all  could  drink, 
and  then  gave  "  the  memory  of  George  Washington."  Gen.  Polk 
drank  it,  adding  "the  first  Rebel." 

As  an  illustration  of  the  piety  and  earnestness  of  his  character, 
as  well  as  the  charm  of  his  manner,  it  is  related  that  after  having 
in  the  course  of  his  travels  stayed  at  the  house  of  a  gentleman, 
previously  unknown  to  him,  as  the  Bishop  drove  from  the  gate  his 
host  remarked,  "  I  now  realize  what  the  apostle  meant  when  he 
said  '  some  have  entertained  angels  unawares.'  " 

Only  the  Sunday  previous  to  his  death,  stopping  at  a  poor 
cabin,  he  sat  drying  himself  by  the  fire.  Children  all  loved  him 
instinctively  ;  a  little  girl  of  two  years,  far  from  clean,  approached 
him ;  he  took  her  on  his  knee  and  began  singing  to  her  some  nur 
sery  song — she  smiled  up  in  his  face  and  he  said  to  one  of  his 
aides :  "I  wonder  if  the  mother  would  be  offended  if  I  washed  this 
child's  face — I  do  so  love  to  kiss  the  innocents." 

His  patriotism  was  beautiful  and  affecting.  Col.  Freemantle, 
an  English  traveller,  who  visited  his  camp  in  1863,  writes :  "  Gen. 


600  LIEUT.-GEN.   LEONIDAS  POLK. 

Polk  told  me  an  affecting  story  of  a  poor  widow,  in  humble  cir 
cumstances,  whose  three  sons  had  fallen  in  battle,  one  after  the 
other,  until  she  had  only  one  left,  a  boy  of  sixteen.  So  distressing 
was  her  case  that  the  General  went  himself  to  comfort  her.  She 
looked  steadily  at  him,  and  replied  to  his  condolences  by  saying, 
'  As  soon  as  I  can  get  a  few  things  together,  General,  you  shall 
have  Harry  too.'  The  tears  came  into  General  Folk's  eyes  as  he 
related  this  incident,  which  he  concluded  by  saying,  *  How  can 
you  subdue  such  a  nation  as  this  ?' ': 

Perhaps  we  may  thank  God  that  he  did  not  live  to  realize  the 
answer  to  this  question. 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  C.  BRECKINRIDGE. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

His  life  anteriour  to  the  "War. — His  career  in  Congress. — Elected  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. — Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  1860. — The  electoral 
and  popular  vote  of  that  canvass. — Address  to  the  people  of  Kentucky. — Last 
service  in  the  United  States  Senate. — Bold  speech  there  against  the  Administra 
tion. — Remarks  upon  Andrew  Johnson's  resolution. — Excited  debate  with  Senator 
Baker. — Flight  of  Mr.  Breckinridge  from  Kentucky. — His  farewell  counsels  to 
her  people. — Appointed  Brigadier-General. — Gallantry  at  Shiloh. — His  expedition 
against  Baton  Rouge. — Causes  of  its  failure. — At  Murfreesboro. — "The  Bloody 
Crossing  of  Stono  River." — At  Chickamauga. — Memorial  of  the  Western  commanders 
to  the  Richmond  Congress. — Gen.  Breckinridge's  command  in  Southwestern  Vir 
ginia. — He  is  made  Secretary  of  War. — Accompanies  President  Davis  in  his  flight 
from  Richmond. — Last  Council  of  the  Confederate  leaders. — Gen.  Breckinridgo 
escapes  from  the  country. — Reflections  upon  his  services  and  character. 

BEFORE  the  war  of  the  Confederates  the  name  of  John  C. 
Breckinridge  was  not  only  one  of  historical  distinction,  but  he  had 
been  immediately  conspicuous  as  Democratic  candidate  for  the 
Presidency  in  the  great  political  contest  that  preceded  the  appeal 
to  arms.  His  life  was  already  full  of  public  honours.  At  the  age 
of  thirty-five  he  had  served  his  country  abroad  ;  had  been  a  legis 
lator  in  his  State  and  in  the  national  legislature  ;  had  been  ten 
dered  the  representation  of  the  Republic  in  Europe  ;  had  been 
elevated  to  the  second  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  now 
stood  as  candidate  for  the  supreme  honours  of  the  Presidential 
Chair. 

He  was  born  near  Lexington,  Kentucky,  January  16,  1821. 
He  received  his  education  at  Centre  College,  enjoyed  the  benefits 
of  some  months  at  Princeton,  and  after  going  through  the  requisite 
law  studies  at  Transylvania  Institute,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at 


602  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

Lexington.  Hoping  to  find  a  fruitful  field  in  which  to  sow  his 
knowledge,  he  emigrated  to  the  Northwest ;  but  after  something 
less  than  two  years  spent  in  Burlington,  Iowa,  he  returned  to  his 
native  State,  and  took  up  his  abode  at  Lexington.  He  entered 
immediately  on  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  met  with  a 
well-merited  success. 

The  trump  of  war,  however,  excited  his  military  ardour,  and 
the  result  was  creditable  service  as  a  major  of  infantry  during  the 
Mexican  war.  He  also  distinguished  himself  as  the  counsel  for 
Maj.-Gen.  Pillow,  in  the  celebrated  court-martial  of  that  officer. 

On  the  return  of  Major  Breckinridge  from  Mexico,  he  was 
elected  to  the  Kentucky  Legislature,  and  created  so  favorable  an 
impression  as  a  legislator  that  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Ashland  District,  and  being  re-elected,  held  his  seat  from  1851  to 
1855. 

Devoted  attention  to  his  legislative  duties  marked  his  career 
in  Congress,  and  his  manly  eloquence  impressed  all  political 
parties  and  compelled  their  admiration.  He  introduced  (on  the 
30th  June,  1852)  the  resolutions  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
Henry  Clay,  who  had  died  the  day  previous,  and  pronounced  an 
eloquent  and  feeling  eulogy,  laying  the  fulness  of  his  young  heart 
on  the  grave  of  the  great  Kentuckian.  It  was  fitting  occasion,  in 
view  of  Clay's  great  and  pure  life,  to  speak  of  "  the  mere  leger 
demain  of  politics."  "  If  I  were  to  write  his  epitaph,"  said  Breck 
inridge,  "  I  would  inscribe,  as  the  highest  eulogy,  on  the  stone 
which  shall  mark  his  resting-place,  '  Here  lies  a  man  who  was  in 
the  public  service  for  fifty  years  and  never  attempted  to  deceive 
his  countrymen.' " 

In  debate,  Mr.  Breckinridge  was  sharp  and  effective.  With 
reference  to  the  Compromise  Measures  of  1850  and  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  Mr.  Giddings,  of  Ohio,  denied  that  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment  had  power  to  pass  laws  by  which  "  to  compel  our  officers 
and  people  to  seize  and  carry  back  fugitive  slaves."  Mr.  Breck 
inridge  briefly  pushed  him  into  an  enunciation  of  his  most  ex 
treme  doctrine  and  then  said,  "Against  the  impotent  ravings  of 
this  baffled  fanaticism  I  place  the  plain  words  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  To  his  coarse  and  offensive  language  I  have  no  reply." 

With  the  debate  on  the  Nebraska  bill,  in  1854,  Thirty-third 
Congress,  Mr.  Breckinridge's  name  is  intimately  woven.  It  was 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN"   C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  603 

during  this  discussion  that  his  difficulty  with  Mr.  Cutting,  of  New 
York,  took  place.  Mr.  Breckinridge  had  strongly  stigmatized 
the  course  of  the  member  from  New  York ;  "  the  gentleman,"  he 
said,  "  may  be  for  the  bill,  but  his  voice  is  that  of  an  enemy." 
Mr.  Cutting  replied  at  length  to  the  imputations  thrown  out  by 
Mr.  Breckinridge,  when,  the  latter  retorting,  a  scene  of  great  ex 
citement  took  place.  The  difficulty  was  carried  out  of  the  House, 
and  for  some  days  public  curiosity  was  aroused  at  the  prospect  of 
a  duel,  the  preparatory  steps  for  such  an  aifair  having  been  taken. 
A  settlement,  however,  was  effected  by  friends,  "  mutually  satis 
factory  and  honourable  to  both  parties." 

In  recognition  of  Mr.  Breckin ridge's  identification  with  the 
views  of  the  Administration,  President  Pierce  tendered  to  him 
the  mission  to  Spain  ;  but  the  honour  was  respectfully  declined, 
family  matters  compelling  Mr.  Breckinridge  to  this  course.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Cincinnati  Convention  in  June,  1856. 
After  the  nomination  of  Buchanan  for  the  Presidency,  several 
names  were  offered  for  the  second  office — among  others,  that  of 
John  C.  Breckinridge,  proposed  by  the  Louisiana  delegation. 
Acknowledging  the  flattering  manifestation  of  good-will,  Mr. 
Breckinridge  begged  that  his  name  would  be  withdrawn.  On 
the  first  ballot,  however,  the  Vermont  delegation,  through  Mr. 
Smalley,  believing  that  no  Democrat  had  a  right  to  refuse  his 
services  when  his  country  called,  cast  its  five  votes  for  Breckin 
ridge.  Many  other  States  followed,  and  of  the  total  he  received 
fifty-one  votes,  second  on  the  list,  and  only  eight  under  the  first, 
Gen.  Quitinan.  The  names  of  other  candidates  were  afterwards 
withdrawn,  and  the  whole  poll  went  for  J.  C.  Breckinridge,  at 
which  the  Convention  rose  and,  with  waving  of  handkerchiefs,  and 
the  loudest  vocal  demonstrations,  directed  its  attention  upon  the 
tall  and  graceful  delegate  from  Kentucky,  who  had  been  so  unex 
pectedly  nominated  for  so  exalted  a  post.  It  was  long  before  the 
demonstration  subsided  so  as  to  allow  a  word  to  be  heard.  At 
last,  the  commanding  figure  of  Mr.  Breckinridge  stood  fronting 
the  mighty  triumph.  It  certainly  was  a  time  to  try  a  young 
man.  He  spoke  briefly  and  becomingly.  The  result  just  an 
nounced  was  unexpected,  and  he  gave  the  Convention  the  sim 
ple  thanks  of  a  true  heart. 

He  was  elected  Vice-President,  having  received  173  electo- 


604  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   C.    BRECKINRIDGE. 

ral  votes,  being  fifty-nine  over  William  L.  Dayton,  the  Bepub- 
lican  candidate  for  the  same  office. 

As  presiding  officer  of  the  United  States  Senate,  he  took  the 
chair  of  that  eminent  body  early  in  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty- 
fifth  Congress,  December,  1857,  and,  with  some  intermission, 
caused  by  the  illness  of  his  family,  presided  during  the  stormy 
session  which  preceded  the  war. 

In  the  Presidential  contest  of  1860,  there  were  four  tickets  in 
the  field,  Mr.  Breckinridge  having  received  the  regular  Demo 
cratic  nomination  for  President.  It  was  through  an  unfortunate 
division  in  the  Democratic  ranks,  and  the  split  effected  by  Mr. 
Douglas,  that  Abraham  Lincoln  obtained  a  majority  of  votes  in 
the  Electoral  College.  Every  Free  State  but  New  Jersey  had 
chosen  the  entire  Lincoln  ticket,  and  the  triumph  of  a  sectional 
party  was  complete.  Mr.  Breckinridge  received  bat  seventy-two 
votes  in  the  Electoral  College,  and  of  the  popular  vote  850,082. 
But  although  defeated  in  this  great  field,  his  native  State,  Ken 
tucky,  continued  to  do  him  honour,  and  he  received  the  unsought- 
for  nomination  of  his  party  for  the  United  States  Senate.  He 
was  elected  to  succeed  John  J.  Crittenden  from  the  4th  March, 
1861,  by  twenty-nine  majority  on  joint  ballot.  His  Senatorial 
term  would  have  expired  in  1867,  if  war  had  not  intervened,  and 
he  had  not  been  disturbed  by  other  calls  of  duty. 

When  President  Lincoln  made  his  extra-constitutional  call  for 
75,000  troops  to  subdue  the  South,  Mr.  Breckinridge  addressed  a 
large  audience  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  advising  the  course  which 
the  State  should  take  in  the  emergency  of  war.  He  denounced 
the  President's  proclamation  as  illegal,  saying,  that  he  could  not 
make  his  75,000  men  efficient  until  after  the  meeting  of  Congress. 
He  proposed  that  Kentucky  should  present  herself  to  Congress 
on  the  4th  of  July'  through  her  Senators  and  Representatives, 
and  protest  against  the  settlement  of  the  present  difficulties  of 
the  country  by  the  sword  ;  meanwhile,  that  she  should  call  a  State 
Convention  to  aid  her  Congressmen  in  presenting  such  a  protest. 
Should  that  fail,  however,  it  was  the  duty  and  the  interest  of 
Kentucky  to  unite  her  fortunes  with  the  South. 

Although  this  address  drew  upon  Mr.  Breckinridge  much 
unfriendly  and  suspicious  attention  in  the  North,  it  did  not  prevent 
him  from  taking  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate  on  the  4th 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  605 

of  July,  1861 — Kentucky,  the  State  which  he  represented,  still 
remaining  in  the  Union.  His  action  and  attitude  in  that  body 
when  the  war  was  already  raging  were  remarkable — standing  there 
almost  alone,  as  the  champion  of  the  Constitution,  protesting 
against  hostilities,  surrounded  by  the  clamours  of  the  North, 
insulted,  threatened,  and  yet  exhibiting  the  highest  moral  courage 
in  his  freedom  of  speech  ;  and  reflecting,  in  his  peculiar  position, 
the  resentment  of  the  South,  and  making  its  constant  commentary 
on  the  steps  of  the  Washington  authorities  to  despotism.  A  brief 
record  of  his  acts  in  this  famous  Congress  is  an  essential  part  of 
the  political  history  of  the  war,  and  an  exhibition  of  personal 
heroism  that  cannot  justly  be  omitted  from  his  life. 

ISTo  sooner  had  this  Congress  assembled  in  Washington  (on  the 
4th  of  July,  1861),  than  a  resolution  was  introduced  to  approve 
the  acts  of  President  Lincoln  anteriour  to  its  sitting,  designed  to 
suppress  the  so-called  rebellion.  Mr.  Breckinridge  spoke  in 
opposition  to  the  resolution,  and  took  occasion  to  deny  positively 
a  rumour  of  the  newspapers  to  the  effect  that  he  had  telegraphed 
to  Jefferson  Davis  that  the  Federal  Congress  would  not  be 
permitted  to  meet  in  Washington,  and  that  Kentucky  would 
furnish  7,000  men  for  the  Southern  army.  Although  the  Senate 
listened  to  him  with  impatience,  he  spoke  steadily  and  bravely. 
"  Is  this  a  contest,"  he  said,  "  to  preserve  the  Union  ?  If  so,  then 
it  should  be  waged  in  a  constitutional  manner.  Is  the  doctrine 
to  obtain  that  provinces  are  to  be  entirely  subordinated  to  the  idea 
of  political  unity  ?  Shall  the  rallying  cry  be,  the  Constitution 
and  the  Union  ;  or  are  we  prepared  to  say  that  the  Constitution  is 
gone,  but  the  Union  survives  ?  What  sort  of  a  Union  would  it 
be  ?  Let  this  principle  be  announced,  and  let  us  carry  on  this 
contest  with  this  spirit,  winking  at  or  approving  the  violations  of 
this  sacred  instrument,  and  the  people  will  soon  begin  to  inquire 
what  will  become  of  our  liberties  at  the  end  of  the  experiment  ? 
The  pregnant  question  for  us  to  decide  is,  whether  the  Constitu 
tion  is  to  be  respected  in  this  struggle,  or  whether  we  are  called 
upon  to  follow  the  flag  over  the  ruins  of  the  Constitution  ?  I 
believe,  without  questioning  the  motives  of  any,  the  whole 
tendency  of  the  present  proceedings  is  to  establish  a  government 
without  limitations,  and  radically  to  change  our  frame  and  char 
acter  of  government." 


606  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

In  proof  of  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which  the  Republican 
party  proposed  to  conduct  the  contest,  he  referred  to  the  speech 
of  Senator  Baker  from  Oregon,  when  he  declared  he  was  for 
direct  war,  and  said  that  for  that  purpose  nobody  was  so  good  as 
a  dictator.  "  Is  anything,"  he  asked,  "  more  necessary  to  show 
that,  so  far  as  that  Senator  is  concerned,  he  proposed  to  conduct  the 
contest  without  regard  to  the  Constitution  ?  I  heard  no  rebuke 
administered  to  the  eminent  Senator,  but,  on  the  contrary,  I  saw 
warm  congratulations;  and  the  Senator  declared  that,  unless  the 
people  of  these  States  were  willing  to  obey  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  they  must  be  reduced  to  the  condition  of  territories,  and  he 
added,  they  would  govern  them  by  governors  from  Massachu 
setts  and  Illinois." 

Mr.  Baker  explained.  He  said  he  was  delivering  a  speech 
against  giving  too  much  power  to  the  President,  and  was  keep 
ing  his  usual  constitutional,  guarded  position  against  an  increase 
of  the  standing  army,  and  gave,  as  an  excuse  for  voting  for  the 
bill,  the  present  state  of  public  affairs.  He  did  say  he  would 
take  some  risk  of  despotism,  and  repeated  that  he  would  risk  a 
little  to  save  all.  He  hoped  the  States  would  return  to  their 
allegiance  ;  but,  if  they  would  not,  he  thought  it  better,  for  civil 
ization  and  humanity,  that  they  should  be  governed  as  territories. 

Mr.  Breckinridge  said  the  answer  of  the  Senator  proved 
what  he  said,  and  contended  that  it  was  evident  that  the  Consti 
tution  was  to  be  put  aside.  It  was  utterly  subversive  of  the  Con 
stitution  and  of  public  liberty  to  clothe  any  one  with  dictatorial 
powers.  He  then  referred  to  the  speech  of  Mr.  Dixon,  of  Con 
necticut,  who  said,  in  substance,  that  if  African  slavery  stood  in 
the  way  it  must  be  abolished. 

Mr.  Dixon  had  the  secretary  read  what  he  did  say  on  the 
subject,  as  published. 

Mr.  Breckinridge  said  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  most  vio 
lent  Republicans  had  possession  of  the  Government,  and  referred 
to  the  bill  introduced  by  Mr.  Pomeroy  to  suppress  the  "  slave 
holders'  rebellion,"  and  which  also  contained  a  provision  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery.  He  contended  that  the  very  title  was 
enough  to  show  that  the  Constitution  was  to  be  put  aside. 

Mr.  Bingham,  of  Michigan,  asked  if  he  contended  this  was 
not  a  slaveholders'  rebellion. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  607 

Mr  Breckinridge  answered  with  warmth,  "  I  do,  Sir ;  I  do." 
He  referred  to  the  refusal  of  the  Republican  party  in  the  last 
session  of  Congress  to  make  any  compromise,  although  the  South 
ern  leaders  said  they  would  be  satisfied  with  the  Crittenden  Com 
promise  ;  and  even  now  offers  of  peace  were  ruled  out  of  order 
in  one  House  of  Congress,  which  thus  deliberately  refused  the 
last  effort  to  avert  the  horrours  of  an  internal  struggle.  "  But 
why,"  he  exclaimed,  "  utter  words  ?  I  shall  trouble  the  Senate 
no  longer.  I  know  that  no  argument  or  appeal  will  have  any 
effect.  I  have  cherished  all  my  life  an  attachment  to  the  union 
of  these  States  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
I  have  always  revered  that  instrument  as  one  of  the  wisest  of 
human  works;  but  now  it  is  put  aside  by  the  Executive  of  the 
United  States,  and  those  acts  are  about  to  be  approved  by  the 
Senate,  and  I  see  proceedings  inaugurated  which,  in  my  opinion, 
will  lead  to  the  utter  subversion  of  the  Constitution  and  public 
liberty.  It  is  vain  to  oppose  it.  I  am  aware  that,  in  the  present 
temper  of.  Congress,  one  might  as  well  oppose  his  uplifted  hand 
to  the  descending  waters  of  Niagara  as  to  risk  an  appeal  against 
these  contemplated  proceedings.  The  few  of  us  left  can  only  look 
with  sadness  on  the  melancholy  drama  being  enacted  before  us." 

A  few  days  after  this  debate,  the  Senator  from  Kentucky 
again  tried  the  temper  of  Congress,  in  opposition  to  a  resolution 
introduced  by  Andrew  Johnson,  then  Senator  from  Tennessee, 
since  President  of  the  United  States,  declaring  that  the  "  present 
civil  war  was  forced  upon  the  country  by  disunionists  in  the 
South,  etc."  This  statement,  Mr.  Breckinridge  encountered  in 
the  calm  spirit  of  historical  truth,  showing  that  the  war  in  its 
inception  was  not  to  maintain  the  Constitution,  and  predicting 
that  its  prosecution  twelve  months  longer  would  make  the  grave 
of  constitutional  liberty  on  this  continent. 

On  the  1st  August,  1861,  he  was  drawn  into  a  remarkable 
debate  with  Senator  Baker  from  Oregon.  This  Senator,  although 
violent  in  his  political  opinions,  had  some  polish  of  style,  was  at 
times  eloquent,  and  was  an  antagonist  not  to  be  despised.  The 
debate  took  place  in  circumstances  of  great  excitement,  and 
soon  took  a  personal  tone,  in  which  Mr.  Breckinridge  found 
himself  confronting  an  angry  audience  and  insulted  by  the  gal 
leries.  He  boldly  proclaimed  his  opinions  of  the  war,  and 


608  MAJ.  GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

reminded  Senators  of  the  dignity  of  the  occasion.  He  concluded : 
"  We  are  making  a  record  here.  I  am  met  by  the  sneers  of 
nearly  all  those  who  surround  me.  I  state  my  opinions  with  no 
approving  voices,  and  surrounded  by  scowls;  but  the  time  will 
come  when  history  will  put  her  private  seal  upon  these  proceed 
ings,  and  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  abide  her  final  judgment." 
Mr.  Baker  replied  to  the  speech,  and  characterized  it  as  "  words 
of  brilliant,  polished  treason,  even  in  the  very  Capitol."  Becom 
ing  more  violent,  and  inflamed  by  the  applause  in  the  galleries, 
he  asked  what  would  have  been  thought  if,  in  another  Capitol, 
in  another  Kepublic,  in  a  yet  more  martial  age,  a  Senator  as 
grave,  not  more  eloquent  or  dignified  than  the  Senator  from 
Kentucky,  yet  with  the  Roman  purple  flying  over  his  shoulders, 
had  risen  in  his  place,  surrounded  by  all  the  illustrations  of 
Roman  glory,  and  declared  that  advancing  Hannibal  was  just, 
and  that  Carthage  ought  to  be  dealt  with  in  terms  of  peace  ? 
What  would  have  been  thought  if,  after  the  battle  of  Cannse,  a 
Senator  there  had  risen  in  his  place,  arid  denounced  every  levy 
of  the  Roman  people,  every  expenditure  of  its  treasury,  and 
every  appeal  to  the  old  recollections  and  the  old  glories  ?  Some 
audible  replies  were  made  in  the  Senate  :  "  He  would  have  been 
hurled  from  the  Tarpeian  Rock."  Mr.  Breckinridge  replied 
with  dignity,  with  courage,  with  candour  :  "  My  opinions  are  my 
own.  They  are  honestly  entertained.  I  do  not  believe  that  I 
have  uttered  one  opinion  here,  in  regard  to  this  contest,  that 
does  not  reflect  the  judgment  of  the  people  I  have  the  honour  to 
represent.  If  they  do,  I  shall  find  my  reward  hi  the  fearless 
utterance  of  their  opinions ;  if  they  do  not,  I  am  not  a  man  to 
cling  to  the  forms  of  office,  and  to  the  emoluments  of  public 
life,  against  my  convictions  and  my  principles  ;  and  I  repeat 
what  I  uttered  the  other  day,  that  if  indeed  the  Commonwealth 
of  Kentucky,  instead  of  attempting  to  mediate  in  this  unfor 
tunate  struggle,  shall  throw  her  energies  into  the  strife,  and 
approve  the  conduct  and  sustain  the  policy  of  the  Federal  Ad 
ministration  in  what  I  believe  to  be  a  war  of  subjugation,  and 
which  is  being  proved  every  day  to  be  a  war  of  subjugation  and 
annihilation,  she  may  take  her  course.  I  am  her  son,  and  will 
share  her  destiny ;  but  she  will  be  represented  by  some  other  man 
on  the  floor  of  this  Senate." 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  609 

This  pledge  was  deliberately  given.  But  before  the  time  came 
for  its  exaction  Mr.  Breckinridge,  while  conscious  of  his  utter 
inability  to  restrain  the  war,  had  omitted  no  effort  to  unmask  its 
true  designs  and  to  put  on  the  record  whatever  protests  might 
avail  in  history  ;  and  the  service  he  thus  performed  in  Congress 
was  one  of  real  value  to  the  South,  and  showed  a  constant  atten 
tion  to  her  interests.  On  one  occasion  he  moved  the  following 
as  an  amendment  to  a  bill  to  reorganize  the  army  of  the  United 
States : 

"  But  the  army  and  navy  shall  not  be  employed  for  the  pur 
pose  of  subjugating  any  State,  or  reducing  it  to  the  condition  of 
a  territory  or  province,  or  to  abolish  slavery  therein." 

This  was  rejected  by  the  following  vote,  which  sufficiently 
revealed  the  object  of  the  war  and  exposed  the  false  pretence  on 
which  the  North  was  conducting  hostilities : 

Yeas — Messrs.  Breckinridge,  Bright,  W.  P.  Johnson,  of  Mo., 
Kennedy,  Latham,  Nesmith,  Polk,  Powell  and  Saulsbury — 9. 

Nays — Messrs.  Anthony,  Bingham,  Browning,  Carlile,  Chand 
ler,  Clark,  Collamer,  Cowan,  Doolittle,  Fessenden,  Foot,  Foster, 
Grimes,  Hale,  Harlan,  Harris,  Howe,  Johnson,  of  Tenn.,  King, 
Lane,  of  Ind.,  Lane,  of  Kansas,  McDougall,  Morrill,  Pomeroy, 
Sherman,  Sumner,  Ten  Eyck,  Wade,  Willey  and  Wilson — 30. 

The  State  of  Kentucky  remained  in  the  Union,  and  the  time 
came  when  Mr.  Breckinridge  felt  called  upon  to  separate  himself 
from  the  choice  and  destiny  of  his  native  State.  No  sooner  had 
this  State,  corrupted  by  every  art  of  the  Federal  Government, 
taken  a  determined  attitude  for  the  Union,  than  President  Lincoln 
decided  to  experiment  on  public  sentiment  there,  arid  to  put  in 
force  the  violent  measures  of  a  so-called  "  strong  government." 
In  September,  1861,  ex-Governor  Morehead  was  arrested  at  his 
residence  near  Louisville,  and  taken  thence  to  Fort  Lafayette,  in 
New  York  harbour,  where  he  was  long  confined.  Warned  by  this 
outrage  Mr.  Breckinridge  and  a  number  of  leading  citizens  of  the 
State  escaped  to  the  Confederate  camps  in  Southern  Kentucky, 
and  passed  thence  into  Virginia,  where  he  openly  gave  in  his  ad 
hesion  to  the  Southern  Confederacy.  He  was  afterwards  indicted 
for  "  treason  "  at  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  and  was  "  expelled  "  from 
the  United  States  Senate  by  a  unanimous  vote,  although  this 
latter  penalty  was  absurd,  as  he  had  already  resigned.  His  course 

39 


610  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BKECKINRIDGE. 

was  explained  and  defended  in  an  address  to  the  people  of  Ken 
tucky,  from  which  we  extract  some  memorable  passages : 

"  The  United  States  no  longer  exists.  The  Union  is  dissolved. 
For  a  time  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  Southern  States,  and  while 
there  was  a  hope  that  the  rupture  might  be  healed,  it  might  be 
assumed  that  the  Union  was  not  yet  dissolved,  and  such  was  the 
position  of  Kentucky  in  declaring  her  neutrality  and  offering  her 
mediation  between  the  contending  parties.  But  time  has  now 
elapsed,  and  mighty  events  have  occurred,  which  banish  from  the 
minds  of  reasonable  men  all  expectation  of  restoring  the  Union. 
Coercion  has  been  tried  and  has  failed.  The  South  has  mustered 
in  the  field  nearly  as  many  combatants  as  the  North,  and  has 
been  far  more  victorious.  The  fields  of  Manassas  and  Bethel,  of 
Springfield  and  Lexington,  have  marked  with  a  terrible  and  san 
guinary  line  the  division  between  the  old  order  of  things  and  the 


"The  exemption  of  persons  from  arrest  without  judicial  war 
rant,  the  right  of  a  citizen  to  have  his  body  brought  before  a 
judge  to  determine  the  legality  of  his  imprisonment,  the  security 
provided  against  searches  and  seizure  without  warrant  of  law,  the 
sanctity  of  the  home,  the  trial  by  jury,  the  freedom  of  speech  and 
of  the  press — these  and  every  other  precious  right  which  our 
fathers  supposed  they  had  locked  up  in  the  Constitution,  have 
been  torn  from  it  and  buried  beneath  the  heel  of  military  power. 
The  States  made  the  Constitution,  placed  rigid  boundaries  around 
that  Government,  and  expressly  reserved  to  themselves  all  powers 
not  delegated.  They  did  not  delegate  to  the  Federal  Government 
the  power  to  destroy  them — yet  the  creature  has  set  itself  above 
the  creator.  The  atrocious  doctrine  is  announced  by  the  Presi 
dent,  and  acted  upon,  that  the  States  derive  their  power  from  the 
Federal  Government,  and  may  be  suppressed  on  any  pretence  of 
military  necessity.  The  gallant  little  State  of  Maryland  has  been 
utterly  abolished.  Missouri  is  engaged  in  a  heroic  struggle  to 
preserve  her  existence  and  to  throw  off  the  horrors  of  martial 
law  proclaimed  by  a  subordinate  military  commander.  Every 
where  the  civil  has  given  way  to  the  military  power.  The  fort 
resses  of  the  country  are  filled  with  victims  seized  without  warrant 
of  law,  and  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  their  imprisonment. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  611 

"  The  legislators  of  States  and  other  public  officers  are  seized 
while  in  the  discharge  of  their  official  duties,  taken  beyond  the 
limits  of  their  respective  States,  and  imprisoned  in  the  forts  of 
the  Federal  Government.  A  subservient  Congress  ratifies  the 
usurpations  of  the  President,  and  proceeds  to  complete  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  Constitution.  History  will  declare  that  the  annals  of 
legislation  do  not  contain  laws  so  infamous  as  those  enacted  at  the 
last  session.  They  sweep  away  every  vestige  of  public  and  per 
sonal  liberty,  while  they  confiscate  the  property  of  a  nation  con 
taining  ten  millions  of  people.  In  the  House  of  Representatives 
it  was  declared  that  the  South  should  be  reduced  to  'abject  sub 
mission,'  or  their  institutions  be  overthrown.  In  the  Senate  it  was 
said  that,  if  necessary,  the  South  should  be  depopulated  and 
re-peopled  from  the  North,  and  an  eminent  Senator  expressed  a 
desire  that  the  President  should  be  made  a  dictator.  This  was 
superfluous,  since  they  had  already  clothed  him  with  dictatorial 
powers.  In  the  midst  of  these  proceedings,  no  plea  for  the  Con 
stitution  is  listened  to  in  the  North ;  here  and  there  a  few  heroic 
voices  are  feebly  heard  protesting  against  the  progress  of  despot 
ism,  but  for  the  most  part,  beyond  the  military  lines,  mobs  and 
anarchy  rule  the  hour." 

Referring  to  the  peculiar  condition  of  affairs  in  Kentucky,  he 
said :  "  Gen.  Anderson,  the  military  dictator  of  Kentucky, 
announces  in  one  of  his  proclamations  that  he  will  arrest  no  one 
who  does  not  act,  write,  or  speak,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
Government.  It  would  have  completed  the  idea  if  he  had  added, 
or  think  in  opposition  to  it.  Look  at  the  condition  of  our  State 
under  the  rule  of  our  new  protectors.  They  have  suppressed  the 
freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press.  They  seize  people  by  mili 
tary  force  upon  mere  suspicion,  and  impose  on  them  oaths 
unknown  to  the  laws.  Other  citizens  they  imprison  without 
warrant,  and  carry  them  out  of  the  State,  so  that  the  writ  of 
habeas  corpus  cannot  reach  them.  *  *  *  *  I  will  not  pur 
sue  the  disgraceful  subject.  Has  Kentucky  passed  out  of  the 
control  of  her  own  people  ?  Shall  hirelings  of  the  pen,  recently 
imported  from  the  North,  sitting  in  grand  security  at  the  capital, 
force  public  opinion  to  approve  these  usurpations  and  point  out 
victims?  Shall  Mr.  Lincoln,  through  his  German  mercenaries, 
imprison  or  exile  the  children  of  the  men  who  laid  the  founda- 


612  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

tions  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  compel  our  noble  people  to 
exhaust  themselves  in  furnishing  the  money  to  destroy  their  own 
freedom?  Never,  while  Kentucky  remains  the  Kentucky  of 
old ! — never,  while  thousands  of  her  gallant  sons  have  the  will 
and  the  nerve  to  make  the  State  sing  to  the  music  of  their  rifles !" 

The  eloquence  of  these  passages  is  only  exceeded  by  the 
interest  of  the  historical  truths  which  they  contain.  As  an  exhi 
bition  of  the  constitutional  heresies  at  Washington,  and  as  a  pic 
ture  of  the  times,  they  furnish  a  forcible  lesson,  and  add  another 
to  Mr.  Breckinridge's  former  examples  of  manly  protest  against 
the  progress  of  tyranny.  He  had  not  fled  from  Kentucky  in 
any  mean  fear  of  personal  consequences ;  but,  obeying  the 
guidance  of  his  principles  and  sympathies,  he  made  his  choice 
when  there  was  no  longer  room  to  debate  or  to  hesitate,  and 
came  to  the  South  to  offer  his  sword  in  behalf  of  a  cause  which 
he  had  vainly  hoped  Kentucky  would  finally  embrace.  And  yet 
it  was  fortunate  for  his  personal  safety  that  he  came  within  the 
lines  of  the  South.  Had  he  lingered  but  a  few  days  longer  in 
Kentucky,  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  been  trans 
ported  beyond  the  State,  to  languish  in  some  Federal  fortress 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  oppressor. 

On  arriving  at  Richmond,  Mr.  Breckinridge  received  the 
commission  of  Brigadier-General,  and  was  appointed  to  take  com 
mand  of  a  brigade  of  Kentuckians.  His  record  in  the  Army  of 
the  West  is  distinguished  for  his  frequent  exhibitions  of  personal 
gallantry  in  the  field.  On  the  second  adverse  day  of  Shiloh,  he 
was  posted  with  his  command  so  as  to  cover  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Confederate  army,  when  it  became  necessary  for  it  to  yield 
the  hard-fought  field.  He  was  approached  by  Gen.  Beauregard, 
who  told  him  it  might  be  necessary  for  him  to  sacrifice  himself; 
for,  said  he,  "  This  retreat  must  not  le  a  rout  !  You  must  hold 
the  enemy  back,  if  it  requires  the  loss  of  your  last  man."  "  Your 
orders  shall  be  executed  to  the  letter,"  said  Gen.  Breckinridge 
with  stern  pride.  The  enemy,  sorely  chastised,  did  not  pursue; 
Breckinridge's  jaded  and  decimated  command  was  not  put  to 
the  last,  desperate  trial  of  the  field ;  but  the  resolution  of  the 
commander  deserves  none  the  less  praise,  and  the  brief,  emphatic, 
heroic  words  of  his  assurance  to  Gen.  Beauregard  are  none  the 
less  memorable.  In  the  battle  he  was  twice  struck  by  spent  balls. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINKIDGE.  613 

In  July,  1861,  an  expedition  against  Baton  Rouge  was 
entrusted  to  Gen.  Breckinridge,  now  promoted  a  Major-General. 
On  the  27th  of  that  month  he  left  Yicksburg  with  5,000  men; 
but  so  reduced  was  his  force  by  dysentery,  that  scourge  of 
armies,  that  when  he  arrived  at  Baton  Kouge  he  found  that  he 
could  carry  into  action  not  more  than  2,600  men.  Yet  he  was 
willing  to  risk  a  battle  against  nearly  double  his  own  numbers  ; 
and  he  telegraphed  to  Gen.  Yan  Dora  that  he  would  undertake 
to  capture  the  garrison,  if  the  ram  "  Arkansas "  could  be  sent 
down  to  clear  the  river,  or  divert  the  fire  of  the  gun-boats.  In 
momentary  expectation  of  the  arrival  of  this  ally,  the  attack  was 
made  on  the  5th  August.  It  was  the  desperate  work  of  the  bayo 
net.  Gen.  Breckinridge  led  his  division,  and  his  presence  had  a 
magical  eifect  upon-  the  men.  There  was  no  danger  he  did  not 
share  with  them.  His  tall  form  seemed  ubiquitous — here,  there 
and  everywhere  in  peril,  where  there  was  an  enemy  to  drive  or 
a  position  to  gain.  A  young  son,  Cabell  Breckinridge,  was  in 
the  action  fighting  near  his  father.  The  General  led  personally 
several  charges,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  action,  coming  up 
to  the  4th  and  5th  Kentucky,  who  had  fallen  back  utterly 
exhausted,  he  drew  his  sword,  and  with  one  appealing  look  said, 
in  his  clear,  musical  tones:  "My  men,  charge!"  The  Kentuck- 
ians  rushed  forward  with  a  determination  that  disdained  danger 
and  could  not  be  thwarted.  The  enemy  was  driven  a  mile  and 
a  half  from  the  position  where  he  was  first  encountered.  The 
Confederates  had  seized  all  his  camps,  and  forced  him  through 
the  suburbs  of  the  town.  But  in  the  pauses  of  the  fight,  when 
the  roll  of  musketry  and  the  sharp  crack  of  artillery  were  hushed, 
all  ears  were  strained  to  catch  some  note  of  intelligence  from  the 
ram  "  Arkansas."  Long  since  she  should  have  been  engaging 
the  enemy's  gunboats,  which  had  already  poured  a  dreadful  rain 
of  shot  and  shell  into  the  midst  of  Breckinridge's  troops.  But 
there  was  no  welcome  sound  from  her  guns.  At  last  came  the 
unwilling  thought  that  a  fatal  accident  had  befallen  her.  "  We 
had  listened,"  says  Gen.  Breckinridge,  "  in  vain  for  the  guns  of  the 
'  Arkansas.'  I  saw  around  me  not  more  than  1,000  exhausted 
men,  who  had  been  unable  to  procure  water  since  we  left  the 
Comite  river.  The  enemy  had  several  batteries  commanding  the 
approaches  to  the  arsenal  and  barracks*  and  the  gunboats  had 


614  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

already  reopened  upon  us  with  a  direct  fire.  Under  these  circum 
stances,  although  the  troops  showed  the  utmost  indifference  to 
danger  and  death,  and  were  even  reluctant  to  retire,  I  did  not 
deem  it  prudent  to  pursue  the  victory  further."  Slowly  and  sul 
lenly  the  men  fell  back,  although  exposed  to  the  heavy  firing  of 
the  gunboats.  About  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  town  they 
were  halted,  and  the  poor  wearied,  jaded  soldiers  threw  them 
selves  upon  the  ground  to  rest. 

Gen.  Breckinridge  had  not  accomplished  the  success  he  had 
designed  and  desired.  Had  the  "Arkansas"  participated  in 
the  action,  the  victory  would  doubtless  have  been  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  of  the  war.  But  it  was  an  occasion  of  proud  con 
gratulation  that  the  troops  who  made  the  land  attack  had  done  so 
well ;  and  Gen.  Breckinridge,  expressing  his  sense  of  their  gal 
lant  conduct,  wrote :  "  After  marching  all  night  through  a  coun 
try  destitute  of  water,  you  attacked  an  enemy  superiour  to  you 
in  numbers,  admirably  posted,  and  supported  by  the  fire  of  their 
fleet ;  you  forced  them  from  their  positions,  taking  prisoners  and 
several  flags,  killing  and  wounding  many,  destroying  most  of 
their  camps,  and  large  quantities  of  public  stores,  and  driving 
them  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  under  cover  of  the  guns  of  their  fleet. 
The  inability  of  the  l  Arkansas '  to  reach  the  scene  of  conflict 
prevented  the  victory  from  being  complete ;  but  you  have  given 
the  enemy  a  severe  and  salutary  lesson,  and  now  those,  who  so 
lately  were  ravaging  and  plundering  this  region,  do  not  care  to 
extend  their  pickets  beyond  the  sight  of  their  fleet." 

At  Murfreesboro'  we  find  again  that  record  of  personal  gal 
lantry  which  made  Gen.  Breckinridge  so  remarkable,  and  gave 
him  a  constant  title  to  admiration  even  in  the  story  of  defeat. 
In  the  first  day's  battle,  when  Rosecrans  rallied  his  centre  and 
crowned  it  with  a  powerful  artillery,  Breckinridge's  division  was 
brought  up  and  formed  for  the  assault  of  the  hill  held  by  the 
enemy.  The  troops  advanced  to  the  attack  under  Gen.  Breckin 
ridge  in  person  ;  but  the  Federals,  who  had  recovered  from  their 
reverses,  and  knew  the  advantages  of  the  ground,  poured  in  so 
heavy  a  fire  from  their  powerful  artillery,  that  the  Confederates, 
although  evincing  great  bravery,  could  not  stand  against  it,  and 
retired.  Again,  in  the  "bloody  crossing  of  Stono  River,"  which 
closed  the  third  day's  action,  was  Breckinridge  called  to  the  front, 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   C.   BRECKINRIDGE.  615 

and  directed  to  cany  by  assault  the  position  of  the  enemy.  Again 
the  attack  failed  ;  the  enemy's  artillery  fire  devoured  the  advanc 
ing  columns ;  two  thousand  brave  Confederates  fell  in  less  than 
half  an  hour ;  but  the  gallant  commander  was  constantly  abreast 
the  storm,  ringing  out  the  command,  "  Up,  my  men,  and  charge." 
It  was  a  grand  and  terrible  scene.  The  enemy's  artillery  opened 
a  sweeping  fire  from  the  ridge ;  a  whirlwind  of  minie  balls  and 
shot  and  shell  filled  the  air ;  and  meeting  and  contending  with 
this  tempest  of  death,  were  shattered  columns  of  devoted  men, 
with  great  gaps  in  their  ranks,  which  they  yet  closed  up  at  the 
word  of  command,  going  forward  firmly,  dashing  through  sheets 
of  fire,  recoiling,  advancing,  and  anon  swaying  in  the  excitement. 
Again  and  again  they  were  rallied.  Rushing  forward  with 
almost  superhuman  devotion,  completely  enveloped  by  the  tor 
nado,  they  reached  within  a  hundred  paces  of  the  coveted  crest, 
but  were  again  repulsed.  Night  at  last  closed  in,  and  the  men 
were  compelled  to  relinquish  the  attempt  to  take  this  stronghold  ; 
and  darkness  closed  that  troubled  day,  and  gave  to  history  one 
of  the  bloodiest  chapters  of  the  war. 

In  the  battle  of  Chickamaugaj  Breckinridge's  division,  composed 
principally  of  Kentucky  and  Louisiana  troops,  was  included  in  the 
corps  of  Lieut.-Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  and  encountered  one  of  the 
bloodiest  actions  of  the  day.  In  the  last  charge  it  advanced  with 
intrepidity  under  a  severe  fire,  and  dashed  over  the  left  of  the  ene 
my's  entrenchments.  Gen.  Hill  had  ordered  another  Maj or- General 
to  make  this  attack,  telling  him  that  Breckinridge's  men,  after  the 
severe  action  of  the  morning,  were  scarcely  in  a  condition  to  make 
another  charge.  The  officer  replied  that  the  orders  given  him  by 
Gen.  Polk  were  to  support  Breckinridge  and  he  could  do  nothing 
else.  Gen.  Hill  at  once  rode  up  to  Gen.  Breckinridge,  told  him 
of  the  conversation,  and  asked  if  his  troops  were  ready  to  renew 
the  attack.  He  answered,  "yes."  "Well  then,"  said  Hill, 
"  move  promptly,  and  strike  hard."  The  division  responded  to 
the  order  with  a  cheer,  moved  off  in  beautiful  style,  made  a  most 
glorious  charge,  and  soon  had  the  enemy  in  full  retreat. 

The  termination  of  the  campaign  of  1863  constituted  an  inter 
esting  period  in  the  history  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The 
public  mind  was  deeply  concerned  at  the  prospect  of  the  future, 
especially  with  reference  to  supplies  of  men  and  material  for  the 


616  MAJ-GEN.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

continued  prosecution  of  the  war.  Up  to  this  time  Gen.  Breckin- 
ridge  had  been  constantly  with  the  armies  of  the  West ;  he  knew 
their  wants,  and  his  broad  and  enlightened  mind  had  contem 
plated  important  changes  in  the  military  policy  of  the  country. 
His  reflections  in  this  regard  are  very  interesting,  and  show  that 
his  intelligent  counsel  to  the  Kichrnond  authorities  was  as  valu 
able  as  his  services  in  the  field.  In  December,  1863,  a  memorial 
was  read  in  the  Confederate  Congress,  signed  by  Gen.  Breckin- 
ridge  and  other  officers  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  It  was  brief 
and  compact,  as  follows : 

"In  the  existing  condition  of  affairs  it  is  hoped  your  honourable 
bodies  will  pardon  the  variance  from  custom  of  addressing  you 
from  the  army.  It  is  done  in  no  spirit  of  dictation,  but  in  the 
conscientious  conviction  that  the  necessities  of  the  country  demand 
the  voice  and  labour  of  all,  and  that  delay,  even  for  thirty  days, 
in  enacting  proper  measures,  may  make  present  disorders  incura 
ble,  and  the  dangers  of  the  moment  omnipotent  for  our  destruc 
tion. 

"  In  our  opinion,  it  is  essential  to  retain,  for  the  term  of  dur 
ing  the  war,  without  reorganization,  the  troops  now  in  service ; 
to  place  in  service  immediately,  for  the  same  term,  all  other  white 
males  between  eighteen  and  fifty  years  of  age,  able  to  perform 
any  military  duty ;  to  provide  for  placing  in  service,  at  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  President,  for  the  same  term,  all  white  males 
between  fifteen  and  eighteen,  and  between  fifty  and  sixty  years 
of  age ;  to  prohibit  substitutes ;  to  prohibit  exemption,  except 
for  the  necessary  civil  offices  and  employments  of  the  Confede 
rate  States  and  the  several  States  ;  to  prohibit  details,  except  for 
limited  times,  and  for  carrying  on  works  essential  to  the  army ; 
'to  prohibit  discharges,  except  in  cases  of  permanent  disability, 
from  all  duty  ;  to  prohibit  leaves  and  furloughs,  except  under  uni 
form  rules  of  universal  application,  based,  as  far  as  practicable,  on 
length  of  service  and  meritorious  conduct ;  to  prohibit,  to  the  great 
est  extent,  the  details  of  able-bodied  officers  and  men  to  posts,  hos 
pitals,  or  other  interiour  duty,  and  to  place  in  service  as  cooks, 
labourers,  teamsters,  and  hospital  attendants,  with  the  army  and 
elsewhere,  able-bodied  negroes  and  mulattoes,  bond  and  free. 

"  These  measures,  we  think,  if  promptly  enacted  as  laws,  so 
as  to  give  time  for  organizing  and  disciplining  the  new  material, 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   C.   BKECKINKIDGE.  617 

would  make  our  armies  invincible  at  the  opening  of  the  cam 
paign  of  next  year,  and  enable  us  to  win  back  our  lost  territory 
and  conquer  a  peace  before  that  campaign  shall  be  ended. 

"  We  beg  further  to  suggest  that,  in  our  opinion,  the  dissatis 
faction,  apprehended  or  existing,  from  short  rations,  depreciated 
currency,  and  the  retention  of  old  soldiers  in  service,  might  be 
obviated  by  allowing  bounties,  with  discriminations  in  favour  of 
retained  troops ;  an  increase  of  pay ;  the  commutation  to  enlisted 
men  of  rations  not  issued ;  and  rations,  or  the  value  thereof,  to 
officers." 

In  the  campaign  of  1864,  Gen.  Breckinridge  was  detached  for 
important  service  in  South-western  Virginia,  commanding  two 
brigades  of  infantry  and  a  battalion  of  artillery.  Having  united 
his  forces  with  Imboden's  brigade  of  cavalry,  or  mounted  infantry, 
he  met  and  defeated  Sigel  at  New  Market  on  the  15th  May, 
breaking  up  this  part  of  Grant's  combination  against  Richmond, 
and  joining  Gen.  Lee  at  Hanover  Junction,  as  he  moved  back 
upon  the  capital.  His  infantry  then  numbered  less  than  3,000 
muskets,  although  the  enemy,  in  accounting  for  his  victory  over 
Sigel,  had  put  it  at  15,000 !  In  the  subsequent  months  of  this 
year,  Gen.  Breckinridge  assisted  in  the  defence  of  Lynchburg, 
and  accompanied  Gen.  Early  in  his  expedition  towards  "Wash 
ington  and  the  consequent  campaign. 

In  the  last  winter  of  the  war  he  was  made  Secretary  of  War, 
a  post  for  which  he  was  eminently  fit,  and  to  which  it  would 
have  been  well  if  he  had  been  assigned  when  he  first  made,  in 
1861,  the  unqualified  offer  of  his  services  to  the  Confederate  gov 
ernment.  Brilliant  though  he  was  as  a  soldier,  and  with  a  record 
of  services  that  had  traversed  nearly  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
Confederacy,  the  character  of  his  mind  and  the  experience  of  his 
life  qualified  him  better  for  the  council  than  the  field ;  and  when 
he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  War,  people  wondered  that  he  had 
not  been  chosen  such  long  before,  especially  as  this  office,  for 
years,  had  gone  begging,  and  had  been  filled  with  men  who  were 
mere  experiments  on  the  public  confidence.  His  short  term  of 
executive  office  in  Richmond  was  acceptable  to  all  parties,  and 
was  marked  by  an  infusion  of  vigour  which  was  gratefully 
noticed  by  intelligent  men,  although  it  was  too  late  to  save  the 
Confederacy. 


618  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

Gen.  Breckinridge  accompanied  President  Davis  in  his  flight 
from  Richmond,  as  one  of  his  small  party  of  personal  adherents ; 
but,  in  North  Carolina,  he  was  persuaded  by  the  President  to  visit 
the  camp  of  Gen.  Johnston,  and  consult  with  him  on  the  terms 
of  surrender.  He  was  present  at  the  famous  conference  at  Dur 
ham  Station,  when  Gen.  Sherman  offered  certain  important  guar 
anties  for  the  pacification  of  the  country,  which  were  afterwards 
revoked.  He  rejoined  President  Davis  at  Charlotte,  where  the 
fragments  of  a  few  brigades,  less  than  800  men,  attended  the 
fugitive  chief  of  the  Confederacy,  determined  to  march,  if  pos 
sible,  to  Gens.  Taylor  and  Forrest,  in  Alabama.  The  force  moved 
through  South  Carolina  with  great  deliberation.  At  Abbeville, 
in  this  State,  was  held  the  last  Confederate  council  of  the  war; 
and  here  President  Davis  exhibited  his  peculiarly  sanguine  tem 
perament  and  his  utter  want  of  realization  of  the  extremity  of 
his  cause.  A  member  of  the  council  thus  describes  the  pitiable 
scene :  "  Mr.  Davis  desired  to  know,  from  his  brigade  com 
manders,  the  true  spirit  of  the  men.  He  presided  himself. 
Besides  Gens.  Breckinridge  and  Bragg,  none  others  were  present 
than  the  five  brigade  commanders.  Mr.  Davis  was  apparently 
untouched  by  any  of  the  demoralization  which  prevailed — he 
was  affable,  dignified,  and  looked  the  very  personification  of  high 
and  undaunted  courage.  Each  officer  gave,  in  turn,  a  statement 
of  the  condition  and  feeling  of  his  men ;  and,  when  urged  to  do 
so,  declared  his  own  views  of  the  situation.  In  substance,  all 
said  the  same.  They  and  their  followers  despaired  of  success 
fully  conducting  the  war,  and  doubted  the  propriety  of  prolong 
ing  it.  The  honour  of  the  soldiery  was  involved  in  securing  Mr. 
Davis's  safe  escape,  and  their  pride  induced  them  to  put  off  sub 
mission  to  the  last  moment.  They  would  risk  battle  in  the 
accomplishments  of  these  objects,  but  would  not  ask  their  men  to 
struggle  against  a  fate  which  was  inevitable,  and  forfeit  all  hope 
of  a  restoration  to  their  homes  and  friends.  Mr.  Davis  declared 
that  he  wished  to  hear  no  plan  which  had  for  its  object  only  his 
safety — that  2,500  brave  men  were  enough  to  prolong  tlie  war 
until  the  panic  had  passed  away,  and  they  would  then  be  a 
nucleus  for  thousands  more.  He  urged  us  to  accept  his  views. 
We  were  silent,  for  we  could  not  agree  with  him,  and  respected 
him  too  much  to  reply.  He  then  said,  bitterly,  that  he  saw  all 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN"  C.   BRECKINKIDGE.  619 

hope  was  gone — that  all  the  friends  of  the  South  were  prepared 
to  consent  to  her  degradation.  When  he  arose  to  leave  the  room, 
he  had  lost  his  erect  bearing,  his  face  was  pale,  and  he  faltered 
so  much  in  his  step  that  he  was  compelled  to  lean  upon  Gen. 
Breckinridge."  * 

At  Washington,  Georgia,  the  small  force  of  cavalry  that  yet 
escorted  what  remained  of  the  Confederate  government  divided, 
and  Gen.  Breckinridge,  accompanied  by  a  few  Kentucky  soldiers, 
took  a  different  route  from  that  fatally  pursued  by  President 
Davis  and  his  party.  He  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance 
when  he  learned  of  the  surrender  of  the  Southwestern  depart 
ment  and  of  the  vicinity  of  a  battalion  of  Federal  cavalry.  He 
formed  his  forty-five  men  ;  he  told  them  of  his  resolution  to  risk 
an  attempt  at  escape ;  but  he  counselled  them  to  surrender,  for 
he  wished  them  to  return  to  Kentucky — to  their  homes  and  kin 
dred.  He  forbade  any  effort  to  assist  his  escape.  "I  will  not 
have,"  he  said,  "  one  of  these  young  men  to  encounter  one  hazard 
more  for  my  sake."  Taking  an  affectionate  farewell  of  the 
brave  men  who  had  adhered  to  him  to  the  last  extremity,  and 
bidding  them  return  to  the  loved  land  of  their  birth,  he  went  off 
into  exile. 

At  Durham  Station,  Gen.  Breckinridge  had  been  satisfied  of 
the  termination  of  the  war  on  a  basis  that  afforded  no  protection 
to  the  civil  rights  of  those  who  had  participated  in  it.  Acting 
on  this  conviction,  he  determined  to  accept  the  alternative  of 
exile  rather  than  to  incur  proscription  in  his  own  land.  He  has 
since  the  war  resided  at  different  times  in  Europe  and  in  Canada, 
and  is  reported  to  live  in  circumstances  of  great  poverty.  Fallen 

*  The  account  of  this  conference  strongly  displays  the  justice  of  an  estimate  of 
President  Davis'  character  made  by  the  author  in  another  work — "  The  Lost  Cause." 
In  that  work  (at  page  685)  the  author  wrote  : 

"  The  speeches  of  the  President  offended  the  sober  sense  of  the  Confederacy  ;  and 
it  was  frequently  said  that  he  attempted  to  blind  the  people  as  to  the  actual  condition 
of  affairs,  and  never  dealt  with  them  in  a  proper  spirit  of  candour.  Bnt  this  estimate 
of  President  Davis  is  probably  a  mistaken  one.  He  was  not  insincere ;  in  all  his 
strange  and  extravagant  utterances  of  confidence  he  probably  believed  what  he  spoke ; 
and  to  the  last  he  appears  never  to  have  apprehended  the  real  situation.  He  was 
blinded  by  his  own  natural  temper ;  in  the  last  moment  he  was  issuing  edicts,  play 
ing  with  the  baubles  of  authority,  never  realizing  that  he  was  not  still  the  great 
tribune ;  he  was  sustained  by  a  powerful  self-conceit,  and  a  sanguine  temperament ; 
and  he  went  down  to  ruin  with  the  fillet  of  vanity  upon  his  eyes." 


620  MAJ.-GEST.   JOHN  C.   BRECKINRIDGE. 

from  his  high  estate  of  worldly  prosperity,  an  impoverished  wan 
derer  in  foreign  lands,  he  yet  has  an  abiding  love  in  the  hearts  of 
his  countrymen  and  a  fee  of  glory  which,  though  disputed  now, 
posterity  will  surely  render. 

Gen.  Breckinridge  has  a  striking  and  noble  presence.  There 
is  no  description  which  fits  his  person  so  well  as  the  single  word 
"superb,"  with  its  Latin  significance  and  classic  associations. 
Perfect  and  well-proportioned  in  all  his  parts,  dignified  without 
a  sign  of  stiffness,  graceful  as  a  woman,  a  veteran  of  society,  and 
a  man  who  for  his  age  has  had  the  largest  political  experience  in 
his  generation  in  America,  he  appears  born  both  to  command 
and  to  please.  A  prominent,  bulging  brow,  with  deep-set  eyes, 
large  and  brilliant,  gives  a  massive  grandeur  to  the  face,  while 
the  lower  features  show  the  chiselled,  clear-cut  marks  of  noble 
blood.  He  was  admired  as  one  of  the  handsomest  men  in  the 
Confederacy.  He  was  always  a  favourite  of  society  ;  he  was  one 
of  those  men  who  always  did  and  said  just  what  the  occasion 
demanded  ;  and  in  his  public  speeches  and  addresses,  although  he 
gave  evidences  of  a  great  intellect  and  was  numbered  among  the 
orators  of  America,  he  was  yet  more  remarkable  for  that  nice 
adjustment  of  the  proprieties  which  shows  the  cultivated  scholar, 
and  constitutes  the  perfect  gentleman. 


MAJ.-GENERAl  MANSFIELD  LOVELL, 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

His  early  life  and  politics. — Story  of  the  fall  of  New  Orleans. — Importance  of  its  line 
of  water-defence. — Gen.  Lovell's  hands  tied  by  red  tape  at  Richmond. — Not  to 
be  blamed  for  the  disaster. — His  gallant  services  after  the  loss  of  New  Orleans. — 
President  Davis  refuses  to  give  him  a  command  under  Johnston. 

THE  father  of  Mansfield  Lovell  was  a  citizen  of  New  York ; 
but  he  came  on  the  maternal  side  from  a  Georgian  family.  He 
was  born  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  was  educated  at  West  Point, 
and,  graduating  there,  was  promoted  to  a  second  lieutenancy  in 
the  Fourth  Artillery,  July  1,  1842.  In  the  Mexican  war  he  acted 
as  aide-de-camp  to  Maj.-Gen.  Quitman,  was  wounded  in  the  assault 
of  Chapultepec,  and  was  brevetted  captain  for  gallant  and  meri 
torious  conduct  in  that  battle.  When  the  war  broke  out  between 
the  North  and  South,  Gen.  Lovell  had  resigned  his  commission  in 
the  United  States  army,  and  was  living  in  New  York  city,  and 
discharging  the  duties  there  of  deputy  Street-Commissioner.  He 
determined  to  abandon  his  office,  and  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  for 
tunes  of  the  South.  He  had  always  been  a  strong  Democrat,  his 
antecedents  were  Southern,  and  he  had  been  a  slave-owner  all  his 
life.  In  the  old  army  he  had  made  considerable  reputation  as  an 
artillerist ;  and  he  came  to  Richmond  with  high  military  and  polit 
ical  recommendations. 

The  name  of  Mansfield  Lovell  is  connected  with  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  astounding  disasters  of  the  war;  and  in  this 
respect  his  reputation  has  suffered  so  unjustly  that  it  is  difficult  even 
now  to  obtain  his  dues,  and  to  recall  the  real  merits  of  the  man. 
That  disaster  was  the  fall  of  New  Orleans,  and  its  story  is  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  of  the  war.  Having  obtained  the  commission 


622  MAJ.-GEN.   MANSFIELD  LOVELL. 

of  Major- General,  Lovell  assumed  command  of  the  department  of 
Louisiana  on  the  18th  October,  1861.  Before  quitting  Virginia, 
he  had  an  interview  at  Fairfax  Court- House  with  Gen.  Beauregard, 
to  consult  with  him  and  obtain  the  benefit  of  his  skill  as  an  engi 
neer,  with  reference  to  the  defences  of  New  Orleans.  It  was  agreed 
that  it  was  very  important  that  the  channel  of  the  river  below  the 
city  should  be  obstructed,  and  that  the  safety  of  New  Orleans  de 
pended  chiefly  on  the  line  of  water-defence. 

But  it  was  with  respect  to  this  critical  part  of  the  defence,  that 
Gen.  Lovell  was  rendered  powerless,  and  his  hands  tied  by  red 
tape  at  Richmond.  Secretary  Mallory  of  the  Navy,  insisted  that 
none  of  the  matters  belonging  to  that  department  should  pass  out 
of  his  control,  and  when  Gen.  Lovell  applied  for  authority  to  make 
such  dispositions  of  the  naval  force  as  he  might  deem  best  to  aid 
in  the  defence  of  the  city,  he  was  flatly  refused,  and  told  to  keep 
within  the  strict  limits  of  his  duty,  as  commanding  only  the  army 
at  New  Orleans.  And  even  within  these  limits,  he  was  obstructed 
by  the  authorities  at  Richmond,  who  could  not  be  persuaded  that 
the  city  was  in  any  real  danger,  and  who  indulged  the  fancy  that  the 
enemy  only  contemplated  an  attack  from  the  upper  portion  of  the 
river,  and  that  there  was  to  be  fought  the  battle  that  would  decide 
the  tenure  of  the  Mississippi.  It  was  in  this  fatal  delusion  that 
New  Orleans  was  stripped  of  troops,  to  be  sent  to  Columbus  and 
adjacent  points;  and,  that  while  other  places  on  the  sea-coast  were 
defended  with  ten-inch  columbiads,  the  great  commercial  metropolis 
of  the  South  had,  on  her  line  of  defence,  nothing  above  an  eight- 
inch,  and,  on  some  parts  of  it,  no  other  reliance  than  double-barrel 
guns  of  the  militia,  and  32-pound  carronades. 

Yet  Gen.  Lovell  did  all  that  was  possible.  It  may  be  safely 
said  that  the  interiour  lines  of  fortification  adopted  and  com 
pleted  by  him  were  a  sufficient  defence  of  the  city  against  a  land 
attack  by  any  force  the  enemy  could  probably  bring.  But  the 
true  danger  lurked  in  another  direction ;  and  while  the  New 
Orleans  journals  contained  accounts  of  the  wonderful  preparations 
of  defence,  the  range  of  forts  at  every  few  miles,  the  impassable 
rafts,  the  vast  chains,  the  combinations  of  a  thousand  kinds,  which 
no  enemy  could  resist,  they  had  no  idea  of  the  slight  tenure  on 
which  hung  the  fate  of  their  city. 

The  raft — consisting  of  a  line  of  eleven  dismasted  schooners — 


MAJ.-GEN".   MANSFIELD   LOVELL.  623 

between  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  having  been  broken  by  a 
storm,  it  remained  for  the  enemy  only  to  try  the  problem  that 
"  ships  under  steam  can  pass  forts  in  open  channel ;"  and  having 
once  run  the  gauntlet,  they  had  but  little  to  fear  from  the  Confederate 
naval  structures  in  the  harbour,  as  the  two  iron-clads  which  were 
designed  to  rival  the  exploits  of  the  "  Yirginia-Merrimac "  were, 
through  the  almost  criminal  neglect  of  the  Navy  Department,  either 
uncompleted  or  unserviceable.  This  is  the  whole  story  of  the  New 
Orleans  disaster.  A  few  days'  bombardment  of  two  forts,  eighty 
miles  distant,  which  are  not  substantially  injured,  and  in  which 
scarcely  any  lives  are  lost,  and  a  triumphant  fleet  steams  quietly  up 
to  the  city  and  demands  its  surrender !  The  world  was  amazed  at 
the  event.  The  Southern  Confederacy  received  a  blow  in  the  fall  of 
New  Orleans  from  which  it  never  recovered.  This  city  was  re 
garded  the  key  to  the  Yalley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  its  posses 
sion  almost  of  vital  consequence,  in  enabling  the  Confederates  to 
preserve  their  hold  upon  the  Trans-Mississippi,  and  obtain  vast 
supplies  of  grain  and  meat  necessary  to  the  support  of  the  army. 

Gen.  Lovell  was  not  to  be  blamed.  It  was  by  the  incompetency 
of  the  water-defence  that  the  city  was  virtually  surrendered ;  and 
Gen.  Lovell  did  all  he  could  do,  which  was  to  save  his  little  army 
—less  than  3,000  men — and  stores,  so  as  to  make  renewed  effort  to 
hold  the  Mississippi  River  in  another  position.  But  popular 
indignation  in  the  South  demanded  a  victim,  and,  instead  of  being 
intelligently  directed  against  the  Richmond  Cabinet,  it  seized  upon 
the  man  whose  name  was  intimately  connected  with  the  disaster. 
The  appointment  of  Lovell  had  never  been  agreeable  to  the  people 
of  New  Orleans,  or  of  his  department.  They  had  murmured  con 
stantly  against  him ;  they  did  not  know  him  ;  they  did  not  trust 
him  ;  they  would  have  preferred  Bragg  to  Lovell,  and  Beaure- 
gard  to  either.  Now  they  accused  him  as  the  author  of  their 
great  calamity.  There  was  great  injustice  in  this  popular  pas 
sion  ;  and  it  is  only  now,  when  it  is  perceived  how  much  at  vari 
ance  it  is  with  historical  truth,  that  justice  can  be  hoped  for  Gen. 
Lovell,  and  grateful  recognition  of  a  patriotism  which  no  sense  of 
personal  wrong  could  corrupt  or  subdue. 

After  the  fall  of  New  Orleans.  Gen.  Lovell  fought  gallantly  at 
Corinth  and  Coffeeville ;  and  it  was  he  who  fortified  Columbia, 
He  afterwards  resigned  his  rank  as  commander  of  the  department, 


624  MAJ.-GEN.   MANSFIELD   LOVELL. 

and  was  relieved  by  Gen.  Yan  Dorn.  The  clamour  of  the  people 
still  followed  him,  and  was  only  satisfied  when  he  was  withdrawn 
to  comparative  obscurity,  waiting  orders,  or  nobly  volunteering 
his  services  on  subsequent  battle-fields  of  the  war.  But  it  is  es 
pecially  remarkable  that,  during  this  persistent  popular  censure,  Gen. 
Lovell  enjoyed  for  all  the  time  the  highest  opinions  and  utmost 
confidence  of  his  military  superiours,  the  most  distinguished  leaders 
of  the  Confederacy.  Gen.  Beauregard  vindicated  his  part  of  the 
defence  of  New  Orleans,  and  testified  to  its  skill.*  Gen.  Lee,  a  few 


*  "We  give  below  some  testimony  of  G-en.  Beauregard  (never  before  published) 
relative  to  the  defence  of  New  Orleans,  and  exculpating  Gen.  Lovell  in  the  court  of 
inquiry  summoned  in  his  case.  It  is  interesting  as  an  expression  of  the  judgment 
and  skill  of  one  universally  acknowledged  the  first  engineer  in  the  armies  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy. 

QUESTION. — From  your  knowledge  of  the  country  about  New  Orleans,  and  the 
peculiarities,  would  you  think  it  the  proper  plan  to  concentrate  the  main  strength  in 
artillery  at  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  in  connection  with  obstructions  at  that 
point,  rather  than  to  place  the  guns  at  many  points  along  the  river  which  the  enemy 
would  have  to  pass  in  succession? 

ANSWER. — The  true  plan  for  the  defense  of  a  river  from  the  passage  of  steamers, 
etc.,  is,  when  practicable,  to  obstruct  its  navigation  with  rafts,  piles,  torpedoes,  etc., 
at  the  most  favourable  points  for  such  obstructions,  then  to  defend  the  latter  by  a 
concentration  of  the  greatest  number  of  and  heaviest  guns  at  one's  command,  separ 
ating  them  from  each  other,  however,  by  traverses,  when  necessary  to  protect  them 
from  an  enfilade  fire. 

Such  was  the  system  proposed  by  Gens.  Bernard,  Totten,  Majors  Chase*,  Dela- 
field,  etc.,  when  they  planned  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  and  the  batteries  contig 
uous  to  those  works.  Detached  batteries  are  very  good  when  properly  located  and 
supported,  otherwise  they  are  apt  to  be  overpowered  successively  by  a  naval  attack, 
or  to  be  taken  in  the  rear  by  a  land  force. 

It  is  evident  that  since  the  enemy's  steamers  and  gunboats  passed  the  concen 
trated  fires  of  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip,  etc ,  etc.,  without  much  injury,  they 
would  have  done  so  even  more  easily  if  our  guns  had  been  scattered  over  75  miles,  from 
those  works  to  New  Orleans.  Moreover,  the  river  being  very  high  and  the  country 
between  those  two  points  being  low,  it  could  easily  have  been  submerged  by  cutting 
the  levee  at  night  near  any  batteries  which  might  have  been  constructed  along  the 
river,  thereby  cutting  off  their  garrisons  from  succour  or  retreat. 

I  will  remark  that  Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  were  placed  that  low  down  the 
river  to  protect  from  the  enemy's  depredations  as  much  of  the  country  liable  to  culti 
vation  as  practicable,  and  also  to  increase  the  obstacles  to  a  regular  siege,  resulting 
from  the  lowness  of  their  sites,  which  does  not  admit  of  the  construction  of  boyaux 
and  parallels,  especially  when  the  river  is  high. 

QUESTION. — The  battle  having  been  fought  at  the  forts,  and  the  fleet  having 
passed,  do  you  consider  New  Orleans  a  tenable  military  position— did  its  evacuation 


MAJ.-GEN.   MANSFIELD  LOVELL.  625 

days  after  the  fall  of  New  Orleans,  wrote  to  him :  "  I  think  you 
may  confidently  rely  upon  the  judgment  of  intelligent  and  reflect 
ing  men  for  the  justification  of  your  course,  as  soon  as  the  facts, 
as  they  actually  existed,  shall  be  known."  Gen.  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  continued  to  have  such  a  high  opinion  of  his  military  abilities 
that,  when  he  took  command  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  in  1864, 
he  desired  his  services,  and  proposed  to  give  him  command  of  one 
of  the  corps  of  his  army.  But  even  these  high  testimonials  did 
not  suffice  to  restore  Gen.  Lovell  to  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
or  to  the  favour  of  the  Executive.  The  Secretary  of  War  endorsed 
a  disapproval  on  his  application  for  a  command  under  Gen.  John- 

by  the  infantry  force  necessarily  follow  as  a  matter  of  course  when  the  enemy  were 
in  full  possession  of  the  river  ? 

ANSWER. — The  forts  commanding  the  river  having  been  passed,  New  Orleans 
necessarily  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy's  heavy  guns  afloat,  which,  owing  to  the 
high  stage  of  the  river,  commanded  the  banks  on  both  sides  to  the  swamp  skirting 
the  river  at  a  distance  from  one-half  to  one  mile.  An  army  of  50,000  men  or  more  could 
not  then  have  saved  the  city  from  destruction.  Whether  the  latter  was  desirable  at 
the  time,  before  New  Orleans  had  experienced  Butler's  iron  rule,  could  only  have 
been  determined  by  the  State  or  Confederate  authorities,  who  should  have  consid 
ered  whether  the  destruction  of  so  large  a  city  would  have  done  more  injury  to  the 
enemy  than  ourselves. 

It  is  evident  that  to  him  Baton  Rouge  is  a  better  strategic  point  than  New 
Orleans,  and  the  destruction  of  the  latter  would  have  relieved  him  of  the  necessity  of 
keeping  a  garrison  of  5,000  or  6,000  men  there  to  guard  it — this  act  would  have  been 
a  mere  empty  bravado,  a  wanton  destruction  of  an  immense  amount  of  private  and 
public  property,  which  would  have  shaken  at  the  time  the  Confederacy  to  its  very 
centre,  and  thrown  upon  its  Government  a  helpless  population  of  about  150,000  non- 
combatants  (men,  women,  and  children),  to  feed  and  provide  for,  when  already  over- 
burthened  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  armies  in  the  field. 

"When  the  Eussians  burnt  Moscow,  it  was  for  the  purpose  of  annihilating  Napo 
leon's  army  of  300,000  or  400,000  men,  which  had  invaded  that  country.  When 
they  again  consented  to  the  slow  but  certain  destruction  of  Sebastopol,  it  was  to 
prevent  the  allies  from  taking  possession  of  its  immense  docks,  arsenals,  military 
stores,  and  the  fleet  which  had  sought  refuge  under  the  guns  of  its  forts.  The  pos 
session  of  the  harbour  of  Sebastopol  would  also  have  afforded  them  a  magnificent 
base  for  future  operations  in  the  Crimea. 

As  I  have  already  stated,  the  Mississippi  River  being  extremely  high,  the  streets 
of  New  Orleans  could  have  been  swept  from  one  extremity  to  the  other  by  the  heavy 
guns  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  or  had  Commodore  Farragut  preferred  reducing  the  place 
to  submission  without  using  his  guns,  it  would  have  been  only  necessary  to  have 
cut  the  levee  above  and  below  the  city,  and  the  whole  population  would  have  been 
utterly  defenseless  and  in  a  starving  condition  in  a  few  days.  Without  the  com 
mand  of  the  Mississippi  River,  New  Orleans  is  not  worth  holding  as  a  military  or 
strategic  position. 

40 


626  MAJ.-GEN.   MANSFIELD   LOVELL. 

ston,  saying,  in  bis  opinion  it  would  be  injudicious  to  place  a 
corps  under  command  of  Gen.  Lovell,  and  it  would  not  give  con 
fidence  to  the  army.  The  paper  came  back  from  President  Davis, 
endorsed,  "  Opinion  concurred  in." 

For  these  unjust  and  cruel  prejudices  there  remains  for  Gen. 
Lovell  only  the  satisfaction  of  history.  An  unfortunate  man, 
placed  in  difficulties  from  which  he  could  not  extricate  himself;  a 
sacrifice,  as  many  another,  to  the  faults  and  errours  of  President 
Davis's  administration,  he  cannot  be  judged  harshly,  or  without 
reference  to  the  circumstances  which  surrounded  him;  and  no 
account  of  his  military  life  can  deny  his  ingenuity,  his  activity, 
his  ceaseless  industry,  or  justly  question  his  fidelity  and  earnest 
patriotism  in  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 


MAJ.-GEN.  EARL  VAN  DORN. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

His  capture  of  Federal  troops  in  Texas  at  the  beginning  of  the  war. — Temporary 
command  in  North  Virginia. — Assigned  to  the  Trans-Mississippi. — Battle  of  Elk 
Horn. — Correspondence  with  Gen.  Curtis  on  civilized  warfare. — Gen.  Van  Dorn 
crosses  the  Mississippi  River. — The  Department  of  Louisiana. — Heroism  of  the 
first  defence  of  Vicksburg. — Battle  of  Corinth. — Gen.  Van  Dorn  removed  from 
command. — His  reflections  on  the  sentence. — His  command  of  cavalry. — Destroys 
Grant's  depot  of  supplies  at  Holly  Springs. — Dies  by  the  hand  of  private  vio 
lence. — His  genius  as  a  commander. 

THE  career  of  Earl  Yan  Dorn  in  the  war  was  not  well  sustained ; 
hut  it  was  very  brilliant  in  some  of  its  parts ;  and  it  was  termi 
nated  by  a  painful  and  well-remembered  tragedy.  He  was  a  native 
of  Port  Gibson,  Mississippi.  He  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1842, 
and  entered  the  Seventh  Infantry.  He  served  in  the  Mexican 
War,  was  promoted  first  lieutenant,  March  3,  1847,  and  was  bre- 
vetted  captain,  April  18, 1847,  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct 
in  the  battle  of  Cerro-Gordo.  He  obtained  another  brevet,  that  of 
major,  at  Contreras  and  Churubusco,  and  was  wounded  in  entering 
the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  State  of  Texas  seceded  from  the  Union  on  the  1st  Feb 
ruary,  1861,  and  volunteer  forces  were  at  once  started  to  capture 
:he  Federal  garrisons  and  munitions  of  war  within  her  limits. 
Van  Dorn,  holding  from  the  State  a  Commission  as  Colonel,  organ- 
zed  an  expedition,  consisting  of  not  more  than  eighty  men, 
Vhich  by  a  brave  enterprise,  on  the  20th  April,  1861,  captured 
he  Federal  steamer,  Star  of  the  West,  in  the  harbour  of  Galves- 
on,  with  the  troops  on  board  of  her.  Under  cover  of  night  he 
>ut  off  in  the  lighter  which  had  been  used  in  transporting  the 


628  MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DORN. 

Federal  soldiers ;  and,  approaching  the  side  of  the  steamer,  whose 
commander  thought  he  was  about  to  take  on  his  own  men,  the 
band  of  daring  Texans,  swift  as  lightning,  were  over  the  bul 
warks,  and  in  instant  possession  of  the  vessel.  Not  satisfied  with 
this  exploit,  Col.  Yan  Dorn,  collecting  a  larger  number  of  volun 
teers,  proceeded  by  water  to  Saluria,  and  on  the  24th  April, 
anchored  within  sight  of  the  schooners  having  on  board  United 
States  troops  to  the  number  of  400  or  500,  under  command  of 
Major  Sibley.  A  summons  to  surrender  was  obeyed ;  and  the 
officers  were  released  on  parole  and  the  men  on  their  oaths  not 
to  take  up  arms  against  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

These  early  exploits  in  Texas  obtained  considerable  fame  for 
Yan  Dorn,  and,  when  he  offered  bis  services  at  Richmond,  he  was 
commissioned  a  Major-General.  He  had  a  temporary  command  in 
Gen.  Beauregard's  army  after  the  battle  of  Manassas ;  but  when 
that  army  was  re-organized,  Yan  Dorn  was  sent  West,  and  assumed 
command  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  department,  which  comprised 
the  larger  part  of  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  the  State 
of  Louisiana  as  far  south  as  Bed  Eiver,  and  the  Indian  territory 
west  of  Arkansas.  In  this  department  he  cooperated  with  Gen. 
Price,  and  in  conjunction  with  his  forces  fought  the  brilliant  but 
fruitless  battle  of  Elk  Horn. 

Before  this  battle,  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  had  meditated  an  expedition 
by  which  he  hoped  to  capture  St.  Louis.  But  while  at  Pocahon- 
tas,  Arkansas,  he  received  a  despatch  from  Gen.  Price,  informing 
him  that  the  enemy  had  forced  McCulloch  and  himself  out  of 
Missouri,  down  into  Boston  Mountains,  where  the  two  Confederate 
forces  lay  on  opposite  sides  of  the  mountain  without  cooperation, 
and  without  the  recognition  of  a  common  head.  This  was  the  occa 
sion  of  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  assuming  command,  which  he  did,  riding 
across  Arkansas  to  Boston  Mountains,  accompanied  only  by  his 
chief  of  staff  and  a  single  aide ;  and,  on  reaching  there,  he  imme 
diately  reorganized  the  army  into  a  division  of  cavalry,  under 
Mclntosh,  and  two  corps  of  infantry  and  artillery  under  Price  and 
McCulloch.  In  the  battle  which  ensued,  there  is  good  reason  to 
suppose  that  if  the  subordinate  commanders  and  the  troops  had 
been  in  a  better  condition  of  discipline,  a  complete  surprise  of  the 
force  of  Gen.  Curtis  would  have  been  effected,  and  the  Federal 
army  beaten  in  detail. 


MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DOEN.  629 

The  following  correspondence  between  the  commanders  of  the 
two  armies  consequent  on  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn,  is  interesting  as 
a  commentary  on  the  text  of  "  rebel  barbarities  ;  "  and  the  reader 
will  notice  the  honourable  and  chivalrous  terms  of  Gen.  Yan  Dora's 
reply  on  the  subject,  characteristic  of  himself  and  faithful  in  its 
representation  of  the  true  spirit  of  the  South : 

HEADQUARTERS  TRANS-MISSISSIPPI  DISTRICT,  March  9,  1862. 
To  the   Commanding  Officer  of  the   United  States  Forces  on  Sugar 
Creek,  Arkansas: 

SIR  : — In  accordance  with  the  usages  of  war,  I  have  the  honour 
to  request  that  you  will  permit  the  burial  party  whom  I  send  from 
this  army,  with  a  flag  of  truce,  to  attend  to  the  duty  of  collecting 
and  interring  the  bodies  of  the  officers  and  men  who  fell  during 
the  engagement  of  the  7th  and  8th  inst. 

Yery  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

EARL  YAN  DORN, 
Major- General  Commanding  Army. 

HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OP  THE  SOUTH-WEST,  ) 

PEA  RIDGE,  March  9,  1862.  j" 

Earl  Yan  Dorn,  Commanding  Confederate  Forces : 

SIR  : — The  General  commanding  is  in  receipt  of  yours  of  the 
9th,  saying  that,  in  accordance  with  the  usages  of  war,  you  send 
a  party  to  collect  and  bury  the  dead.  I  am  directed  to  say  all  pos 
sible  facilities  will  be  given  for  burying  the  dead,  many  of  which 
have  already  been  interred.  Quite  a  number  of  your  surgeons 
have  fallen  into  our  hands,  and  are  permitted  to  act  under  parole ; 
and,  under  a  General  Order  from  Maj.-Gen.  Halleck,  further  liberty 
will  be  allowed  them,  if  such  accommodations  be  reciprocated  by 
you.  The  General  regrets  that  we  find  on  the  battle-field,  con 
trary  to  civilized  warfare,  many  of  the  Federal  dead  who  were 
tomahawked,  scalped,  and  their  bodies  shamefully  mangled,  and 
expresses  a  hope  that  this  important  struggle  may  not  degener 
ate  to  a  savage  warfare.  By  order  of 

S.  K.  CURTIS, 

Brigadier-  General 
T.  J.  McKiNNEY,  Acting  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

The  following  communication  was  received  from  Yan  Dorn,  in 
response  to  the  above : 


630  MA J.-  GEN.    EARL   VAN  PORN. 


HEADQUARTERS  TRANS-MISSISSIPPI  DISTRICT,  ) 

VAN  BUREN,  ARK.,  March  14,  1862.  f 

GENERAL: — I  am  instructed  by  Maj.-Gen.  Van  Dorn,  com 
manding  this  district,  to  express  to  you  his  thanks  and  gratifica 
tion  on  account  of  the  courtesy  extended  by  yourself  and  the 
officers  under  your  command,  to  the  burial  party  sent  by  him  to 
your  camp  on  the  9th  inst. 

He  is  pained  to  hear  from  your  letter,  brought  to  him  by  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  party,  that  the  remains  of  some  of  your 
soldiers  have  been  reported  to  you  to  have  been  scalped,  toma 
hawked,  and  otherwise  mutilated. 

He  hopes  you  have  been  misinformed  in  regard  to  this  matter — 
the  Indians  who  formed  part  of  his  forces  having  for  many  years 
been  regarded  as  civilized  people.  He  will,  however,  most  cor 
dially  unite  with  you  in  repressing  the  horrours  of  this  unnatural 
war;  and  that  you  may  cooperate  with  him  to  this  end  more 
effectuallv,  he  desires  me  to  inform  you  that  many  of  our  men,  who 
surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war,  were  reported  to  him  as 
having  been  murdered  in  cold  blood  by  their  captors,  who  were 
alleged  to  be  Germans.  The  General  commanding  feels  sure  that 
you  will  do  your  part,  as  he  will,  in  preventing  such  atrocities  in 
future,  and  that  the  perpetrators  of  them  will  be  brought  to  justice, 
whether  German  or  Choctaw. 

The  privileges  which  you  extend  to  our  medical  officers  will 
be  reciprocated,  and  as  soon  as  possible  means  will  be  taken  for  an 
exchange  of  prisoners. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

D.  H.  MAURY,  A.A.G. 

From  the  battle-field  of  Elk  Horn,  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  retired  to 
Van  Buren,  where  he  refitted  his  army.  Perceiving  that  the  enemy 
could  accomplish  nothing  more  in  Arkansas  at  that  time,  and  ap 
preciating  the  importance  of  concentrating  the  Confederate  armies, 
he  proposed  to  add  his  force  to  the  command  of  Gen.  A.  S.  John 
ston,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver.  He  made  the 
offer  to  Gen.  Johnston,  and  almost  simultaneously  received  from 
that  commander  a  general  order  to  undertake  the  movement,  if 
practicable.  When  it  is  remembered  that  at  this  time  Yan  Dorn 


MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DORN.  631 

had  the  position  of  a  sort  of  viceroy,  commanding  the  vast  region 
of  the  Trans-Mississippi,  with  all  its  resources  for  war  yet  unde 
veloped,  the  action  by  which  he  sought,  from  conviction  of  the 
true  interests  of  the  country,  to  surrender  a  position  so  important 
and  great,  and  become  corps  or  division  commander  in  another 
army,  furnished  a  rare  instance  of  self-abnegation,  and  shows  an 
honesty  of  purpose  much  to  be  commended.  He  applied  himself 
with  all  diligence  to  effect  the  meditated  junction  with  Johnston, 
and  was  anxious  to  do  so  before  a  decisive  battle  was  fought.  His 
troops  were  moved  from  Yan  Buren  to  Memphis  with  great  dis 
patch  ;  but  the  2d  Texas  regiment  was  the  only  portion  of  his 
army  that  reached  Corinth  in  time  to  participate  in  the  battle 
of  Shiloh.  Shortly  thereafter  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  joined  Beauregard, 
adding  15,000  effectives  to  his  army. 

In  June,  1862,  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  was  appointed  in  the  place  of 
Lovell,  to  command  the  "Department  of  Louisiana;"  and  on  as 
suming  command,  he  published  an  order  advising  "  all  persons 
living  within  eight  miles  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  to  remove  their 
families  and  servants  into  the  interiour,  as  it  was  the  intention  to 
defend  the  Department  to  the  last  extremity."  The  most  brilliant 
service  of  his  military  life,  rendered  in  this  department,  was  the 
first  successful  defence  of  Yicksburg,  which  obtained  for  it  the  title 
of  "the  heroic  city."  The  fortifications  around  Yicksburg  had 
not  been  commenced  until  five  days  after  the  fall  of  New  Orleans. 
The  enemy  commenced  his  bombardment  in  the  last  days  of  May, 
1861,  and  continued  it  at  intervals  for  two  months,  at  one  time 
concentrating  the  fire  of  more  than  forty  vessels  of  war  and  mortar- 
boats.  The  following  passionate  address  of  Gen  Yan  Dorn  to  his 
troops  shows  the  spirit  that  animated  the  defence : 

HEADQUARTERS  YICKSBURG,  June  28,  1862. 

DEFENDERS  OF  YICKSBURG: — The  enemy  are  attempting  to 
destroy  this  beautiful  city,  and  a  heroic  people  have  determined  to 
sacrifice  it  rather  than  give  it  up  to  the  invaders  of  their  homes. 

It  may  be  considered,  therefore,  in  ruins,  for  it  may  be  battered 
down  and  burnt  up,  but  the  earth  it  stands  upon  is  ours,  and  will 
never  be  given  up.  The  shot  and  shell  now  playing  through  these 
streets,  through  lovely  villas,  and  sacred  churches,  and  deserted 
homes,  are  but  "  sound  and  fury,  signifying  nothing." 


632  MAJ.-GEN.   EAKL  VAN  DORN. 

The  contest  will  commence  when  the  enemy  attempts  to  put 
his  foot  upon  our  soil.  Stand  coolly  by  your  guns,  and  deliver 
your  fire  only  when  he  comes  too  near. 

EARL  VAN  DORN,  Major-General  Commanding. 

The  enemy  abandoned  this  first  attempt  on  Vicksburg,  after 
the  Confederate  ram  "  Arkansas"  succeeded  in  running  the  gaunt 
let  of  the  whole  upper-fleet,  and  arrived  safely  under  the  batteries 
of  the  city.  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  congratulated  his  troops,  entitled 
Vicksburg  as  invincible,  and  wrote  in  his  rhetorical  way :  "  When 
the  enemy  is  master  of  the  great  river  that  flows  at  your  feet,  and 
which  has  become  the  eternal  custodian  of  your  names  and  glory, 
every  wave  that  ripples  by  its  shores  will  crimson  with  your  blood, 
and  every  hill  that  looks  down  upon  it  will  be  the  sepulchre  of  a 
thousand  freemen."  *  He  never  lived  to  see  the  sequel. 

It  was  said  of  "  the  heroic  city"  that  she  had  furnished  twenty- 

*  The  following  lines  on  the  defence  of  Yicksburg  were  "  dedicated  with  respect 
and  admiration  to  Maj.-Gen.  Earl  Van  Dorn:" — 
For  sixty  days  and  upwards 

A  storm  of  shell  and  shot 
Rained  round  as  in  a  flaming  shower, 

But  still  we  faltered  not ! 
"If  the  noble  city  perish," 

Our  grand  young  leader  said, 
"  Let  the  only  wall  the  foe  shall  scale 

Be  ramparts  of  the  dead  I  " 

For  sixty  days  and  upwards 

The  eye  of  heaven  waxed  dim, 
And  even  throughout  God's  holy  morn, 

O'er  Christians'  prayer  and  hymn, 
Arose  a  hissing  tumult, 

As  if  the  fiends  of  air 
Strove  to  engulf  the  voice  of  faith 

In  the  shrieks  of  their  despair. 

There  was  wailing  in  the  houses, 

There  was  trembling  on  the  marts, 
While  the  tempest  raged  and  thundered, 

'Mid  the  silent  thrill  of  hearts  ; 
But  the  Lord,  our  shield,  was  with  us, 

And  ere  a  month  had  sped, 
Our  very  women  walked  the  streets 

"With  scarce  one  throb  of  dread. 


MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DORN.  633 

three  full  companies  of  volunteers  during  the  first  year  of  the  war ; 
that  she  had  also  voluntarily  contributed  as  much  money  to  carry 
on  the  war  as  any  city  of  equal  population  in  the  Southern  Con 
federacy  ;  and,  lastly,  that  she  had  conquered  and  driven  back  two 
combined  Federal  fleets,  one  of  which  conquered  and  subdued 
New  Orleans,  the  largest  city  in  the  Confederacy,  and  the  other 
the  rising  and  prosperous  city  of  Memphis.  It  was  in  fact  Yicks- 
burg  that  gave  the  lesson  to  the  Southern  Confederacy  that  iron 
clad  gun-boats  were  not  invulnerable. 

Gen.  Van  Dorn's  happy  and  brilliant  fortune  at  Yicksburg  did 
not  follow  him  to  the  field.  When  Bragg  made  his  famous  cam 
paign  into  Kentucky,  in  1862,  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  was  left  to  take 
care  of  the  enemy  in  West  Tennessee,  and  on  the  2d  of  Octo 
ber  he  fought  the  battle  of  Corinth.  Here  he  failed  to  carry  the 
strong  works  of  the  enemy,  and  was  censured  for  the  desperate- 
ness  of  his  enterprise  and  a  want  of  proper  combination  in  the 
attack.  His  sentence  for  that  misadventure  was  severe.  He  wrote 

And  the  little  children  gamboled — 

Their  faces  purely  raised, 
Just  for  a  wondering  moment, 

As  the  huge  bombs  whirled  and  blazed! 
Then  turning  with  silvery  laughter 

To  the  sports  that  children  love, 
Thrice  mailed  in  the  sweet,  instinctive  thought, 

That  the  good  God  watched  above. 

Yet  the  hailing  bolts  fell  faster 

From  scores  of  flame-clad  ships, 
And  above  us  denser,  darker, 

Grew  the  conflict's  wild  eclipse, 
Till  a  solid  cloud  closed  o'er  us, 

Like  a  type  of  doom  and  ire, 
"Whence  shot  a  thousand  quivering  tongues 

Of  forked  and  vengeful  fire. 

But  the  unseen  hands  of  angels 

These  death-shafts  warned  aside, 
And  the  dove  of  heavenly  mercy 

Ruled  o'er  the  battle  tide ; 
In  the  houses  ceased  the  wailing, 

And  through  the  war-scarred  marts 
The  people  strode  with  the  steps  of  hope 

To  the  music  in  their  hearts. 
COLUMBIA,  S.  C.,  August  6,  1862. 


634:  MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DORN. 

of  it :  "  The  attempt  at  Corinth  has  failed,  and  in  consequence  I 
am  condemned,  and  have  been  superseded  in  my  command.  In 
my  zeal  for  my  country,  I  may  have  ventured  too  far  with  inade 
quate  means,  and  I  bow  to  the  opinion  of  the  people  whom  I 
serve.  Yet  I  feel,  if  the  spirits  of  the  gallant  dead  who  now  lie 
beneath  the  batteries  of  Corinth  see  and  judge  the  motives  of 
men,  they  do  not  rebuke  me,  for  there  is  no  sting  in  my  conscience, 
nor  does  retrospection  admonish  me  of  error,  or  of  a  disregard  of 
their  valued  lives." 

The  true  history  of  the  attack  on  Corinth  furnishes  much 
excuse  for  Gen.  Van  Dorn,  so  far  as  it  appears  that  he  made  the 
attempt  with  inadequate  means.  In  the  month  of  August  he  had 
endeavoured  to  get  Gen.  Price  to  join  him  in  an  attack  on  Corinth, 
when  the  combined  force  would  have  been  30,000  men,  and  there 
was  every  prospect  of  success.  But  Price,  under  the  orders 
received  from  Gen.  Bragg,  could  not  make  the  junction  until  the 
battle  of  luka  was  fought,  and  by  that  time  the  combined  forces 
had,  from  various  causes,  been  reduced  to  about  17,000  men.  The 
Federal  commander,  General  Grant,  had  about  30,000  men  in 
the  works  of  Corinth,  besides  the  corps  under  Ord,  which  Gen. 
Maury  fought  at  the  Hatchie  Bridge,  which  was  reported  12,000 
strong.  The  consequence  of  an  attempt  against  these  odds  was 
a  bloody  field  and  a  disastrous  repulse. 

But  Yan  Dora's  services  in  the  war  did  not  cease  at  Corinth ; 
and  with  a  diminished  command,  mostly  cavalry,  he  performed 
several  exploits  in  the  following  winter  of  the  war,  the  most  adven 
turous  and  valuable  of  which  was  the  destruction  of  the  grand 
depot  of  Grant's  army  at  Holly  Springs,  Mississippi.  On  the 
19th  December,  1862,  he  approached  the  town.  The  pickets,  if 
there  were  any,  gave  no  alarm,  and  whilst  a  brigade,  stationed 
on  rising  ground,  acted  as  a  reserve,  Yan  Dorn  dashed  into  the 
place  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry.  Little  resistance  was  attempted. 
A  few  of  the  Federal  cavalry  escaped,  but  the  majority  of  the 
garrison  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  men  surrendered.  Col.  Mur 
phy  was  taken  prisoner,  and  most  of  the  Federal  officers — sur 
prised  in  the  houses  in  which  they  were  lodging — were  marched 
off  in  succession  to  Yan  'Dora's  temporary  headquarters,  and, 
with  their  men,  paroled.  An  eye-witness  of  the  confusion  and 
hunt  after  concealed  officers  describes  some  ludicrous  scenes.  One 


MAJ.-GEN.    EARL  VAN  DORN.  635 

lady  said  :  "  The  Federal  commandant  of  the  post  is  in  my  house  ; 
come  and  catch  him ;"  and  a  search  was  instituted,  but  without 
success,  when  the  woman  insisted  that  he  was  there,  concealed  ;  and 
finally,  after  much  ado,  the  unhappy  Col.  Murphy  was  pulled  out 
from  under  his  bed,  and  presented  himself  in  his  nocturnal  habili 
ments  to  his  captors.  The  Provost-Marshal  was  also  taken,  and, 
addressing  Glen.  Van  Dorn,  said:  "Well,  General,  you've  got  us 
fairly  this  time.  I  knew  it.  I  was  in  my  bed  with  my  wife  when 
I  heard  the  firing,  and  I  at  once  said :  {  Well,  wife,  it's  no  use  closing 
our  eyes  or  hiding  under  the  clothes,  we  are  gone  up."5  After 
the  captures  commenced  the  war  of  destruction.  Yast  accumula 
tions  of  flour,  cotton  and  stores  of  all  sorts  were  burned,  the  rail 
way  was  torn  up,  the  station  and  locomotives  set  on  fire,  and  at 
length,  the  flames  spreading  to  a  building  used  as  a  magazine, 
caused  it  to  blow  up,  and  led  to  the  demolition  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  town. 

On  the  8th  May,  1863,  the  career  of  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  was  ter 
minated,  and  the  commander,  who  had  so  often  braved  death  in 
his  country's  service,  fell  by  the  hand  of  private  violence.  He  was 
shot  dead  by  Dr.  Peters,  a  citizen  of  Maury  county,  Tennessee. 
The  common  story  of  the  newspapers  was  that  the  unhappy  com 
mander  had  been  surprised  with  Mrs.  Peters  in  a  private  room  at 
his  headquarters,  in  circumstances  which  left  no  doubt  of  the  dis 
honour  of  her  husband,  who  took  his  vengeance  on  the  spot.  It 
is  not  our  office  or  inclination  to  go  into  the  details  of  this  domestic 
tragedy.  But  it  is  proper  to  notice  that  the  staff  officers  of  the  de 
ceased  General  published  a  card  in  the  newspapers,  questioning 
the  common  rumour,  and  suggesting  the  belief  that  he  had  fallen  a 
victim  to  a  private  enemy,  who,  as  he  had  before  the  act  very  well 
prepared  his  means  of  escape,  might  also  have  provided  a  story  of 
justification.  The  homicide  escaped  into  the  Federal  lines,  and 
was  never  brought  to  trial. 

The  career  of  Gen.  Yan  Dorn  was  scarcely  a  just  test  of  his 
merits  as  a  commander.  That  he  did  have  some  of  the  best  gifts 
of  a  good  General  is  apparent,  despite  the  disasters  that  clouded  his 
reputation,  and  drove  too  readily  from  the  public  mind  the  happier 
records  of  his  life.  The  excuse  of  bad  luck  is  not  easily  admitted 
into  the  judgments  of  history ;  but  Yan  Dorn  was  so  plainly  a  suf 
ferer  from  circumstances  that  it  may  be  pleaded  in  his  behalf  with 


636  MAJ.-GEN.   EARL  VAN  DORN. 

some  effect.  He  never  gave  way  to  disaster,  and  he  had  that  fine 
courage  which  draws  new  inspirations  from  misfortune.  His  extri 
cation  of  his  army  from  the  forks  of  the  Hatchie,  after  its  defeat  at 
Corinth  on  the  previous  day,  with  22,000  men  under  Eosecrans 
attacking  his  rear,  and  12,000  under  Ord  attacking  his  flank,  was 
a  remarkable  instance  of  resource,  energy,  and  unconquerable' 
pluck.  But  it  was  as  a  commander  of  cavalry  that  Yan  Dorn  was 
in  his  best  element.  His  small,  lithe  figure  was  an  embodiment  of 
grace  and  activity ;  his  eyes  struck  fire  into  men,  and  could  yet 
speak  eloquently  the  tenderest  language  of  love ;  he  had  a  brilliant 
and  sentimental  courage.  A  gallant  companion-in-arms  writes : 
"Gen.  Van  Dorn  was  the  most  daring  man  I  ever  knew.  He 
loved  danger  for  its  own  sake ;  he  rejoiced  in  the  smoke  and  tumult 
of  battle ;  there  his  blue  eyes  blazed,  his  nostrils  dilated,  and  he 
appeared  the  impersonation  of  animated,  high,  exulting  courage. 
"Withal,  he  was  kind,  gentle,  and  thoughtful  of  others.  He  was 
incapable  of  a  warm  feeling  of  enmity,  or  of  envy,  or  of  personal 
resentment.  His  ear  and  hand  were  open  to  every  appeal  to  his 
humanity,  and  no  unprotected  being  failed  to  find  in  him  a  friend." 
It  may  be  added  that  his  great  virtue,  courage,  was  excessive,  and 
ran  into  something  like  a  defect.  If  anything  brilliant  was  before 
his  eyes,  he  could  not  see,  or  estimate  justly  the  difficulties  which 
lay  between  him  and  his  prize.  He  was  impatient  of  success,  which 
he  yet  desired  in  a  higher  sense  than  personal  gratification;  and  in 
his  devotion  to  the  cause  he  fought  for,  he  was  as  unselfish  as  he 
was  brave. 


BRIG.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  M'CULLOCH. 


CHAPTEE  LVIIL 

Early  romance  of  his  life. — His  fame  as  a  hunter  and  pioneer. — Service  in  the  Texan 
war  of  independence. — Battle  of  San  Jacinto. — The  Mexican  "War. — Adventure 
at  Buena  Vista. — Appointed  United  States  Marshal  for  Texas. — His  life  in  Wash 
ington  City. — His  appearance  and  manners  at  the  capital — Relations  to  President 
Buchanan. — Seizes  the  property  and  arms  of  the  United  States  at  San  Antonio. — 
Surrender  of  Gen.  Twiggs. — McCulloch's  command  in  the  Indian  Territory. — His 
part  in  Price's  Missouri  campaign. — Defects  of  his  military  character. — Killed  in 
the  battle  of  Elk  Horn. 

THE  life  of  Benjamin  McCulloch,  anteriour  to  the  war,  was  of 
singular  interest.  It  illustrated  much  of  the  romance  of  the 
American  frontier.  Living  almost  constantly  on  the  limit  of  the 
American  settlements ;  remarkable  for  his  singular  capacities  for 
Indian  warfare ;  following  the  track  of  adventure  with  wild  cour 
age  and  hardihood,  he  had  already  made  a  name  for  history,  and 
was  pointed  out  as  one  of  those  famous  adventurers  whose  lives 
were  in  transition  between  the  backwoods  and  the  present  stan 
dards  of  civilization.  He  had  originated  the  name  of  "Texas 
Kanger,"  and,  with  Walker,  Hays,  and  Chevallie,  had  given  it  a 
world-wide  renown.  Twenty-six  years  before  he  drew  his  sword 
for  Southern  Independence  he  had  served  in  the  battle  of  San 
Jacinto ;  had  afterwards  passed  his  time  on  the  Texan  frontier  in  a 
succession  of  hardships  and  dangers;  and  subsequently  in  the 
Mexican  War,  on  the  bloody  field  of  Buena  Vista,  he  had  received 
the  public  and  official  thanks  of  Gen.  Taylor  for  his  heroic  conduct 
and  services.  A  career,  running  through  scenes  so  remarkable  and 
extensive,  may  be  traced  with  interest  from  its  commencement. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  born  in  Rutherford  county,  Ten 
nessee,  about  the  year  1814.  His  father  was  aide-de-camp  to  Gen. 


638  BRIG.-GEN.   BENJAMIN  M(CULLOCH. 

Coffee,  and  served  under  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  Creek  war,  fighting 
at  Talladega,  Tallahassee,  and  the  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  and  exhibit 
ing  that  reckless  daring  which  is  peculiarly  efficient  against  savages, 
and  which  since  rendered  his  son  so  famous.  Young  McCulloch 
was  fourteen  years  old  when  his  father  removed  to  the  western 
portion  of  the  State,  and  settled  in  Dyer  county.  This  neighbour 
hood  was  then  a  wilderness,  covered  with  swamps  and  dense  for 
ests,  and  infested  by  wild  animals.  The  principal  meat  of  the 
settlers  was  what  was  obtained  in  the  chase. 

Ben  McCulloch  acquired  here  his  first  fruits  of  fame,  and 
became  renowned  throughout  the  settlement  as  an  expert  and  suc 
cessful  hunter.  A  youth  spent  in  such  occupations  could  not  fail 
to  kindle  a  love  of  enterprise  and  roving  adventure  in  the  bosom 
of  the  ardent  Tennesseean.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  set  out 
for  St.  Louis,  to  join  a  company  of  trappers  on  their  way  to  the 
Kocky  Mountains.  Much  to  his  disappointment,  he  arrived  in 
that  city  after  the  expedition  had  started.  He  then  applied  for 
admission  into  a  company  of  Santa  Fe  traders ;  but  here  again  he 
was  unsuccessful,  as  their  number  was  complete.  He  returned 
home,  yet  cherishing  there,  until  other  and  greater  opportunities, 
his  resolution  to  seek  his  fortune  in  distant  and  dangerous  lands. 
The  erection  in  Texas  of  the  standard  of  revolt  against  Mexico 
aroused  his  spirit,  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  danger  and 
adventure  which  he  coveted.* 

*A  friend  relates  the  following  interesting  circumstance  attending  McCulloch's  jour 
ney  to  Texas — showing  how  at  least  one  of  his  disappointments  proved  his  good  for 
tune,  and  was  turned  to  his  safety. 

"  Soon  after  his  arrival  home,  McCulloch  called  on  Col.  David  Crockett,  who  was 
making  up  an  expedition  to  go  to  Texas,  and  take  part  in  the  revolution  that  had 
then  broken  out  against  the  authority  of  Mexico.  The  whole  southwest  at  that  time 
was  alive  with  sympathy  for  the  Texans,  and  numbers  were  daily  flocking  to  their 
standard.  McCulloch  agreed  to  accompany  Col.  Crockett  on  his  expedition.  Nacog- 
doches  had  been  appointed  as  the  rendezvous,  and  the  Christmas  of  1835  was  named 
as  the  day  for  the  meeting,  when,  as  '  Old  Davy'  said,  they  were  to  make  their  Christ 
mas  dinner  off  the  hump  of  a  buffalo.  By  some  mischance  McCulloch  did  not  arrive 
until  the  January  following,  and  finding  the  party  gone,  he  proceeded  alone  to  the  river 
Brazos,  where  he  was  taken  very  ill,  and  did  not  recover  until  after  the  fall  of  the 
Alamo.  His  disappointment  was  very  great  at  not  being  able  to  join  the  gallant 
band  of  patriots  at  the  time ;  but  it  afterwards  proved  very  fortunate  for  him.  CoL 
Travis,  in  whose  command  he  would  have  been,  after  having  sustained  a  siege  for 
thirteen  days,  with  only  one  hundred  and  eight  Texans  against  Santa  Anna's  army, 
fell  with  his  brave  little  band,  having  previously  killed  nine  hundred  of  the  enemy  1  " 


BRIG.-GEN.   BENJAMIN   M'CULLOCH.  639 

He  entered  the  Texan  army  as  a  private,  joining  it  at  Grass 
Plant,  where  it  had  assembled  under  Gen.  Houston.  He  was  at 
tached  to  an  artillery  company,  in  which  he  remained  until  the 
battle  of  San  Jacinto,  where  Santa  Anna  was  made  prisoner,  and 
his  army  of  1,500  killed  or  captured.  He  participated  in  that 
famous  struggle,  and  was  a  sergeant  in  charge  of  the  gun  on 
the  right.  There  were  two  gun's  on  that  field,  known  as  "the 
Twin  Sisters,"  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Isaac  K.  Moreland,  of 
Georgia.  These  guns  subsequently  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Mexi 
cans,  but  were  eventually  recaptured  and  left  at  New  Orleans, 
where  they  remained  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  they  were  pre 
sented  to  the  Texan  government  by  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

At  the  termination  of  the  Texan  war,  McCulloch  settled  in 
Gonzales  county,  where  he  remained  for  some  time.  He  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  State  Congress,  as  it  was  then  called, 
which  honourable  position  he  held  until  war  broke  out  between 
the  United  States  and  JVTexico.  He  then  resigned  his  seat,  and, 
like  many  of  the  Texans  who  had  fought  in  the  Texan  revolution, 
he  hurried  forward  to  meet  his  old  enemies.  He  raised  a  company 
of  "Mounted  Eangers,"  and  joined  Gen.  Taylor  on  the  Kio  Grande, 
after  the  battle  of  Matamoras,  not  having  been  able  to  organize  his 
command  soon  enough  to  participate  in  the  first  battles  of  the  war. 
His  company  was  used  principally  for  scouting,  and  acted  gene 
rally  under  his  own  direction,  or  the  immediate  command  of  Gen. 
Taylor.  It  formed  part  of  the  regiment  of  Texan  Rangers,  com 
manded  by  Col.  Jack  Hays,  which  marched  with  Gen.  Worth  to 
assist  in  storming  the  Bishop's  Palace  in  Monterey.  In  all  the 
operations  of  Gen.  Worth's  division,  McCulloch  distinguished  him 
self,  and  obtained  the  repeated  commendations  of  his  superiours. 

Just  before  the  battle  of  Buena  Yista,  McCulloch  performed  a 
daring  exploit  and  did  one  of  the  most  valuable  services  of  the  war. 
With  one  companion,  he  left  camp  in  the  night,  and  proceeded  to 
make  a  reconnoissance  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  then  advanc 
ing  with  Santa  Anna  at  their  head.  He  entered  the  Mexican  lines, 
where  he  spent  several  hours  in  close  observation  within  hearing  of 
the  groups  gathered  around  the  watch-fires.  He  discovered  the 
numbers  of  the  enemy,  learned  his  plans,  and  obtained  all  the  infor 
mation  necessary  to  Gen.  Taylor.  He  immediatly  returned,  and 
related  to  that  officer  the  result  of  his  reconnoissance ;  and,  upon 


640  BRIG-.-GEN.   BENJAMIN   M'CULLOCH. 

that  information,  it  is  said  that  Gen.  Taylor  acted,  in  retreating  to 
the  strong  point,  Aguas  Nuevos,  where  the  battle  of  Buena  Yista 
was  fought.  For  this  service  and  his  conduct  on  the  field,  McCul- 
loch  received  the  thanks  of  Gen.  Taylor,  and  obtained  the  admira 
tion  of  the  whole  army. 

For  gallant  conduct  during  the  siege  of  Monterey,  McCulloch 
received  an  appointment  in  the  quartermaster's  department,  with 
the  rank  of  Major,  which  position  he  either  never  accepted,  or 
served  in  but  a  short  time.  In  1855,  upon  the  organization  of 
four  new  regiments  of  horse  in  the  United  States  army,  he  was 
tendered  by  President  Pierce  the  appointment  of  Major  in  one  of 
the  regiments,  which  favour  he  declined,  and  returned  to  his  home 
in  Texas.  He  was  afterwards  appointed  United  States  Marshal 
for  the  District  of  Texas,  which  office  he  held  up  to  the  year  1859, 
when  he  resigned  it. 

In  the  two  or  three  years  which  intervened  between  this  time 
and  the  war  for  the  independence  of  the  South,  McCulloch  lived 
principally  in  Washington  City,  where  he  was  often  remarked  by 
curious  crowds  for  his  hard  and  weather-beaten  visage,  and  the 
terrible  services  in  which  he  had.  acquired  his  morose  countenance 
and  habits  of  solitude.  He  was  often  seen  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue 
companionless,  taciturn,  and  with  an  air  of  harsh  abstraction  about 
him  ;  or  he  was  pointed  out  in  hotels  where,  cynical  and  silent,  he 
contemplated  the  idle  and  dainty  crowds  in  their  rounds  of  fashion 
able  dissipation.  But  despite  these  repulsive  appearances,  it  is 
said  that  he  was  really  fond  of  society ;  only  it  must  be  of  his 
choice,  and  then  he  was  open  and  lively  in  his  conversation.  His 
friends  claimed  for  him  some  of  the  finest  qualities  of  mind  and 
temper.  His  intellect  was  calm  and  vigorous  ;  he  was  independent 
in  his  opinions,  and  very  firm  ;  his  manners  and  habits  were  very 
simple,  and  his  attachments  to  his  friends  were  ardent  and  strong, 
and  had  the  virtue  of  inspiring  them  with  as  much  of  admiration 
as  of  love.  One  of  them  testifies :  "Adversity  had  upon  McCul- 
loch's  noble  nature  the  effect  of  fire  upon  frankincense,  causiflg 
the  purest  and  finest  essences  to  evaporate."  He  was  a  marked 
favourite  of  President  Buchanan,  and,  by  some  means,  had  acquired 
such  intimacy  with  him  as  almost  to  constitute  himself  a  member 
of  his  household.  It  was  said  that  there  was  no  favour  at  the 
White  House  which  he  could  not  obtain,  and  that  the  President 


BRIG.- GEN.   BENJAMIN  M'CULLOCH.  641 

sought  to  honour  him  in  every  way.  It  was  at  the  instance  of  Mr. 
Buchanan,  when  the  difficulties  in  Utah  were  the  occasion  of  most 
serious  alarm  to  his  administration,  that  McCulloch  was  persuaded 
to  undertake  a  special  mission  to  pacify  the  hostile  tribes  of  Indians 
in  that  territory.  He  returned  to  Washington  in  the  midst  of 
the  Secession  excitement.  He  again  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
President ;  and  it  was  noticed  that  he  was  on  terms  of  equal  in 
timacy  with  all  the  Southern  leaders.  He  certainly  did  not  dis 
guise  his  opinions  to  obtain  so  delicate  a  position  between  the  Gov 
ernment  and  the  advocates  of  a  sectional  breach  of  its  authority. 
He  was  an  ardent  advocate  of  Secession  from  the  beginning,  and  of 
the  firm  opinion  that  it  would  be  followed  by  war.  He  was  assidu 
ous  in  his  endeavours  to  stimulate  the  States  to  prompt  action, 
and  to  prepare  themselves  for  any  emergency. 

It  will  be  recollected  by  those  who  witnessed  the  period  of 
excitement  in  Washington,  which  followed  the  announcement  of  the 
election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency,  with  what  interest 
McCulloch  was  regarded,  and  how  the  newspapers  made  his  name 
one  of  peculiar  terrour.  It  was  McCulloch  who  was  popularly 
reported  at  the  head  of  the  conspiracy  which  Gen.  Scott  imagined 
was  to  blow  up  the  Capitol,  assassinate  President  Lincoln,  and  lift 
the  standard  of  revolt  in  the  Federal  city.  His  movements  were 
watched  with  the  most  persistent  curiosity,  and  were  reported  in  the 
newspapers,  with  every  variety  that  excited  imaginations  could  sug 
gest  with  reference  to  time  and  place.  Even  when  Washington 
was  garish  with  arrivals  and  parades  of  Northern  troops,  it  was 
suspected  that  McCulloch  lurked  in  the  vicinity  with  some  myste 
rious  force.  A  Eichmond  journal  said  :  "  We  are  not  enough  in 
the  secrets  of  our  authorities  to  specify  the  day  on  which  Jeff. 
Davis  will  dine  at  the  White  House,  and  Ben.  McCulloch  take 
his  siesta  in  Gen.  Sickles's  gilded  tent.  But  it  will  save  trouble  if 
the  gentlemen  will  keep  themselves  in  readiness  to  dislodge  at  a 
moment's  notice." 

But  for  many  weeks  before  the  date  of  these  anticipations,  Mc 
Culloch  was  far  away,  with  a  different  matter  in  hand.  He  had 
been  suddenly  missed  from  the  circles  of  excitement  in  Washing 
ton.  "  The  Commissioners  of  Public  Safety,"  in  Texas,  had  called 
him  to  his  adopted  State,  and  had  unanimously  selected  him  to 
raise  and  command  men  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  property 

41 


642  BRIG.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  MCCULLOCH. 

and  arms  of  the  United  States  at  San  Antonio.  There  were  at 
this  time  about  2,500  United  States  troops  within  the  boundaries 
of  Texas,  and  the  enterprise  of  conquering  the  State  from  such  a 
force  looked  serious,  and  demanded  dispatch  in  its  execution. 
"  But,"  said  McCulloch,"  to  Texans  a  moment's  notice  is  sufficient, 
when  their  State  demands  their  services."  On  the  16th  February, 
he  stood  before  San  Antonio  with  400  men,  and  demanded  the 
surrender  of  its  garrison.  It  was  conceded  without  bloodshed, 
and  with  the  ultimate  result  of  an  agreement,  on  the  part  of  Gen. 
Twiggs,  that  all  the  forts  in  Texas  should  be  forthwith  delivered 
up,  the  United  States  troops  to  march  from  the  State  by  way  of 
the  coast.  By  this  measure  there  was  obtained  for  the  State  more 
than  $1,000,000  worth  of  property ;  its  soil  was  freed,  without 
bloodshed  or  trouble,  from  the  presence  of  the  Federal  troops ;  and 
all  opportunities  were  closed  for  the  hostile  force  to  go  to  New 
Mexico  or  Kansas,  and  possibly  there  organize  a  new  army,  or 
menace  the  Texan  frontier  in  future. 

Subsequently  McCulloch  accepted  a  mission  to  go  abroad  to 
procure  arms  for  the  State  of  Texas.  But  before  he  had  arranged 
for  this,  President  Davis  appointed  him  Brigadier- General,  and 
assigned  him  to  the  command  of  the  Indian  Territory.  He  was 
soon  on  a  larger  and  more  active  field  than  he  had  anticipated, 
and  his  first  important  services  in  the  war  were  rendered  in  coop 
erating  with  Gen.  Price  in  his  famous  Missouri  campaign. 

The  events  of  this  campaign  are  given  elsewhere  in  this  work 
with  more  detail  than  is  necessary  here  in  associating  them  with 
the  name  of  Gen.  McCulloch.  Although  he  claimed  to  be  the 
superiour  officer  in  the  operations  in  Missouri,  and  the  claim  was 
generally  allowed  by  the  State  officers,  yet  the  honours  of  the  cam 
paign  belong  peculiarly  to  Gen.  Price,  and  it  was  his  inspiration 
that  achieved  the  most  of  its  wonders  and  glories.  Indeed,  can 
dour  compels  the  statement  that  the  conduct  and  figure  of  Gen. 
McCulloch,  in  the  first  campaign  of  Missouri,  were  not  very  cred 
itable;  that  he  was  unnecessarily  harsh  in  compelling  Price  to 
serve  as  a  division  commander  under  him ;  and  that  he  did  some 
acts  of  very  questionable  generalship.  He  had  the  misfortune  of 
a  high  and  domineering  temper ;  he  repelled  advice  ;  and  his  con 
tempt  and  disdain  of  the  enemy  were  such  that  he  was  apt  to  treat 
the  counsels  of  prudence  as  the  suggestions  of  timidity.  His 


BRIG.-GEN.    BENJAMIN  M'CULLOCH.  643 

experiences  of  Indian  and  Mexican  warfare  had  made  him  a  saga 
cious  partizan  and  a  desperately  brave  man ;  his  activity  was  won 
derful,  his  senses  keen,  his  personal  courage  marked,  even  in  the 
company  of  the  most  famous  adventurers  ;  but  it  is  not  this  school 
of  prowess  which  makes  great  Generals  and  qualifies  men  to  lead 
large  armies  against  equal  and  well-organized  foes.  Gen.  McCul- 
loch,  bravest  of  the  brave,  was  not  above  those  errours  which, 
while  they  may  not  actually  disfigure  courage,  yet  rob  it  of  much 
of  the  utilit}'  which  elevates  and  ennobles  it.  He  was  headstrong, 
over-confident  and  imperious.  At  the  battle  of  Oak  Hill,  he  was 
virtually  surprised  by  the  enemy,  and  disdained  his  attack  until 
the  last  moment ;  and  he  was  saved  only  by  that  steady  valour  of 
Southern  troops,  which  so  often  in  the  war  redeemed  the  errours 
of  the  commander.  A  great  victory  was  obtained,  and  Gen. 
McCulloch  himself  announced:  "The  General-in-chief  of  the 
enemy  is  slain,  and  many  of  their  other  general  officers  wounded ; 
their  army  is  in  full  flight ;  and  now,  if  the  true  men  of  Missouri 
will  rise  up  and  rally  around  our  standard,  the  State  will  be 
redeemed."  But,  so  far  from  realizing  these  anticipations,  Gen. 
McCulloch  withdrew  from  the  campaign  which  was  directed  by 
Price  towards  Lexington,  and  aimed  to  destroy  the  enemy's  power 
on  the  Missouri  River.  Eetiring  to  Arkansas,  he  committed  the 
errour  of  dividing  the  forces  which  should  have  contained  the 
enemy  in  Missouri,  and  discouraging  its  population  by  withdraw 
ing  in  their  face  at  the  very  time  he  was  calling  them  to  arms. 

Perhaps  Gen.  McCulloch  might  have  retrieved  these  early 
srrours,  contracted  in  a  narrow  though  active  school  of  military 
experience,  and  developed  better  generalship  as  the  war  extended, 
and  called  for  large  and  comprehensive  purposes.  But  Providence 
did  not  permit  it,  and  death  terminated  his  career  in  the  first  year 
of  the  war.  He  fell  in  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn,  which  was  fought 
under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Van  Dorn,  and  where  he  commanded 
one  of  the  wings  of  the  Confederate  army.  It  was  a  weary  and 
bloody  contest ;  an  engagement  of  fifteen  hours,  extending  through 
£he  larger  portion  of  two  consecutive  days.  The  field  exhibited 
sterner  features  of  war  than  had  yet  been  seen.  Some  of  the  Texan 
?oldiers  had  used  their  large,  heavy  knives,  and  there  were  cleft 
skulls  lying  in  pools  of  blood.  A  remarkable  feature  of  the  battle, 
nd  one  adding  strange  horrours  to  it,  was  the  employment  of 


644  BRIG.-GEN.   BENJAMIN  M'CULLOCH. 

several  thousand  Indian  warriours  on  the  Confederate  side.  An 
actor  in  this  extraordinary  drama  of  arms  says :  "As  the  sound  of 
cannon  came  the  third  or  fourth  time,  like  the  noise  in  spring-time 
on  the  marshy  margin  of  a  lake,  only  more  shrill,  loud,  and  appa 
rently  more  numerous  than  even  the  frogs,  came  the  war-whoop 
and  hideous  yell  of  the  Indians."  The  battle  was  at  its  height,  and 
Gen.  McCulloch  was  leading  the  victorious  advance  on  the  enemy's 
left,  when  a  fatal  bullet  arrested  his  career.  He  fell  within  the 
vortex  of  fire.  He  was  struck  by  a  minie  rifle  ball  in  his  left 
breast,  and  died  of  the  wound  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  night.  He 
insisted  that  he  would  recover,  and  turned  his  head  incredulously 
from  the  physician  when  told  that  he  had  but  brief  time  to  live. 
His  remains  were  taken  to  Texas,  and  buried  at  Austin.  His 
untimely  end  was  greatly  lamented,  and  there  was  not  a  pulse 
among  the  thousands  of  brave  hearts,  who  called  the  flag  of  the 
"  Lone  Star "  their  own,  that  did  not  beat  with  emotion  for  the 
loss  of  the  commander  who,  whatever  his  faults,  had  defended  that 
flag  with  the  devotion  of  many  years,  and  a  courage  of  immortal 
memory. 


MAJ.-GEN,  JOHN  H.  MORGAN. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

Morgan  raises  a  company  in  the  Mexican  war. — "  The  Captain." — His  natural  apti 
tude  for  arms. — His  personal  appearance. — His  escape  from  Kentucky. — A  trick  on 
the  enemy. — His  early  services  on  Green  Eiver. — How  he  captured  six  Federals. 
— Adventure  with  a  telegraph  operator. — His  first  expedition  into  Kentucky. — A 
new  engine  of  war. — Freaks  of  the  telegraph. — The  affair  of  Hartsville. — His  expe 
dition  through  Kentucky,  Indiana  and  Ohio. — Its  captures  and  ravages.— Gen.  Mor 
gan  a  prisoner. — Cruelty  and  indignities  of  the  enemy. — His  escape  from  the  Ohio 
penitentiary. — Detailed  account  of  his  escape  and  travel  through  the  enemy's  lines. 
— An  ovation  at  Richmond. — His  new  command  on  the  Virginia  border. — Disfavour 
and  prejudice  of  the  Government. — Gen.  Morgan's  last  expedition  into  Kentucky. 
— Its  defeat. — Affair  of  Mt.  Sterling. — Cruel  slanders  of  Gen.  Morgan. — Attempts 
an  expedition  to  Bull  Gap,  East  Tennessee. — Surprised  and  killed  by  the  enemy. 
— Different  versions  of  his  death. — A  brief  review  of  his  campaigns. 

JOHN  H.  MOKGAN  was  the  oldest  of  six  brothers,  all  of  whom, 
save  one  too  young  to  bear  arms,  did  military  service  for  the 
Southern  Confederacy.  He  was  born  at  Huntsville,  Alabama, 
June  1,  1825,  was  reared  in  Kentucky,  and  was  a  lineal  descend 
ant  of  Morgan  of  revolutionary  fame. 

In  1846,  when  the  call  came  for  "  more  volunteers  "  in  the 
i  Mexican  war,  John  H.  Morgan,  then  scarcely  of  age,  raised  a 
company  ;  but  before  it  could  enter  upon  active  service  the  news 
came  that  a  .treaty  of  peace  had  been  concluded.  Upon  the  dis 
banding  of  the  company,  the  conduct  of  young  Morgan  was 
remarkable.  He  indemnified  out  of  his  own  means  every  man 
i  for  the  loss  of  his  time  during  the  period  of  recruiting.  It  was 
at  this  time  that  he  gained  the  title  of  captain  ;  and  so  familiar 
and  dear  was  the  word  that,  for  a  long  time,  when  he  was  ascend 
ing  the  heights  of  fame  in  the  great  war  between  North  and 
South,  and  had  made  a  name  for  the  world's  tongue,  many  of  the 


646  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

Kentuckians  in  his  command  refused  to  recognize  or  apply  any 
other  title  to  him  than  that  of  "  THE  CAPTAIN." 

Shortly  after  the  Mexican  war  Morgan  purchased  an  establish 
ment,  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  jeans,  linseys  and 
bagging  for  the  Southern  market.  He  was  detained  by  the  sick 
ness  and  death  of  his  wife  from  taking  up  arms  at  the  outset  of 
the  war,  which  President  Lincoln  had  fully  declared  in  his  pro 
clamation  of  April,  1861 ;  but  some  months  thereafter  he  secretly 
collected  a  little  band  of  followers,  not  over  twenty-five  in  number, 
and  left  his  home,  making  his  way  to  Green  River,  where  he 
reported  himself  to  the  Confederate  officer  in  command  "  ready 
for  duty." 

Such  was  the  small  beginning  of  a  career  that  was  to  obtain  the 
applause  of  his  countrymen  and  the  wonder  of  the  enemy.  Mor 
gan's  little  command  was  rapidly  increased  by  the  arrival  of  exiles 
from  Kentucky,  who  knew  well  the  worth  and  valour  of  the  man 
as  a  leader.  He  was  not  a  graduate  of  West  Point ;  but  he  had 
a  natural  aptitude-  for  arms,  a  restless  activity,  and  a  faculty  of 
adaptation  in  his  manners  which  made  him  a  favourite  in  every 
grade  of  society.  He  was  six  feet  high,  broad-shouldered  and 
magnificently  proportioned ;  had  soft  auburn  hair,  gray  eyes,  a 
fair  complexion,  and  a  smile  of  wonderful  sweetness.  Of  exces 
sive  animal  spirits  and  a  jovial  disposition,  he  was  at  home  among 
the  rudest  people;  and  although  there  he  would  sometimes  display 
an  uncultivated  humour  and  join  in  the  coarsest  entertainment,  yet 
he  readily  adapted  himself  to  whatever  company  he  entered,  and 
his  perfect  self-possession  and  modest,  unassuming  style  of  speech 
indicated  him  in  the  highest  classes  of  society  as  a  genuine  and 
thorough  Kentucky  gentleman.  His  general  appearance  was  that 
of  a  gentleman  of  leisure, — his  carriage  exceedingly  graceful  and 
manly,  with  rather  an  inclination  to  be  fastidious  in  his  dress. 
But  the  man  who  graced  a  parlour,  and  practiced  all  the  accom 
plishments  of  polite  society,  presented  another  picture  in  the 
field.  There  the  neat  dress,  the  dainty  gloves,  les  objets  de  luxe 
were  laid  aside,  and  "  the  Captain  "  appeared  wearing  a  grey 
roundabout,  a  wide-brimmed  black  felt  hat,  with  boots  drawn 
over  his  pantaloons,  and  presenting  that  carelessness  of  attire 
which  denotes  severe  and  earnest  work.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  he  was  possessed  of  great  wealth,  all  of  which  he  left 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  647 

in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  when  he  came  South.  In  this  respect 
his  generosity  was  unbounded ;  he  always  dispensed  his  means 
with  a  liberal  hand ;  and  he  was  one  of  those  who  would  have 
spent  his  last  dollar  on  the  score  of  principle,  or  shared  it  with 
the  necessity  of  a  friend. 

Morgan's  escape  from  Kentucky  was  attended  by  a  little 
incident  showing  his  characteristic  adroitness  and  fondness  for  a 
practical  joke.  An  order  had  been  issued  by  the  authorities  of 
Kentucky,  from  head-quarters  at  Frankfort,  that  all  the  arms  in 
the  State  should  be  forthwith  forwarded  to  the  State  armory,  there 
to  be  inspected  and  repaired  for  the  use  of  the  "  State  Guard," 
who  were  to  maintain  what  the  Lincolnites  in  disguise  called 
Kentucky's  "  Armed  Neutrality."  Morgan,  then  captain  of  the 
"Lexington  Rifles,"  was  suspected  of  having  evil  intentions 
against  the  peace  and  quiet  of  the  Federal  Government,  and 
hence  the  Lincolnites  kept  a  sharp  eye  on  the  guns  held  by  his 
company.  He  knew  that  they  had  determined  to  get  the  arms 
out  of  his  hands,  and  he  had  made  up  his  mind  that  they  should 
not  have  them.  So  in  the  dead  of  night  the  guns  were  removed 
some  distance  from  the  city,  and  the  boxes,  in  which  they  were  to 
have  been  placed,  were  neatly  filled  with  bricks  instead,  and 
marked,  "  Guns  from  Capt.  Morgan,  State  Armory,  Frankfort." 
The  next  day,  while  the  boxes  were  exposed  to  view  at  the  depot, 
and  Morgan's  political  enemies  were  chuckling  over  the  acquisi 
tion,  he,  at  the  head  of  his  brave  band,  was  thirty  miles  on  his 
road  to  the  South,  having  in  his  possession  eighty  excellent  United 
States  rifles. 

The  command  of  Morgan,  upon  reporting,  were  placed  with 
some  other  cavalry  upon  duty  on  the  Green  River.  Here  he  at 
once  began  a  series  of  daring  exploits,  unequalled  for  their  bold 
ness  and  the  manner  of  their  execution.  As  the  leader  of  a  parti 
san  force  he  was  in  his  element,  and  for  months  the  country 
between  Green  River  and  Bacon  Creek  was  scoured  by  his  rough- 
riders  to  the  terrour  of  the  enemy. 

After  the  fall  of  Fort  Donelson,  he  was  attached  to  Gen. 
Hardee's  comniand,  and  put  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Fed 
erals,  wrhich  he  not  only  did  effectually,  burenacted  a  number 
of  daring  adventures  within  the  lines  of  the  enemy,  even  approach 
ing  their  stronghold  at  Nashville.  "While  the  main  armies  were 


648  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

resting,  he  and  his  active  partisans  were  at  work.  They  attacked 
scouting  parties ;  they  rushed  into  the  camps  of  regiments  and 
carried  off  trains  of  wagons,  and  scarcely  a  day  passed  when 
they  did  not  bring  in  a  lot  of  prisoners.  A  picket  of  six  of  the 
enemy  was  once  taken  by  Morgan  himself.  Hiding,  alone,  towards 
Murfreesboro',  he  discovered  the  picket  in  a  house,  and  having 
on  a  Federal  overcoat,  assumed  a  bold  front,  and  confronting  the 
sergeant  rebuked  him  for  not  attending  properly  to  his  duty,  and 
ordered  that  the  whole  party  should  consider  themselves  under 
arrest,  and  surrender  their  arms.  The  soldiers,  not  doubting  for  a 
moment  that  they  were  addressed  by  a  Federal  officer,  delivered 
up  their  muskets.  As  they  were  marched  into  the  road,  with 
their  faces  turned  from  the  camp,  the  sergeant  said,  "  We  are 
going  the  wrong  way,  Colonel."  "  We  are  not,"  was  the  reply ; 
"  I  am  Captain  Morgan." 

On  one  occasion,  with  forty  of  his  men,  he  appeared  at  Gallatin, 
twenty-eight  miles  from  Nashville.  After  capturing  all  the 
Union  men  in  the  place,  and  confining  them  in  a  guard-house, 
Capt.  Morgan,  dressed  in  a  Federal  uniform,  proceeded  to  the 
telegraph  office  at  the  railroad-de'pot,  a  short  distance  from  the 
town.  Entering  the  office,  the  following  conversation  took  place 
between  him  and  the  telegraph-operator :  Capt.  Morgan. — 
"  Good  day,  sir.  What  news  have  you  ?  "  Operator. — "  Noth 
ing,  sir,  except  it  is  reported  that  that  d d  rebel,  Capt  John 

Morgan,  is  this  side  of  the  Cumberland  with  some  of  his  cavalry. 

I  wish  I  could  get  sight  of  the  d d  rascal.     I'd  make  a  hole 

through  him  larger  than  he  would  find  pleasant."  While  thus 
speaking,  the  operator  drew  a  fine  navy  revolver  and  flourished 
it  as  if  to  satisfy  his  visitor  how  desperately  he  would  use  the 
weapon  in  case  he  should  meet  with  the  famous  rebel  captain. 
"Do  you  know  who  I  am?"  quietly  remarked  Capt.  Morgan, 
continuing  the  conversation.  "I  have  not  that  pleasure," 
remarked  the  operator.  "  Well,  I  am  Capt.  Morgan,"  responded 
that  gentleman.  At  these  words  the  operator's  cheeks  blanched, 
his  knees  shook,  the  revolver  dropped  from  his  hands,  and  he 
sank  to  the  floor.  After  the  frightened  individual  had  recovered 
himself  sufficiently,  Capt.  Morgan  required  him  to  telegraph  some 
messages  to  Louisville.  Awaiting  the  train  for  Nashville,  he 
captured  and  destroyed  it,  burned  all  the  cars  to  cinders,  and 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  649 

with  a  large  addition  to  his  prisoners,  including  the  luckless  tele 
graph  man,  made  his  way  safely  to  the  Confederate  camp. 

The  rising  genius  of  Morgan  in  the  war  appears  to  have 
attracted  the  attention  of  Gen.  Beauregard  strongly  ;  and  it  was 
by  his  earnest  recommendation  he  was  promoted  Colonel,  and 
very  shortly  thereafter  he  was  nominated  by  Gen.  Bragg  Briga 
dier-General.  With  this  enlarged  command,  he  had  an  oppor 
tunity  now  to  fulfil  what  appears  to  have  been  the  first,  the  last, 
the  constant  desire  of  his  military  life — to  return  to  his  native, 
beloved  State,  Kentucky,  and  take  revenge  upon  her  invaders. 
When  he  was  compelled  to  flee  from  his  home,  he  made  a  vow, 
should  his  command  ever  become  numerous  enough,  to  return  to 
pay  the  debt  of  vengeance  he  owed.  He  was  now,  in  the  summer 
of  1862,  able  in  some  measure  to  make  good  his  vow.  The 
following  appeal,  which  he  made  to  the  people  of  Kentucky,  as 
soon  as  he  entered  the  State,  shows  the  spirit  of  the  man  and 
the  hopes  which  animated  him : — 

"  Kentuckians,  I  am  once  more  among  you.  Confiding  in  your 
patriotism  and  strong  attachment  to  our  Southern  cause,  I  have, 
at  the  head  of  my  gallant  band,  raised  once  more  our  Confederate 
flag,  so  long  trampled  upon  by  the  Northern  tyrants,  but  never 
yet  disgraced.  Let  every  true  patriot  respond  to  my  appeal. 
Rise  and  arm  yourselves !  Fight  against  the  despoilers  !  Fight 
for  your  families  !  your  homes  !  for  those  you  love  best !  for  your 
conscience !  and  for  the  free  exercise  of  your  political  rights, 
never  again  to  be  placed  in  jeopardy  by  the  Hessian  invader. 
Let  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  late  Richmond  fight  be  constantly 
before  you.  Our  brave  army  there  and  everywhere  is  victorious. 
McClellan  and  his  foreign  hordes  are  groveling  in  the  dust. 
Our  independence  is  an  achieved  fact.  We  have  bought  it  with 
privation  and  suffering,  and  sealed  the  contract  with  the  seal  of 
blood.  Be  not  timorous,  but  rise,  one  and  all,  for  the  good  cause, 
to  clear  our  dear  Kentucky's  soil  of  the  detested  invaders.  Ken 
tuckians  !  fellow  countrymen !  you  know  you  can  rely  upon  me. 

"  JOHN  MORGAN." 

The  expedition  was  a  complete  success,  a  circuit  of  victories. 
It  was  the  first  exploit  which  gained  for  Morgan  an  extensive 
reputation,  and  made  his  name  familiar  to  the  country.  On  the 


650  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

4th  of  July,  lie  left  Tennessee  with  less  than  a  thousand  men,  only 
a  portion  of  whom  were  armed ;  penetrated  250  miles  into  a 
country  in  full  possession  of  the  enemy  ;  captured  towns  and 
cities ;  met,  fought,  and  captured  a  Federal  force  superiour  to  his 
own  in  numbers ;  captured  3,000  stand  of  arms  at  Lebanon  ;  and, 
from  first  to  last,  destroyed  during  his  raid,  military  stores,  rail 
road  bridges,  and  other  property,  to  the  value  of  eight  or  ten 
millions  of  dollars.  In  his  official  report  to  Gen.  Kirby  Smith, 
Morgan  thus  summed  up  the  results  of  the  expedition  :  "  I  left 
Knoxville  on  the  4th  day  of  this  month  (July)  with  about  900 
men,  and  returned  to  Livingston  on  the  28th  inst,  with  nearly 
1,200,  having  been  absent  just  twenty -four  days,  during  which 
time  I  travelled  over  a  thousand  miles,  captured  seventeen  towns, 
destroyed  all  the  Government  supplies  and  arms  in  them,  dis 
persed  about  1,500  Home-guards,  and  paroled  nearly  1,200  regu 
lar  troops.  I  lost  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  of  the  number 
that  I  carried  into  Kentucky,  about  ninety." 

The  rapidity  and  secrecy  of  these  movements,  the  swiftness 
of  Morgan's  attacks,  and  the  originality  of  his  schemes,  excited  the 
alarm  of  his  enemies,  as  they  gained  the  admiration  of  his 
friends.  We  can  judge  what  must  have  been  the  state  of  feeling 
produced  by  this  expedition,  when  the  newspapers  of  Cincinnati 
described  the  condition  of  the  population  of  that  city  as  "  border 
ing  on  frenzy,"  and  Gen.  Boyle  commanding  the  Federal  forces 
at  Louisville,  issued  the  remarkable  order  that  every  person  who 
did  not  bear  arms  "  will  remain  in  his  house  forty-eight  hours, 
and  will  be  shot  down  if  he  leaves  it."  For  months  after  the 
expedition,  men,  far  north,  even  in  Ohio,  trembled  at  the  name 
of  Morgan,  and  the  tales  of  his  exploits  tended  to  increase  his 
success  in  subsequent  raids. 

In  this  expedition,  too,  he  had  mystified  the  enemy  by  an 
engine  hitherto  unused  as  offensive  weapon  in  war.  This  weapon 
was  a  portable  electric  battery.  It  was  only  necessary  in  travers 
ing  the  country  to  take  down  the  telegraph  wire,  connect  it  with 
his  pocket  instrument,  and  the  General  might  read  off  and  answer 
as  suited  him  the  several  despatches  passing  between  Louisville 
and  Nashville.  A  young  man,  Mr.  Ellsworth,  skilled  in  the  use 
of  the  telegraph,  represented  himself  as  the  operator  at  Louisville ; 
and  Gen.  Morgan  and  himself,  seated  on  a  heap  of  stones  by  the 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  651 

side  of  the  railway,  received  reports,  dispatched  information,  and 
ordered  and  counter-ordered  the  movements  of  the  Federal  troops 
and  stores  for  many  hours.  Some  of  these  colloquies  were  very 
amusing,  and  introduced  no  little  humour  in  the  usual  serious 
business  of  war.  Mr.  Ellsworth  reports  the  following  incident : — 
1  At  Y'30,  an  operator,  signing  Z.,  commenced  calling  B.,  which 
I  had  ascertained  by  the  books  in  the  office  was  the  signal  for  the 
Lebanon  office.  I  answered  the  call,  when  the  following  conver 
sation  between  Z.  and  myself  ensued : — "  To  Lebanon  :  What 
news  ?  Any  more  skirmishing  after  the  last  message  ? — To  Z. : 
No.  We  drove  what  little  cavalry  there  was  away. — To  B. :  Has 
the  train  arrived  yet? — To  Z. :  No;  about  how  many  troops  on 
train?— To  B. :  Five  hundred,  60th  Indiana  commanded  by  Col. 
Owens."  My  curiosity  being  excited  as  to  what  station  Z.  was, 
and  to  ascertain  without  creating  any  suspicion,  I  adopted  the 
following  plan  :  "  To  Z. :  A  gentleman  here  in  the  office  bets  me 
two  cigars  you  cannot  spell  the  name  of  your  station  correctly. — 
To  B. :  Take  the  bet.  L-e-b-a-n-o-n  J-u-n-c-t-i-o-n.  Is  this  not 
right?  How  do  you  think  I  would  spell  it? — To  Z. :  He  gives  it 
up.  He  thought  you  would  put  two  b's  in  Lebanon. — To  B. : 
Ha-ha-ha !  he  is  a  green  one. — To  Z. :  Yes,  that  is  so. — To  Z. : 
What  time  did  the  train  with  soldiers  pass  ? — To  B. :  8'30  last 
night. — To  Z. :  Yery  singular  where  the  train  is,"  &'c.,  &c.' 

On  his  retreat,  Gen.  Morgan  took  possession  of  all  the  tele 
graph  offices  on  his  route,  and  countermanded  all  the  orders 
which  Gen.  Boyle  had  sent  to  intercept  him.  Before  leaving 
Somerset  he  despatched  the  following  messages,  the  first  to  Mr. 
Prentice,  at  Louisville,  the  second  to  Gen.  Boyle : 

"  Good  morning,  George  D.  I  am  quietly  watching  the  com 
plete  destruction  of  all  of  Uncle  Sam's  property  in  this  little 
burg.  I  regret  exceedingly  that  this  is  the  last  that  comes  under 
my  supervision  on  this  route.  I  expect  in  a  short  time  to  pay 
you  a  visit,  and  wish  to  know  if  you  will  be  at  home.  All  well 
in  Dixie. 

"JOHN  H.  MORGAN, 
"  Commanding  Brigade" 

"Good  morning,  Jerry.     This  telegraph  is  a  great  institution. 


652  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   H.   MORGAN. 

You  should  destroy  it,  as  it  keeps  you  too  well  posted.  My  friend 
Ellsworth  has  all  the  despatches  since  the  12th  of  July  on  file. 
Do  you  wish  copies  ? 

"JOHN  H.  MORGAN, 
"  Commanding  Brigade. 
"  To  GEN.  J.  T.  BOYLE,  LOCTSVILLE." 

The  summer  and  autumn  months  of  1862  passed  without 
special  incident  in  Gen.  Morgan's  command,  he  uniting  with  Gen. 
Bragg  in  the  Kentucky  campaign,  and  on  the  subsequent  retreat 
harassing  the  enemy  after  his  own  peculiar  fashion.  In  Decem 
ber  happened  a  pleasant  and  peaceful  episode  in  the  life  of  the 
gallant  cavalry  chief.  At  Murfreesboro,  on  the  4th  December, 
1862,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ready,  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  Charles  Ready,  and  sister  of  Mrs.  Cheatham  of  Nashville. 
However,  he  was  soon  on  the  war-path  again,  and  but  two  days 
after  his  marriage,  he  was  gathering  fresh  laurels  on  the  battle 
field. 

"While  his  cavalry  brigade  covered  Bragg's  front  in  the  direc 
tion  of  Hartsville,  Tennessee,  he  discovered  that  the  enemy's  forces 
at  that  point  were  somewhat  isolated,  and  organized  an  expedition 
to  attack  them.  Under  cover  of  feints,  by  an  extraordinary  night 
march  on  the  6th  December,  he  reached  his  point  of  destination. 
The  attack  was  made  at  break  of  day.  In  one  hour  and  a  half, 
the  troops  under  Morgan's  command,  consisting  of  500  cavalry, 
700  infantry,  with  a  battery  of  artillery,  in  all  about  1,300  strong, 
defeated  and  captured  three  well  disciplined  and  well  formed 
regiments  of  infantry  with  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  took  two 
rifled  cannon,  the  whole  encamped  on  their  own  ground,  and  in 
a  very  strong  position,  taking  about  1800  prisoners,  1800  stand  of 
arms,  a  quantity  of  ammunition,  clothing,  quartermasters'  stores, 
and  sixteen  waggons.  The  success  was  all  that  was  desired. 
Morgan  wrote  to  Gen.  Bragg :  "  I  must  have  forgiveness  if  I  add 
with  a  soldier's  pride,  that  the  conduct  of  my  whole  command 
deserved  my  highest  gratitude  and  commendation." 

In  the  early  part  of  1863,  the  history  of  Morgan's  command  is 
desultory,  and  he  appears  to  have  had  no  opportunity  for  his 
peculiar  and  daring  style  of  adventure.  In  February  he  was  at 
Sparta,  Tennessee,  and  during  that  month,  and  March  and  April, 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  653 

had  frequent  engagements  with  parties  of  the  enemy  sent  against 
him.  In  June,  however,  he  planned  another  expedition  into 
the  enemy's  lines,  the  boldest  and  most  important  he  had  yet 
undertaken. 

"With  a  command  consisting  of  detachments  from  two  brigades, 
numbering  2028  effective  men,  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  he 
left  Tennessee,  crossing  the  Cumberland  river  on  the  2d  July. 
The  crossing  was  effected  near  Burkesville  in  canoes  and  dug 
outs  hastily  prepared.  Driving  back  a  force  of  Federal  cavalry, 
Morgan  marched  on  Columbia,  defeated  Wolford's  Kentucky 
command,  and  then  dashed  on  to  Green  river  bridge,  where  he 
found  the  enemy  protected  by  well-constructed  stockades,  and 
too  strongly  posted  to  be  attacked  with  advantage.  Turning  in 
the  direction  of  Lebanon,  he  had  a  hard  fight  of  five  hours  here, 
captured  the  place,  with  a  vast  amount  of  stores  and  four  hundred 
prisoners,  and  then  proceeded  to  Bardstown,  where  he  captured 
some  cavalry.  On  the  7th  July,  Bragdensburg  was  reached ; 
two  fine  steamboats  captured ;  the  Federal  gunboats,  and  three 
hundred  Home-guards  fought,  and  then  the  bold  raiders  crossed 
the  Ohio  river  to  the  Indiana  shore,  next  day.  The  following 
day  they  arrived  at  Corydon ;  engaged  over  four  thousand  State 
militia;  dispersed  them;  moved  on,  without  halting,  through 
Salisbury  and  Palmyra  to  Salem  ;  and  it  was  here  that  Morgan 
first  learned  from -the  telegraph  wires  of  the  extent  of  the  alarm 
his  invasion  had  created,  and  that  nearly  thirty  thousand  men 
were  afoot  to  intercept  and  capture  him.  The  country  was  too 
hot  for  him,  and  it  was  time  to  look  after  his  line  of  retreat. 

He  moved  rapidly  to  Lexington,  thence  to  Yernon,  and  from 
Yernon  to  Yersailles,  scattering  destruction  and  dismay  along 
the  route.  The  Ohio  line  was  struck  at  a  place  called  Harrison, 
and  here  a  feint  was  made  upon  Cincinnati.  Some  of  his  scouts 
advanced  to  its  suburbs,  and  in  the  night  of  the  13th  July  the 
whole  command  closely  skirted  it  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  At 
daylight  they  were  eighteen  miles  east  of  the  great  city,  having 
traversed  more  than  fifty  miles  since  the  sunset  previous.  The 
men  were  terribly  jaded,  and  many  fell  asleep  on  their  horses. 
But  their  commander  was  untiring ;  up  and  down  the  line  he 
rode,  laughing  with  this  one,  joking  with  another,  and  assuming 
a  fierce  demeanour  wherever  he  saw  any  disposition  to  shirk  duty. 


654    x  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  H.  MORGAN. 

Fatigued  and  worn  down,  the  command  at  last  readied  the  Ohio 
Kiver  at  a  ford  above  Pomeroy.  But  it  was  only  to  find  an 
enemy  in  the  path ;  a  large  body  of  troops  was  there  to  dispute 
their  passage,  assisted  by  the  fire  of  gun-boats  in  the  river.  Four 
teen  miles  beyond  they  attempted  the  passage  of  the  river  again, 
the  men  plunging  their  horses  in  the  stream  and  swimming 
across  its  strong  current.  Three  hundred  and  thirty  men  had 
effected  a  crossing,  when  again  the  enemy's  gun-boats  were  upon 
them.  Again  Morgan  and  what  was  left  of  his  command  on  the 
Ohio  side  moved  up  the  river.  It  was  a  race  of  life  and  death, 
a  running  fight.  In  the  confusion  of  breaking  through  the 
enemy's  lines,  Morgan  had  by  some  means  got  into  a  carriage. 
A  Federal  major  saw  him,  and,  galloping  up,  reached  for  him. 
Morgan  jumped  out  at  the  other  side  of  the  carriage,  leaped  over 
a  fence,  seized  a  horse,  and  galloped  off  at  full  speed. 

The  fugitive  commander,  with  the  remainder  of  his  scat 
tered  forces,  pressed  three  citizens  of  Saline ville  into  their 
service  as  guides,  and  continued  his  flight  on  the  New  Lisbon 
road.  One  of  the  impressed  guides  made  his  escape  and  rode 
back  conveying  intelligence  of  the  route  taken,  which  it  was 
believed  was  with  the  ultimate  design  of  reaching  the  Ohio  River 
higher  up.  Forces  were  immediately  dispatched  from  Wellesville 
to  head  him  off,  whilst  another  force  followed  hotly  in  his  rear, 
and  a  strong  militia  force  from  New  Lisbon  came  down  to 
meet  him. 

About  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  July,  these 
various  detachments  closed  in  around  Morgan  in  the  vicinity  of 
West  Point,  about  midway  between  New  Lisbon  and  Welles 
ville.  The  Confederates  were  driven  to  a  bluff  from  which  there 
was  no  escape,  except  by  fighting  their  way  through  or  leaping 
from  a  lofty  and  almost  perpendicular  precipice.  Finding  them 
selves  thus  surrounded,  Morgan  and  the  remnant  of  his  command 
surrendered. 

It  was  generally  thought  that  in  this  expedition  Gen.  Morgan 
ventured  too  far,  in  crossing  the  Ohio,  and  committed  the  errour 
of  going  into  a  populous  country,  where  the  people  for  self-defence 
would  be  compelled  to  concentrate  and  cut  him  off.  But  the 
adventure  can  scarcely  be  considered  a  failure  when  we  put 
against  the  Confederate  loss  in  prisoners,  the  immense  damage 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  655 

done  the  enemy.  An  officer  of  the  expedition  thus  sums  up  its 
results :  "  We  paroled,  up  to  the  19th  July,  near  6,000  Federals  ; 
they  obligating  themselves  not  to  take  up  arms  during  the  war. 
We  destroyed  thirty-four  important  bridges,  destroying  the  track 
in  sixty  places.  Our  loss  was  by  no  means  slight ;  twenty-eight 
commissioned  officers  killed,  thirty-five  wounded,  and  250  men 
killed,  wounded,  and  captured.  By  the  Federal  accounts,  we 
killed  more  than  200,  wounded  at  least  350,  and  captured,  as 
before  stated,  near  6,000.  The  damage  to  railroads,  steamboats, 
and  bridges,  added  to  the  destruction  of  public  stores  and  depots, 
cannot  fall  far  short  of  $10,000,000." 

This  large  sum  of  destruction  was  done  in  legitimate  warfare  ; 
and  although  the  North  congratulated  itself  on  whatever  similar 
results  it  had  achieved  in  the  South,  yet  it  could  not  appreciate 
even  the  plea  of  retaliation  in  Morgan's  case,  and  had  no  other 
name  for  his  exploits  than  those  of  robbery  and  murder.  In 
their  rage,  they  refused  to  regard  Gen.  Morgan  as  a  prisoner  of 
war,  and  sent  him  and  twenty- eight  of  his  officers  to  the  Ohio 
Penitentiary.  Here  they  were  subjected  to  every  possible  indig 
nity.  First  they  were  stripped  naked,  and  washed  by  negroes ; 
then  their  hair  was  cut  off  close  to  the  scalp ;  and  attired  in  the 
garb  of  felons,  they  were  then  immured  in  stone  cells,  where 
they  were  closely  guarded  day  and  night.  The  cruelties  which 
followed  exceeded  those  even  of  the  prison  discipline  of  obdurate 
and  contumacious  felons ;  they  were  disgraceful  to  the  age ;  and 
yet  there  was  a  public  sentiment  in  the  North  that  not  only  tole 
rated,  but  applauded  the  atrocious  inhumanity. 

On  the  27th  November,  Morgan  and  six  of  his  officers  escaped 
from  the  confinement  and  torture  of  their  infamous  prison.  The 
work  by  which  they  accomplished  their  escape  was  almost  super 
human  ;  for  twenty-two  days  they  were  secretly  occupied  in  cut 
ting  through  a  granite  wall  six  feet  thick,  with  no  other  instru 
ment  than  case-knives,  and  then  they  had  to  tunnel  some  distance 
through  the  ground  before  they  emerged  to  the  surface.  Hap 
pily  it  was  a  dark  and  rainy  night,  when  these  brave  men  slipped 
down  into  the  narrow  air-chamber  and  emerged  from  the  earth  ;  the 
dogs  they  mostly  feared  had  retired  to  their  kennels,  and  the  senti 
nels  had  taken  refuge  under  shelter.  Scaling  the  wall  the  party 
scattered  on  the  other  side,  and  Gen.  Morgan,  accompanied  only  by 


656  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

Captain  Hines,  made  boldly  for  the  down  train  to  Cincinnati.  As  in 
the  early  hours  of  the  next  morning  the  train  approached  Cincin 
nati,  Gen.  Morgan  had  reason  to  fear  that  the  news  of  his  escape  had 
been  telegraphed  there,  and  saw  the  necessity  of  avoiding  the 
city.  He  said  to  Captain  Hines  :  "  It's  after  six  o'clock  ;  if  we 
go  to  the  depot  we  are  dead  men.  Now  or  never."  They  went 
to  the  rear  and  put  on  the  brakes.  "  Jump,  Hines !"  Off  he 
went,  and  fell  heels  over  head  in  the  mud.  Another  severe  turn 
of  the  brake,  and  the  General  jumped.  He  was  more  successful, 
and  alighted  on  his  feet.  There  were  some  soldiers  near,  who 
remarked,  "What  do  you  mean  by  jumping  off  the  cars  here?" 
The  General  replied :  "  What  is  the  use  of  my  going  into  town 
when  I  live  here ;  and,  besides,  what  business  is  it  of  yours  ?" 

They  went  immediately  to  the  river.  They  found  a  skiff,  but 
n.o  oars.  Soon  a  little  boy  came  over,  and  appeared  to  be  wait 
ing.  "  What  are  you  waiting  for  ?"  said  the  General.  "  I  am 
waiting  for  my  load."  "  What  is  the  price  of  a  load  ?  "  "  Two  dol 
lars."  "  Well,  as  we  are  tired  and  hungry,  we  will  give  you  the 
two  dollars,  and  you  can  put  us  over."  In  a  few  moments  he 
was  standing  on  the  soil  of  Kentucky. 

Here,  however,  his  path  was  beset  by  dangers,  and  he  moved 
every  mile  at  the  peril  of  detection  and  death.  Sometimes  dis 
guising  himself  as  a  government  cattle-contractor  and  again  assum 
ing  the  character  of  a  quartermaster,  he  got  to  the  Tennessee 
Kiver.  But  here  he  found  all  means  of  transportation  destroyed, 
and  the  bank  strongly  guarded  ;  however,  with  the  assistance  of 
about  thirty  men,  who  had  recognized  h\m  and  joined  him  in 
spite  of  his  remonstrances,  he  succeeded  in  making  a  raft,  and  he 
and  Captain  Hines  crossed  over.  His  escort,  with  heroic  self- 
sacrifice,  refused  to  cross  until  he  was  safely  over.  He  then  hired 
a  negro  to  get  his  horse  over,  paying  him  twenty  dollars  for  it. 
The  river  was  so  high  that  the  horse  came  near  being  drowned, 
and  after  more  than  one  hour's  struggle  with  the  stream  was 
pulled  out  so  exhausted  as  scarcely  to  be  able  to  stand. 

The  General  threw  a  blanket  on  him  and  commenced  to  walk 
him,  when  suddenly,  he  says,  he  was  seized  with  a  presentiment 
that  he  would  be  attacked,  and  remarking  to  Capt.  Hines,  "  We 
will  be  attacked  in  twenty  minutes,"  commenced  saddling  his 
horse.  He  had  hardly  tied  his  girth,  when  there  was  a  report  of 


MAJ.  GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN".  657 

musketry.  He  leaped  on  his  horse,  and  the  noble  animal,  appear 
ing  to  be  inspired  with  new  vigour,  bounded  off  like  a  deer  up 
the  mountain.  The  last  he  saw  of  his  poor  fellows  on  the  oppo 
site  side,  they  were  disappearing  up  the  river  bank,  fired  upon  by 
a  whole  regiment  of  Federals.  By  this  time  it  was  dark  and 
also  raining.  He  knew  that  a  perfect  cordon  of  pickets  would 
surround  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  if  he  remained  there  until 
morning  he  would  be  lost.  So  he  determined  to  run  the  gauntlet 
at  once,  and  commenced  to  descend.  As  he  neared  the  foot,  leading 
his  horse,  he  came  almost  in  personal  contact  with  a  picket.  His 
first  impulse  was  to  kill  him,  but  finding  him  asleep,  he  deter 
mined  to  let  him  sleep  on. 

From  this  time  forward  he  had  a  series  of  adventures  and 

escapes,  all  very  wonderful,  until  he  got  near  another  river  in 

Tennessee,  when  he  resolved  to  go  up  to  a  house  and  find  the 

way.     Hines  went  to  the  house,  while  the  General  stood  in  the 

road.     Hearing  a  body  of  cavalry  come  dashing  up  behind  him, 

the  latter  quietly  slipped  to  one  side  of  the  road,  and  it  passed 

by  without  observing  him.     Hines  was  not  so  fortunate;  he  was 

discovered,  pursued,  and  taken — although  he  afterwards  escaped 

from   his  captors.      The  hunt  being  drawn   off,   Gen.  Morgan 

crossed  the  river  at  leisure  ;  but  when  he  got  down  to  Middle 

Tennessee,  he  found  it  almost  impossible  to  avoid  recognition. 

A.t  one  time  he  passed  some  poor  women,  and  one  of  them  com- 

nenced  clapping  her  hands  and  said,  "  Oh !  I  know  who  that  is, 

[  know  who  that  is !"  but,  catching  herself,  she  stopped  short, 

ind  passed  on  with  her  companions.     A  few  days'  further  travel 

Drought  the  General  safe  within  the  Confederate  lines,  after  hav- 

ng  accomplished  one  of  the  most  wonderful  escapes  on  record. 

No  parties  outside  the  prison  had  assisted  in  his  escape  from 

t ;  and  an  announcement  thereafter,  in  the  newspapers,  that  he 

lad  been  seen  in  Toronto,  Canada,  was  a  fortuitous  coincidence, 

,nd  greatly  aided  him  in  giving  a  false  scent  to  the  detectives. 

lis  appearance  in  Richmond  astounded  the  North,  and  put  to 

hame  all  the  efforts  at  Washington  to  scour  the  borders  of  Can- 

,da  for  his  recapture.     His  countrymen  hailed  his  delivery  with 

n  enthusiasm  that  testified  their  appreciation   of  his  services, 

nd  their  affection  for  the  man.     An  ovation  awaited  him  in 

lichmond ;  the  freedom   and  the  hospitality   of  the  city  were 

42 


658  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   H.    MORGAN. 

voted  him  ;  and  his  receptions  at  the  Ballard  House  were  more 
numerously  attended  than  those  of  President  Davis  himself.  On 
one  of  these  public  occasions,  Judge  Moore  of  Kentucky  spoke 
of  the  worth  of  Gen.  Morgan,  and  the  great  credit  with  which 
he  had  served  his  country.  He  was  now  receiving  the  grateful 
testimony  of  Virginia,  "  the  mother  of  States."  With  eloquent 
sincerity,  the  speaker  promised  that  Morgan  and  other  Kentuck- 
ians,  who  were  battling  for  the  liberties  of  the  South,  would  not 
sheathe  their  swords  until  her  liberty  was  achieved.  Despite  the 
thraldom  in  which  Kentucky  was  held,  the  muster-rolls  of  the 
Confederate  army  showed  that  49,000  of  her  sons  had  joined  their 
fortunes  with  the  South,  and  this,  despite  the  fact  that  the  heel  of 
the  tyrant  was  on  her  neck. 

The  pledge  given  for  Gen.  Morgan  was  soon  redeemed ;  and 
in  the  outset  of  the  campaign  of  1864  we  find  him  holding  an 
important  position  in  South-western  Virginia,  at  a  distant  but 
critical  point  in  Grant's  extensive  combination  against  Richmond. 
His  force  was  small  for  the  emergencies  it  had  to  meet ;  it  con 
sisted  of  two  Kentucky  cavalry  brigades  and  the  militia  or 
"  reserves "  of  that  region,  a  total  of  about  2,200  men.  Some 
sharp  interviews  had  taken  place  in  Richmond  between  the 
authorities  and  Gen.  Morgan's  friends.  President  Davis  was, 
indeed,  averse  to  the  restoration  of  the  General,  since  the  experi 
ment  of  the  Ohio  "  raid,"  to  any  important  post,  and,  at  last,  was 
sparing  and  exacting  in  assigning  him  a  force  and  preparing  it 
for  the  field.  But  in  this  embarrassment  the  popularity  of  Mor 
gan  served  him.  Contributions  were  made  in  all  parts  of  the 
Confederacy  to  equip  his  new  command,  and  took  the  shape  of 
patriotic  donations.  Among  the  contributors  was  G-OV.  Joseph 
E.  Brown,  of  Georgia,  who  gave  five  hundred  dollars.  We  men 
tion  the  slight  circumstance  in  view  of  the  political  consequents 
of  this  man,  and  as  an  instance  of  that  demagoguism  which, 
rampant,  at  one  time,  for  all  sorts  of  deadly  and  destructive 
enterprises  against  the  enemy,  has  since  professed  an  unwilling 
participation  in  the  war. 

At  the  time  when  Gen.  Morgan  assumed  command  of  the 
department  of  South-western  Virginia  (which  also  included  a 
portion  of  East  Tennessee),  the  enemy  was  moving  in  two  strong 
cavalry  columns,  under  Crook  and  Averill,  threatening  to  cap- 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MOKGAN.  659 

tnre  the  salt-works  and  coal-mines  near  Wytheville,  and  to  carry 
out  the  general  design  of  cutting  off  communication  with  Rich 
mond,  preventing  the  transmission  of  supplies  from  all  the  region 
westward  to  Gen.  Lee's  army.  Making  a  forced  march  from 
Saltville,  Gen.  Morgan  arrived  at  Wytheville  with  his  mounted 
men  in  time  to  save  that  town  from  Averill,  and  to  completely 
defeat  that  boasted  cavalry  officer,  with  a  considerable  loss  of 
killed,  wounded,  prisoners,  and  horses.  Having  accomplished 
this  much,  he  determined  to  take  the  offensive  and  make  an  irrup 
tion  into  Kentucky.  He  was  anxious  to  retrieve  the  losses  of 
the  Ohio  raid ;  he  saw  clearly  that  if  he  remained  on  the  defen 
sive  he  would  be  unable  to  resist  the  forces  of  the  enemy  if  they 
united  and  bore  down  on  his  department ;  and  he  hoped  to  defeat 
the  plan  of  such  a  junction  by  falling  upon  the  enemy's  rear  in 
Kentucky,diverting  his  designs  and  confounding  him  by  a  surprise. 
In  the  first  days  of  June,  1864,  Gen.  Morgan  was  again  within, 
the  boundaries  of  Kentucky,  and  directing  his  movements  towards 
Mount  Sterling,  the  general  Federal  depot  of  supplies,  and  most 
important  post  in  that  portion  of  the  State.  On  the  8th  June 
the  post  was  taken,  with  some  300  or  400  prisoners ;  and  Gen. 
Morgan,  believing  that  no  enemy  was  near,  and  having  been 
informed  by  his  scouts  that  Gen.  Burbridge  was  moving  towards 
Virginia,  left  but  a  portion  of  the  force  at  Mount  Sterling,  and 
marched  immediately  for  Lexington  with  the  second  brigade.  It 
was  a  fatal  movement,  undertaken  on  false  information,  that  thus 
divided  his  command,  and  exposed  him  to  the  enemy.  Gen. 
Burbridge,  making  a  wonderfully  swift  march,  reached  Mount 
Sterling  before  daybreak  on  the  9th  June,  surprised  the  Confed 
erate  force  there,  and  then  moved  rapidly  after  Morgan,  who  had 
passed  through  Lexington  and  Cynthiana,  captured  the  garrisons 
and  destroyed  considerable  stores.  On  the  12th  June  Morgan 
found  himself  forced  to  battle,  near  the  Kentucky  Central  rail 
road,  against  5,000  of  the  enemy.  His  command  had  been 
reduced  to  about  1,200  men,  and  was  nearly  out  of  ammunition. 
The  fight  was  soon  decided ;  many  of  Morgan's  men  became 
unmanageable,  and  dashed  across  the  Licking  River;  they  were 
re-formed  on  the  other  side,  and  charged  a  body  of  cavalry  which 
then  confronted  them,  and  made  good  their  retreat,  although 
scattered  and  in  confusion. 


660  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

Forced  back  to  South-western  Virginia,  Gen.  Morgan  found 
his  fame  on  the  decline,  and  the  force  at  his  disposal  limited  to  a 
much  smaller  scale  of  operations.  They  were  dark  and  despond 
ing  days  in  a  life  that,  perhaps,  was  too  much  accustomed  to 
popular  applause,  and  took  too  much  of  its  inspiration  from  it. 
One  of  his  officers  writes  of  him  at  this  time :  "  He  was  greatly 
changed.  His  face  wore  a  weary,  care-worn  expression,  and  his 
manner  was  totally  destitute  of  its  former  ardour  and  enthusiasm. 
He  spoke  bitterly,  but  with  no  impatience,  of  the  clamour  against 
him,  and  seemed  saddest  about  the  condition  of  his  command." 
He  was  especially  hurt  by  a  vile  report  that  had  found  conve 
nient  and  malicious  ears  in  official  circles  at  Richmond,  to  the 
effect  that  he  had  connived  at  or  shared  in  the  robbery  of  a  bank 
at  Mount  Sterling ;  and  to  Secretary  Seddon,  of  the  War  Depart 
ment,  he  wrote :  "  Until  very  recently,  I  was  ignorant  how  the 
rumours  which  had  already  poisoned  the  public  mind,  had  been 
received  and  listened  to  in  official  circles,  and  I  cannot  forbear 
indignant  complaint  of  the  injury  done  my  reputation  and  use 
fulness  by  the  encouragement  thus  given  them." 

Opportunity  was  never  obtained  for  the  vindication  ;  and  the 
sense  of  justice  did  not  return  to  the  public  mind  until  the  once 
idolized  commander  wras  laid  low  in  death,  and  men  reflected 
that  the  hasty  and  passionate  wrongs  done  his  reputation,  might 
have  driven  him  to  a  desperate  enterprise,  and  an  untimely  end. 
A  few  weeks  after  his  return  to  South-western  Virginia,  Gen. 
Morgan  determined  to  attempt  the  enemy  in  East  Tennessee,  and 
suddenly  conceived  the  intention  of  attacking  him  at  Bull's  Gap, 
this  place  lying  on  the  line  of  railroad  from  Knoxville.  He 
reached  Greenville  on  the  3d  September,  and  made  his  head 
quarters  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Williams.  A  daughter- 
in-law  of  this  woman  was  said  to  be  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Con 
federate  cause,  and  to  have  an  especial  dislike  for  Gen.  Morgan, 
because,  on  another  occasion,  he  had  revoked  the  parole  of  a 
Federal  officer,  on  suspicion  of  his  treasonable  communications 
with  her.  Before  the  General  approached  the  house,  she 
mounted  a  horse  and  rode  several  hours  in  the  night  to  Bull's 
Gap,  to  give  the  alarm  to  the  enemy. 

The  day  was  breaking,  when  a  body  of  about  100  Federal 
cavalry  dashed  into  Greenville,  and  surrounded  the  house  where 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  H.   MORGAN.  661 

Gen.  Morgan  had  slept,  accompanied  only  by  three  or  four  of  his 
staff  officers — his  troops  being  camped  on  the  skirt  of  the  town. 
Aroused  by  Major  Gassett,  the  General  left  the  house ;  but  find 
ing  every  street  guarded  he  went  back  to  the  house,  and  for 
some  moments  remained  concealed  in  the  cellar.  Here  the  two 
were  discovered  again  by  the  art  and  persistence  of  a  woman. 
Major  Gassett  ran  to  the  upper  part  of  the  house,  and  by  some 
means,  managed  to  effect  his  escape.  Gen.  Morgan  made  his 
way  to  the  garden  and  attempted  to  conceal  himself  behind  some 
vines.  A  few  minutes  later,  and  he  was  shot  through  the  heart, 
with  no  witness  to  the  homicide,  but  the  man  who  did  it.  The 
enemy's  story  was  that  he  was  shot  while  offering  resistance. 
The  account  on  the  Confederate  side  is  that  he  was  brutally  and 
infamously  murdered — shot  after  he  had  surrendered ;  and  such 
is  the  belief  induced  by  the  facts,  that  he  was  wholly  unarmed, 
and  that  his  corpse,  while  it  was  yet  warm,  was  thrown  across  a 
mule,  while  Federal  soldiers  were  permitted  to  follow  its  exhi 
bition  and  parade  about  the  town,  shouting  and  screaming  in 
savage  exultation,  "  Here's  your  horse  thief."  "When  his  body 
was  at  last  taken  from  the  hands  which  defiled  it,  it  was  so  covered 
with  mud  as  to  be  scarcely  recognized,  and  it  was  found  in  a 
road  one  mile  from  the  place  where  the  fatal  shot  had  been  fired. 
Gen.  Gillem,  who  commanded  the  enemy's  force,  but  was  not  up 
with  the  party  that  first  entered  the  town,  humanely  recovered 
the  body  and  sent  it  to  the  Confederate  lines  under  flag  of  truce. 
It  was  buried  first  at  Abingdon,  and  thence  removed  to  the 
cemetery  at  Richmond,  where  repose  so  many  heroic  ashes  of 
the  war. 

The  military  reputation  of  Gen.  Morgan  has  been  erected  since 
his  death.  However  the  malice  of  enemies  may  have  assailed 
his  good  name,  or  at  some  time  the  impatience  of  his  country 
men  have  detracted  from  it,  the  curiosity  which  comes  after  the 
death  of  distinguished  men,  has  not  been  able  to  testify  to  a 
single  disgrace,  and  reflection  pronounces  his  career  one  of  the 
most  extraordinary  of  recent  military  times.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
rapid  career ;  one  crowded  with  incidents,  and  appealing  strongly 
to  the  passions ;  and  through  its  shifting  scenes  of  romance  and 
adventure  ran  the  mark  of  a  strong  will,  an  original  mind,  and 
peculiar  military  talents.  He  originated  new  uses  for  cavalry ; 


662  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  H.   MORGAN. 

he  was  the  proper  author  in  the  war  of  the  far-reaching  "  raid," 
so  different  from  the  mere  cavalry  dash ;  and,  in  cutting  loose 
from  the  traditions  of  former  wars  and  the  systems  of  schools,  he 
founded  a  strategy  as  effective  as  it  was  novel.  The  record 
of  his  activity  is  comprised  in  the  extraordinary  declaration, 
sustained  by  official  testimony :  that,  with  a  force  which  at  no 
time  reached  4,000,  he  'killed  and  wounded  nearly  as  many  of 
the  enemy,  and  captured  more  than  15,000 ! 


LIEUT.-GEK  JOHN  B.  HOOD. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

Peculiar  glory  of  the  soldier-State  of  Texas. — Early  recollections  in  the  war 
of  "Hood  and  his  Texans." — Hood's  cavalry  command  on  the  Peninsula. — 
Commands  the  Texas  Brigade. — The  peculiar  losses  of  Games'  Mills. — Gen. 
Hood  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg.— "  The  two  Little  Giant  Brigades."— Gen. 
Lee's  opinion  of  Texas  soldiers  "  in  tight  places." — Gen.  Hood  wounded  at  Get 
tysburg  and  at  Chickamauga. — Commands  a  corps  in  Johnston's  army. — Remark 
able  letter  to  the  War  Department. — Appointed  Commanding  General  of  the 
Army  of  Tennessee. — An  ascent  hi  rank,  but  a  fall  in  reputation. — A  list 
of  errours  in  the  Georgia-Tennessee  campaign. — Failure  of  that  campaign. — 
Magnanimous  confession  of  Gen.  Hood. — His  chivalry. — His  admirable  military 
figure. 

ANY  history  of  the  war  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  is  imper 
fect  that  fails  to  notice  the  large  and  peculiar  measure  of  glory 
obtained  in  it  by  the  soldier-State  of  Texas.  The  history  of  this 
distant  State  had,  indeed,  been  a  noble  school  of  character ;  here 
had  been  planted  a  choice  seed  of  manhood ;  and  a  population  had 
grown  up  remarkable  in  this :  that  even  in  its  rudest  and  wildest 
types  was  the  exquisite  mixture  of  honour  and  chivalry.  This 
peculiarity  was  well  illustrated  in  the  war.  Wherever  the  rough 
sons  of  Texas  fought  there  was  blood  and  glory,  the  terrible  spasm 
of  battle,  the  desperate  achievement ;  and  yet  no  soldiers  of  the 
Confederacy  were  more  generous  to  the  enemy,  more  magnanimous 
to  prisoners,  and  more  fully  alive  to  all  the  sentimental  appeals  of 
the  cause  for  which  they  fought.  They  were  the  men  in  the  Army 
of  Northern  Virginia  upon  whom  Gen.  Lee  most  relied  for  all 
desperate  enterprises,  and  whom  he  once  designated  bv  the  strong 
est  compliment  he  was  capable  of  bestowing.  Fighting  with  a 
fierce,  apparently  untamed  courage,  capable  of  sublimest  self-devo 
tion,  the  soldiers  of  Texas  yet  carried  through  the  war  a  reputation 


664  LIEUT.-GEN".   JOHN  B.   HOOD. 

for  generosity,  and  in  their  tattered  uniforms  yet  bore  the  true 
ornaments  of  manhood,  the  rough  diamonds  of  chivalry.  Their 
deeds  alone,  taken  apart  from  the  general  story  of  the  war,  would 
fill  a  volume  and  be  a  complete  testimony  of  the  best  manhood  of 
the  living  age. 

But  the  subject  of  our  sketch  is  a  single  individual — one,  how 
ever,  well  illustrating  the  character  and  temper  of  Texas  in  the 
war.  No  Confederate  leader  was  more  unfortunate  than  Gen. 
Hood  ;  and  whatever  we  have  to  say  of  him  we  may  well  preface 
by  declaring  the  common  maxim,  that  mankind  is  more  inclined  to 
censure  than  to  praise,  and  more  apt  to  remember  a  disaster  than 
a  success.  The  public  has  a  distinct  and  painful  memory  of  Gen. 
Hood's  unfortunate  campaign  in  Georgia  and  Tennessee ;  but  this 
is  no  good  reason  that  it  should  forget  his  earlier  glorious  services 
and  overlook  brilliant  pages  of  the  history  of  the  war  on  which  his 
name  shone ;  nor  is  it  sound  argument  that  because  he  failed  in 
the  command  of  a  large  army  and  had  not  the  combination  of  qual 
ities  necessary  for  a  great  General,  he  cannot  be  admired  in  other 
capacities,  and  for  virtues  other  than  those  of  strategic  skill.  It  is 
mainly  to  correct  this  injustice,  to  rescue  the  margin  of  fame  that 
is  rightly  his,  and  to.  revive  some  recollection  of  those  brilliant 
deeds  in  which  "  Hood  and  his  Texans  "  deserve  to  be  immortal 
ized,  despite  any  sequel  of  misfortune,  that  we  design  this  sketch. 

Although  properly  accounted  a  citizen  of  Texas,  John  B.  Hood 
was  born  in  Owensville,  Bath  county,  Kentucky,  1831.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  at  Mt.  Sterling.  He  entered  upon  his  col 
legiate  course  at  West  Point  in  1849,  and  graduated  in  1853.  He 
was  then  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Fourth  Infantry  in  California, 
where  he  served  twenty-two  months.  When  the  two  new  regi 
ments,  raised  by  Jefferson  Davis,  then  Secretary  of  War,  were 
called  out,  he  was  transferred,  July,  1855,  to  the  one  (2d  cav 
alry),  of  which  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  fell  at  Shiloh, 
was  in  command,  and  Gen.  K.  E.  Lee  the  Lieutenant-Colonel.  This 
regiment  furnished  many  valuable  officers  to  the  Southern  Con 
federacy.  Earl  Van  Born,  E.  Kirby  Smith,  Fields,  Evans  and 
Hardee  were  from  its  ranks. 

In  the  winter  of  1855-6,  Hood  entered  upon  the  frontier  ser 
vice  of  Western  Texas,  where,  in  July  following,  he  had  a  spirited 
engagement,  and  was  wounded  by  the  Indians  on  Devil's  Eiver. 


LIEUT.-GEN".   JOHN  B.   HOOD.  665 

A  short  time  before  the  beginning  of  hostilities  between  the 
North  and  South,  he  was  ordered  to  report  for  duty  at  "West  Point, 
as  Instructor  of  Cavalry.  But  anticipating  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union,  he  was  allowed,  at  his  own  request,  to  return  to  duty  in 
Texas — his  object  being,  in  prospect  of  war,  to  be  in  that  portion 
of  the  country  which  he  most  loved  and  honoured.  He  could  see 
no  hope  of  reconciliation  or  adjustment  between  the  aroused  sec 
tions  of  North  and  South,  but  every  indication  of  a  fierce  and 
bloody  war,  and  he  had  determined  to  cast  his  destiny  with  the 
South.  On  the  16th  April,  1861,  he  resigned  his  commission 
in  the  United  States  army,  and  tendered  his  services  to  the  South 
ern  Confederacy.  His  name  was  entered  upon  the  roll  with  the 
rank  of  first  lieutenant,  and  he  was  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Lee 
in  Virginia,  who  ordered  him  to  report  to  Gen.  Magruder,  on  the 
Peninsula. 

He  was  immediately  assigned  to  the  command  of  all  the  cavalry 
on  the  Peninsula,  and  given  the  temporary  rank  of  Major,  until  the 
appointment  could  be  confirmed  from  Eichmond.  He  at  once 
made  his  mark  in  this  service,  attracting  the  attention  of  his  superi- 
ours,  and  commencing  a  reputation,  which  grew  rapidly  to  higher 
rank  and  honour.  The  inexperienced  and  unorganized  cavalry 
was  soon  converted  into  an  active  and  disciplined  force ;  the  maraud 
ing  parties  of  the  enemy  were  beaten  and  driven  in  at  all  points, 
and  it  was  said  that  the  shivering  garrison  at  Newport  News  could 
not  cut  a  stick  of  firewood,  without  the  risk  of  ambuscade  and 
death. 

In  September,  1861,  Hood  was  ordered  to  Eichmond,  and  receiv 
ing  the  rank  of  Colonel  of  Infantry,  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
4th  Texas  regiment,  then  in  camp  near  the  city.  In  the  following 
month  the  4th  and  5th  Texas  regiments  left  Eichmond,  and  were 
moved  to  Dumfries  on  the  Potomac,  where,  with  the  1st  Texas, 
they  were  to  be  organized  into  a  brigade  under  Col.  Louis  S.  Wigfall, 
who  had  just  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General.  But 
as  Wigfall  was  the  Senator  elect  from  the  State  of  Texas,  he 
resigned  his  commission  in  the  army,  on  the  meeting  of  Congress. 
On  the  3d  March,  1862,  Col.  Hood  was  appointed  to  take  his  place 
and  have  command  of  th,e  Texas  Brigade. 

Pie  soon  obtained  the  good- will  of  his  rough  and  hardy  recruits, 
and  the  Texans  claimed  in  their  youthful  leader  a  proprietary  inter- 


666  LIEUT.-GEN".   JOHN  B.   HOOD. 

est  which  was  asserted  to  the  close  of  the  war.  His  commanding 
appearance,  manly  deportment,  quick  perception,  courteous  manner 
and  decision  of  character  readily  impressed  the  officers  and  men. 
His  thorough  acquaintance  with  every  department  of  the  service, 
satisfied  every  one  with  his  competency  for  the  position.  The  men 
found  not  a  strait-laced  officer  of  the  schools,  but  one  able  and 
ready  to  give  them  all  necessary  instruction,  not  only  in  drilling 
them  for  the  field,  but  also  in  the  forms  and  technicalities  of  the 
clothing,  commissary,  ordnance  and  transportation  departments — 
for  lack  of  which  information,  regiments  just  entered  the  service 
frequently  went  hungry,  and  commissaries  and  quartermasters 
made  many  fruitless  trips. 

The  Texas  Brigade  accompanied  Johnston  to  the  Peninsula. 
With  his  new  and  enlarged  command,  and  on  a  more  important 
field  of  enterprise,  Hood's  higher  qualities  were  rapidly  developed. 
His  untiring  watchfulness  and  ardent  zeal,  were  subjects  of  constant 
praise.  It  was  his  good  fortune  on  the  7th  May,  1862,  to  prevent 
the  landing  of  Gen.  Franklin's  forces  near  West  Point,  on  the  York 
River,  and  thus  defeat  McClellan's  attempt  to  cut  off  Johnston's 
retreat  from  Yorktown. 

But  in  the  battles  around  Kichmond,  the  grandest  opportunity 
the  war  had  yet  offered,  was  to  be  given  on  its  most  important  and 
difficult  field,  for  the  display  of  the  desperate  valour  of  the  soldiers 
of  Texas  led  by  Hood.  It  occurred  at  Games'  Mills.  Eepeatedly 
in  this  volume  of  biographies  have  we  dated  at  this  field  the  rise  of 
the  reputations  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  Southern  com 
manders.  It  was  fruitful  of  glory  ;  it  introduced  many  new  names 
to  fame.  But  "Hood  and  his  Texans,"  were  the  peculiar  heroes 
of  the  memorable  occasion,  and  the  phrase  which  designated  this 
body  of  troops  became  from  that  day  a  familiar  one  in  the  popular 
vocabulary  of  the  war.  It  was  Hood's  brigade  which  made  the 
decisive  charge  upon  the  enemy's  works  near  McGee's  house,  and 
in  the  light  of  the  declining  sun  of  the  27th  June,  engaged  in  a 
conflict  of  unspeakable  desperation  and  bitterness,  achieved  a  mira 
cle  of  valour,  and  planted  its  colours  on  two  tiers  of  the  enemy's 
works. 

In  making  the  charge,  Hood's  Texans  had  to  pass  down  a  pre 
cipitous  ravine,  leap  a  ditch  and  stream,  and  then  press  forward 
over  the  enemy's  abattis.  Hood  himself,  on  foot,  led  the  charge, 


LIEUT. -GEN.   JOHN  B.   HOOD.  667 

and  placing  himself  at  the  head  of  the  glorious  4th  Texas,*  he 
gave  the  command  in  his  clear  ringing  voice,  "  Forward,  quick 
march."  Yolleys  of  musketry,  and  showers  of  grape,  canister,  and 
shell  ploughed  through  the  men,  but  were  only  answered  by  the 
stern  "  Close  up — close  up  to  the  colours,"  and  onward  they  rushed 
over  the  dead  and  dying,  without  a  pause,  until  within  about  one 
hundred  yards  of  the  breastworks.  It  was  at  this  point  that  pre 
ceding  brigades  had  halted,  and  beyond  which  none  had  yet  gone, 
in  consequence  of  the  terrible  concentrated  fire  of  the  concealed 
enemy.  At  this  critical  juncture  the  voice  of  Gen.  Hood  was 
heard  above  the  din  of  battle,  "  Forward,  forward,  charge  right 
down  on  them,  arid  drive  them  out  with  the  bayonet."  Fixing 
bayonets  as  they  moved,  the  desperate  troops  made  one  grand  rush 
for  the  fort;  down  the  hill,  across  the  creek  and  fallen  timber, 
pressed  on  the  glittering  line  of  pointed  steel,  and  the  next  moment 
the  battle-flag  of  the  4th  Texas  was  planted  upon  the  captured 
breastworks.  Half  of  this  heroic  regiment  was  killed  and  wounded ; 
the  brigade  lost  1000  men,  but  it  took  fourteen  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  nearly  a  regiment  of  prisoners.  When  next  day  Stonewall 
Jackson  surveyed  the  ditch  and  abattis  over  which  they  charged, 
he  said  :  "  The  men  who  carried  this  position  were  soldiers  indeed." 
No  prouder  inscription  could  testify  to  the  glory  of  Texas  on  this 
field,  and  no  other  exclamation  of  glory  better  mark  here  the  monu 
ment  of  her  dead. 

In  the  subsequent  campaign  of  1862,  Hood  continued  to  do 
service,  commanding  a  division  composed  of  two  brigades:  4th 

*  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  in  some  recollections  of  this  field,  •writes:  "We  heard  the  next 
day  that,  on  some  previous  occasion,  Hood  had  quieted  his  old  regiment  (which  had 
felt  aggrieved  by  another  being  selected  for  a  certain  duty),  by  the  promise  to  lead  it 
in  person  in  the  next  fight.  When  the  regiment  found  itself  in  front  of  earth- works 
and  battery  of  artillery  rising  above  battery,  the  men  called  out  to  their  General  to 
remember  his  promise.  Placing  himself  in  their  front,  he  carried  them  through  as 
awful  a  storm  of  projectiles,  as  ever  beat  upon  the  heads  of  devoted  troops." 

The  same  writer  relates  the  following  incident:  "Hood's  scouts  were  known  to 
be  the  most  daring  as  well  as  the  most  trustworthy,  in  the  army.  We  happened  to 
be  present  on  the  morning  of  the  battle  of  Malvern  Hill,  when  he  directed  one  of  his 
scouts  to  go  through  a  ravine  and  bring  in  a  prisoner.  The  man  replied,  '  General, 
if  it  is  more  important  to  get  one  from  the  top  of  the  hill,  I  think  that  I  can  manage  it.' 
'Twas  not  very  clear  how  a  prisoner  was  to  be  brought  off,  in  the  face  of  all  that 
army  of  infantry  and  artillery.  The  General  laughed,  and  said  that  a  man  from  the 
outpost  would  answer." 


668  LIEUT.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   HOOD. 

Alabama,  2d  and  llth  Mississippi,  and  6th  North  Carolina,  Col. 
Law  commanding,  and  his  old  brigade,  1st,  4th  and  5th  Texas, 
18th  Georgia,  and  the  Hampton  Legion.  In  the  second  battle  of 
Manassas,  the  Texas  brigade  became  engaged  with  a  heavy  force 
of  the  enemy,  and  captured  a  battery  of  four  guns  crowning  the 
heights  near  the  Chinn  House.  But  the  most  remarkable  record  of 
Hood's  command,  after  the  brilliant  story  of  Gaines'  Mills,  occurred 
on  the  soil  of  Maryland  in  Gen.  Lee's  first  experiment  of  invasion. 

Of  his  part  in  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  Gen.  Hood  writes: 
"  On  the  morning  of  the  17th  September,  about  three  o'clock,  the 
firing  commenced  along  the  line  occupied  by  Gen.  Lawton.  At 
six  o'clock  I  received  notice  from  him  that  he  would  require  all 
the  assistance  I  could  give  him.  A  few  minutes  after,  a  member 
of  his  staff  reported  to  me  that  he  was  wounded  and  wished  me  to 
come  forward  as  soon  as  possible.  Being  in  readiness,  I  at  once 
marched  out  on  the  field,  in  line  of  battle,  and  soon  became  engaged 
with  an  immense  force  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  not  less  than 
two  corps  of  their  army.  It  was  here  that  I  witnessed  the  most 
terrible  clash  of  arms,  by  far,  that  has  occurred  during  the  war. 
The  two  little  giant  brigades*  of  this  division  wrestled  with  this 
mighty  force,  losing  hundreds  of  their  gallant  officers  and  men,  but 
driving  the  enemy  from  his  position  and  forcing  him  to  abandon 
his  guns  on  our  left.  The  battle  raged  with  the  greatest  fury  until 
about  nine  o'clock,  the  enemy  being  driven  from  four  to  five 
hundred  yards." 

It  was  in  this  great  campaign  of  1862 — this  most  glorious  part 
of  the  history  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia — that  the  soldiers 
of  Texas  obtained,  as  we  remarked  in  the  commencement  of  this 
sketch,  peculiar  and  transcendent  titles  to  fame.  One  of  those 
titles  is  recited  in  the  words  of  Stonewall  Jackson.  Another  is 
recited  in  the  words  of  Gen.  Lee.  No  better  evidence  could  be 
given  than  the  following  letter  of  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
confidence  he  placed  in  Gen.  Hood  and  the  gallant  soldiers  com 
posing  his  command,  and  of  the  peculiar  value  of  the  soldiers  of 
Texas.  The  brief  letter  deserves  a  place  in  the  records  of  that  State. 


*  One  of  these  brigades  numbered  only  846  men.  The  4th  Texas  lost  its  flag, 
but  not  until  (in  the  words  of  G-en.  Hood)  "it  was  buried  under  a  pile  of  its 
defenders." 


LIEUT.  GEN.   JOHN  B.   HOOD.  669 

"HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  VIRGINIA, 

"  NEA.R  MARTINSBDRQ,  September  21,  1862. 
Gen.  Louis  T.  Wigfall: 

"  GENERAL — I  have  not  jet  heard  from  you  with  regard  to  the 
new  Texas  regiments  which  you  promised  to  endeavour  to  raise 
for  the  army.  I  need  them  much.  I  rely  upon  those  we  have  in 
all  tight  places,  and  fear  I  have  to  call  upon  them  too  often.  They 
have  fought  grandly  and  nobly,  and  we  must  have  more  of  them. 
Please  make  every  possible  exertion  to  get  them  in,  and  send  them 
on  to  me.  You  must  help  us  in  this  matter.  With  a  few  more  such 
regiments  as  Hood  now  has,  as  an  example  of  daring  and  bravery, 
I  could  feel  much  more  confident  of  the  campaign. 

"  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"  K.  B.  LEE,  General." 

In  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  Gen.  Hood  was  severely  wounded 
in  the  arm,  and  never  recovered  perfect  use  of  it.  He  was  able, 
however,  to  accompany  Longstreet  in  August,  1863,  to  the  West 
ern  theatre  of  the  war,  to  reinforce  Bragg,  then  preparing  for  the 
battle  of  Chickamauga.  In  this  brilliant  action  Gen.  Hood  was 
hotly  engaged,  fighting  on  the  left,  and  he  sustained  a  wound  so 
severe  as  to  make  necessary  amputation  of  his  leg  near  the  hip. 
He  was  highly  complimented  by  his  corps  commander,  Gen.  Long- 
street,  who  wrote  an  urgent  letter  to  the  War  Department  recom 
mending  his  promotion  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-General,  to  date 
from  the  field  of  Chickamauga. 

The  promotion  was  made ;  but  it  was  six  months  before  Gen. 
Hood,  suffering  from  a  shattered  constitution  and  a  sadly  mutilated 
body,  could  again  take  the  field.  In  March,  1864,  he  proceeded 
to  take  command  of  his  corps  in  North  Georgia,  under  Gen.  John 
ston.  He  appears  to  have  had  at  this  time  a  very  clear  view  of 
the  situation,  and  he  wrote  a  remarkable  letter  to  the  War  Depart 
ment,  urging  the  junction  of  Folk's  and  Loring's  troops,  making 
the  Confederate  force  some  60,000,  and  then  uniting  with  Long- 
street's  army  (in  East  Tennessee)  perhaps  30,000  more,  and  get 
ting  in  rear  of  the  enemy,  so  as  to  drive  him  out  of  Tennessee  and 
Kentucky.  This  conclusion  he  maintained  as  certain  ;  the  enemy 
had  then  only  about  50,000  troops  on  the  Georgia-Tennessee  fron 
tier  ;  and  the  danger  was  that  if  time  was  allowed  him,  he  would 


6TO  LIEUT.- GEN.  JOHN  B.   HOOD. 

accumulate  overwhelming  numbers  and  penetrate  further  into  the 
country. 

The  Government  at  Eichmond  declined  these  views,  and 
accepted  the  danger  which  the  alternative  threatened.  The  con 
sequence  was  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Johnston  to  Atlanta.  Dissatisfied 
with  the  result  itself  had  procured,  the  Government  resolved  on  a 
change  of  commanders,  and  affected  that  its  choice  was  of  a 
"fighting  man"  to  command  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  On  the 
18th  July,  Gen.  Johnston  having  been  relieved,  Hood  was  appointed 
in  his  place,  and  assumed  command  in  the  following  address : 

"HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OP  TENNESSEE,  July  18,  1864. 
"  SOLDIERS — In  obedience  to  orders  from  the  War  Department, 
I  assume  command  of  this  army  and  department.  I  feel  the  weight 
of  the  responsibility  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  devolved  upon 
me  by  this  position,  and  shall  bend  all  my  energies  and  employ  all 
my  skill  to  meet  its  requirements.  I  look  with  confidence  to  your 
patriotism  to  stand  by  me,  and  rely  upon  your  prowess  to  wrest 
your  country  from  the  grasp  of  the  invader,  entitling  yourselves 
to  the  proud  distinction  of  being  called  the  deliverers  of  an 
oppressed  people." 

It  was  an  ascent  in  rank,  but  a  fall  in  reputation.  It  was  an 
evil  star,  and  malignant  influences  that  brought  this  promotion  to 
Gen.  Hood,  and  transferred  him  from  a  department,  in  which  his 
brilliant  execution  and  brave  and  chivalrous  part  had  won  and 
deserved  fame,  to  a  higher  range  of  service  for  which  he  was  unfit. 
A  great  General,  one  who  plans  campaigns  and  conducts  entire 
armies,  is  a  combination  of  many  qualities.  That  Gen.  Hood  did 
not  have  the  multitude  of  virtues  necessary  for  the  highest  success 
in  military  life  we  may  truly  say,  and  yet  persist  in  the  opinion 
that  he  had  much  in  which  he  might  assert  a  brilliant  reputation. 
His  campaign,  commencing  at  Atlanta,  and  ending  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tennessee  River,  was  full  of  errours.  In  saying  this  the  writer 
is  well  aware  that  he  encounters  an  absurd  vulgar  prejudice,  which 
denies  the  right  of  one  unskilled  in  arms  to  criticize  military 
operations.  This  prejudice  has  some  foundation  in  truth — and  in 
this  volume  the  writer  has  shown  a  certain  regard  for  it;  but 
admitted  to  its  fullest  extent,  it  is  the  most  insolent  nonsense,  for 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   HOOD.  071 

it  would  require  the  historian,  who  writes  on  the  general  affairs  of 
mankind,  to  be  an  expert  in  every  one  of  these  affairs;  to  be  a  Gene 
ral,  to  treat  of  military  events ;  to  be  a  statesman,  to  discuss  political 
topics;  to  be  an  artist,  to  deal  with  the  subjects  of  letters  and  man 
ners.  But  in  all  these  things  there  is  a  common-sense  superiour  to 
the  technicalities  of  schools ;  and  the  comment  of  history  and  the 
verdict  of  posterity,  are  nothing  more  than  its  declarations.  It  is 
within  the  limits  of  general  intelligence  that  men  have  a  right  to  criti 
cise  even  those  affairs  in  which  they  are  neither  experts  nor  partners. 

With  reference  to  the  disastrous  period  we  have  referred  to  in 
the  life  of  Gen.  Hood,  there  are  errours  which  must  stand  confessed 
in  history,  despite  all  technical  controversies  of  military  schools. 
The  fact  to  be  admitted  at  once  is,  that  although  a  brilliant  lieuten 
ant,  he  was  not  a  competent  chief.  He  committed  an  errour  in 
fighting  at  Atlanta,  and  consuming  lives  in  an  army  whose  num 
bers  afforded  no  margin  for  fanciful  attacks  and  experiments,  when, 
if  he  had  maintained  the  situation  which  Johnston  had  left,  with 
Sherman  unable  to  invest  Atlanta  on  the  one  hand,  or  to  retreat  on 
the  other,  he  would  have  held  the  Federal  army  suspended  for 
destruction.  He  committed  an  errour  in  sending  off  his  entire 
cavalry  towards  Chattanooga,  to  raid  on  Sherman's  communica 
tions,  permitting  his  antagonist  to  swing  his  army  entirely  around 
Atlanta,  to  take  a  new  position  at  leisure  and  to  effect  a  lodgment  on 
the  Macon  road.  He  committed  an  errour,  when  expelled  from  Atlan 
ta,  in  not  maintaining  the  next  best  defensive  position.  He  committed 
an  errour,  in  which  Gen.  Grant  has  justly  criticised  him,  in  "sup 
posing  that  an  army  that  had  been  beaten  and  fearfully  decimated 
in  a  vain  attempt  at  the  defensive,  could  successfully  undertake 
the  offensive."  He  committed  an  errour  in  attempting  to  recover 
Tennessee,  when  the  effort  uncovered  the  whole  State  of  Georgia, 
and  left  it  undefended  to  the  sea. 

But  with  this  list  of  errours  there  runs  a  series  of  excuses ;  and 
the  Georgia-Tennessee  campaign  is  eminently  one  that  must  be 
judged  in  the  light  of  all  its  circumstances.  Gen.  Hood  was  unfortu 
nate  in  not  possessing  the  confidence  of  his  army,  and  in  taking 
command  of  it  when  it  was  malcontent  and  demoralized  in  conse 
quence  of  the  removal  of  its  favourite  leader.  He  found  new 
dfficulties,  and  was  embarrassed  much  more  seriously  than  was 
generally  known  at  the  time  by  the  suspicious  machinations  and 


672  LIEUT.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   HOOD. 

appeals  of  the  Governor  of  Georgia.  The  history  of  this  man, 
Joseph  E.  Brown,  is  not  yet  clearly  written,  and  his  changeful 
sentiments  and  capricious  moods  more  than  once  in  the  course  of 
the  war,  excited  the  curiosity  of  the  public,  and  challenged  the  sus 
picions  of  a  portion  of  it.  Had  the  records  of  the  Confederate  War 
Department  not  perished  in  the  conflagration  of  Richmond,  there 
might  be  produced  from  them  a  letter  written  by  this  man  shortly 
after  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  not  only  offensively  criticising  the  manage 
ment  of  military  affairs,  but  demanding  the  return  of  all  the  Georgia 
troops  in  Gen.  Lee's  army  in  Virginia.  It  is  sentiments  like  these 
which  corrupt  armies  and  make  them  an  easy  prey  to  their  own 
distrust.  Gen.  Hood  found  himself  in  command  of  soldiers  who 
no  longer  fought  as  in  the  early  days  of  the  Confederacy.  His 
division  commanders  had  no  good  feeling  for  him,  and  he  had  not 
the  faculty  of  inspiring  confidence  and  obtaining  obedience  in  spite 
of  personal  disaffection.  The  great  opportunity  of  his  campaign 
in  Tennessee  was  lost,  when  by  disconcert  in  the  execution  of  his 
plans  he  failed  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat  from  Spring  Hill. 
"In  the  stratagem  of  war,  a  man  fails  but  once."  Then  followed 
the  unequal  battles  of  Nashville  ;  the  evidence  of  demoralization  in 
troops  strangely  flying  from  the  field  when  victory  plainly  asked 
but  one  more  effort  for  its  purchase ;  and  the  painful  retreat  in 
which  an  army,  having  lost  ten  thousand  of  its  numbers  and  nearly 
all  of  its  artillery,  terminated  its  existence,  so  to  speak,  as  "the 
Army  of  Tennessee,"  being  only  used  thereafter  in  a  feeble  recon 
struction  of  the  forces  south  of  Richmond. 

This  campaign  concluded  Gen.  Hood's  military  career.  He 
took  leave  of  his  army  in  the  following  order : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  ARMY  OF  THE  TENNESSEE,  ) 
"  TUPELO,  Miss.,  Jan.  23,  1865.      J 

"SOLDIERS — At  my  request,  I  have  this  day  been  relieved 
from  the  command  of  the  army.  In  taking  leave  of  you,  accept 
my  thanks  for  the  patience  with  which  you  have  endured  your 
hardships  during  the  recent  campaign.  /  am  alone  responsible  for 
its  conception,  and  strove  hard  to  do  my  duty  in  its  execution.  I  urge 
upon  you  the  importance  of  giving  your  entire  support  to  the  dis 
tinguished  soldier  who  now  assumes  command,  and  shall  look  with 
deep  interest  on  all  your  future  operations,  and  rejoice  at  your 
success.  "  J.  B.  HOOD." 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   HOOD.  673 

Whatever  may  be  the  military  judgment  of  the  events  thus  con 
cluded,  there  is  a  generosity  of  soul  in  this  brief  address  that  it  is 
impossible  to  resist.  It  calls  for  tender  and  noble  responses.  The 
man  who  could  thus  accept  the  responsibilities  of  failure  must  have 
had  a  great  spirit,  and  compels  admiration  at  the -last.  He  illus 
trated  what  is  most  difficult  in  human  lives — even  manners  and 
perfect  self-possession  in  misfortune.  The  most  ill-starred  Gene 
ral  of  the  South ;  the  man  perhaps  the  least  esteemed  among  the 
great  military  leaders  of  the  Confederacy,  yet  after  all,  the  bravest 
of  the  brave,  the  lion-hearted  Texan  was  thoroughly  imbued  with 
the  spirit  of  chivalry,  when,  recounting  to  a  friend  his  story  of  dis 
aster  and  mortification,  he  paused  and  said :  "  And  yet  there  is 
something  very  pleasant  to  ride  in  the  tide  of  battle,  and  hear  the 
whistle  of  the  bullets !  " 

The  fine  commanding  appearance  of  Gen.  Hood  in  battle  will 
long  be  recollected,  for  it  impressed  all  observers.  About  six  feet 
two  inches  in  height,  with  full  broad  chest  and  a  long  brown  beard 
flowing  over  it,  blue  eyes  piercing  though  kindly,  he  was  the  pic 
ture  of  manly  vigour ;  and  even  when  crippled  by  his  severe 
wounds,  he  maintained  the  appearance  and  port  that  had  at  first 
won  upon  his  soldiers,  and  made  him  one  of  the  most  admirable 
figures  in  the  army.  He  was  remarkable  for  a  powerful  melodious 
voice,  that  rang  out  words  of  command  as  with  the  blast  of  a  trum 
pet,  and  never  failed  to  be  heard  in  the  storm  of  battle.  Since  the 
war,  Gen.  Hood  has  resorted  to  commercial  pursuits  in  New  Orleans. 
Some  of  his  friends,  affected  by  the  disability  he  had  sustained  in 
the  war,  recently  proposed  a  subscription  for  his  benefit ;  but  he 
proudly  declined  it  in  a  few  becoming  and  touching  words,  declar 
ing  that  despite  his  maimed  body  and  feeble  health,  he  was  yet  able 
to  win  from  the  world  the  few  things  necessary  for  a  livelihood. 

43 


LIEUT.-GEK  STEPHEN  D.  LEE. 


CHAPTEE  LXI. 

His  ancestry  in  South  Carolina. — His  service  in  the  United  States  Army. — Aide  to 
Gen.  Beauregard  at  Fort  Sumter. — Commands  Virginia  cavalry.— Assigned  to 
Artillery. — Gallant  and  important  action  of  his  batteries  at  Second  Manassas. — 
Anecdote  illustrating  the  spirit  of  that  day. — GTen.  Lee  in  command  at  Vicksburg. 
— Extraordinary  compliment  from  President  Davis. — G-en.  Lee  repulses  Sherman 
at  Chickasaw  Bayou. — Battle  of  Baker's  Creek. — Wonderful  escape  of  Gen.  Lee 
in  the  retreat.— Siege  of  Vicksburg.— Action  of  the  22d  June,  1863. — Heroism  of 
Texan  soldiers. — Gen.  Lee  commands  the  cavalry  in  Mississippi. — His  operations 
against  Sherman. — He  commands  the  Southwestern  Department. — Raids  of  the 
enemy. — Assignment  of  Gen.  Lee  to  Hood's  Army. — The  Tennessee  campaign.— 
Gen.  Lee  protects  the  retreat — Reflections  upon  his  extraordinary  career. 

STEPHEN  D.  LEE  was  born  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on 
the  22d  September,  1833.  His  family  was  of  the  most  distinguished 
of  the  State,  and  of  historical  note.  During  the  Eevolutionary  war, 
when  the  British  took  Charleston,  they  seized  forty  of  the  principal 
citizens,  and  confined  them  on  prison  ships  at  St.  Augustine,  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  Among  those  who  thus  suffered  for  their 
country's  cause  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  our 
sketch.  His  grandfather  was  United  States  Judge  in  South  Caro 
lina  ;  he  was  a  man  of  great  talents,  and  he  was  remarkable  for  the 
prominent  and  brave  part  he  took  in  the  "  Nullification"  difficulties 
on  the  Union  side.  A  long  and  interesting  account  of  his  life,  and 
this  phase  of  it,  may  be  found  in  O'NeiFs  "  Bench  and  Bar  of  South 
Carolina." 

In  1850,  Stephen  D.  Lee  entered  West  Point,  and  graduated 
with  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  Curtis,  Lee,  Fender,  Pegram,  Gracie,  Ville- 
pigue,  and  others  afterwards  distinguished  in  the  war  of  the  Con- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  675 

federates.  Among  his  class-mates  were,  also,  0.  O.  Howard,  Weed, 
and  others  of  note  in  the  Federal  army.  Lee  served  six  years  as 
second-lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Artillery,  doing  duty  at  various 
times  on  the  frontiers  of  Texas,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  In  1856, 
he  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy  in  the  company  commanded 
by  Captain  Pemberton  (afterwards  Lieut-Gen.  Pemberton  in  the 
Confederate  service),  and  was  made  regimental  quartermaster.  In 
1857,  he'  served  under  Col.  Loomis  against  the  Indians  in  Florida. 

As  soon  as  it  was  evident  what  course  events,  arising  from  the 
sectional  controversy  between  the  North  and  South,  would  take, 
Lee  resigned  from  the  army — being  then  at  Fort  Randal,  Nebraska. 
Although  he  took  this  step  with  regret,  and  although  he  was  never 
sanguine  of  the  success  of  the  Southern  movement  for  indepen 
dence,  he  could  not  hesitate  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  his  State. 
He  was  made  a  Captain  in  the  volunteer  forces  of  South  Carolina ; 
and  in  the  formation  of  the  Confederate  army,  the  same  rank  was 
obtained.  Commencing  at  this  low  step  in  the  military  service  of 
the  South,  long  without  opportunities  of  conspicuous  service,  the 
glorious  distinction  yet  awaited  him  of  serving  through  every  grade 
from  Captain  to  Lieutenant-General,  accomplishing  each  ascent  of 
rank  and  fame  by  the  force  of  individual  merit,  and-  with  the  dis 
dain  of  any  other  influences  to  recommend  him. 

His  first  active  service  in  the  war  was  as  aide  to  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard,  and  he  participated  in  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter.  He  and 
another  officer  carried  the  demand  for  surrender,  and  being  refused, 
gave  the  orders  to  the  nearest  batteries  to  fire  on  the  fort.  He  was 
subsequently  appointed  commissary,  then  quartermaster,  then 
engineer  officer  in  Charleston,  in  1861.  The  duties  of  these  posts 
were  distasteful  to  him,  and  he  accepted  the  position  tendered  him 
by  the  election  of  the  men,  of  Captain  of  a  light  battery  in  Hamp 
ton's  Legion.  In  this  command  he  was  engaged  for  several  months 
in  harassing  the  Federal  gunboats  and  transports  on  the  Potomac 
River,  and  in  turning  the  enemy's  attention  from  the  construction 
of  heavy  batteries  near  Dumfries.  In  November,  1861,  he  was 
promoted  Major  of  artillery.  He  accompanied  Johnston's  army 
to  Yorktown,  and  back  to  Richmond  in  the  Peninsular  campaign. 
For  his  services  he  was  promoted  Lieut. -Colonel ;  was  engaged  at 
Seven  Pines  in  Whiting's  divison ;  and  was  afterwards  in  Mag- 
ruder's  division  in  the  "  seven  days'  battles "  around  Richmond, 


676  LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

fighting  the  enemy  at  Savage  Station  and  Malvern  Hill,  and  com 
manding  six  batteries.  After  Malvern  Hill,  when  the  Confederate 
army  was  drawn  back  towards  Kichmond,  Col.  Lee  was  assigned 
to  the  command  of  the  4th  Virginia  cavalry,  whose  field  officers 
were  wounded. 

For  a  number  of  weeks  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  active 
scouting  duty.  His  regiment  had  several  skirmishes  and  affairs 
with  the  enemy  near  Malvern  Hill,  and  was  complimented  for  its 
activity  and  gallantry  by  the  Commanding  General.  When  the 
army  moved  into  Northern  Virginia,  Lee  was  assigned  to  a  bat 
talion  of  artillery,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

The  part  his  batteries  played  in  the  second  battle  of  Manassas 
was  decisive,  and  has  claimed  a  brilliant  page  in  every  history  of 
the  war.  They  occupied  a  high  and  commanding  ridge  between 
the  corps  of  Longstreet  and  Jackson,  and  during  the  early  part  of 
the  action  carried  on  an  artillery  duel  with  the  enemy.  In  the 
evening  a  heavy  attempt  was  made  to  crush  Jackson,  when  Lee's 
batteries  turned  upon  the  advancing  columns  of  the  enemy,  and 
engaged  in  one  of  the  most  desperate  and  furious  actions  of  the 
war.  For  three  quarters  of  an  hour  the  twenty  guns  played  into 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy  at  a  distance  not  exceeding  800  yards. 
At  one  time  there  were  Federal  troops  not  more  than  100  yards 
from  the  muzzles  of  the  guns.  The  slaughter  was  terrific,  and 
after  a  vain  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  encounter  the  fire  of  the  bat 
teries  he  gave  up  the  field.  The  affair  was  so  conspicuous  as  to 
bring  Col.  Lee  into  the  notice  of  the  whole  army,  and  for  the  first 
time  introduced  him  to  the  attention  and  favour  of  President  Davis, 
who  was  pleased  to  say  that  his  services  at  the  critical  j  uncture  in 
which  he  had  been  engaged,  saved  the  day. 

He  had  fought  here  with  some  interesting  incidents.  In  the 
artillery  duel  of  the  morning,  Lt.  Elliott  was  handling  two  Parrott 
guns  with  great  dexterity.  Seeing  a  caisson  of  the  Federals  mov 
ing  in  the  field,  he  called  Col.  Lee's  attention  to  it,  as  he  intended 
to  strike  it.  They  estimated  the  distance,  and  he  sighted  his  gun 
for  3,500  yards.  The  shot  must  have  almost  struck  the  caisson, 
which  took  the  gallop  from  a  position  which  had  been  supposed 
secure  from  its  distance.  A  second  shot  killed  the  two  wheel 
horses,  and  disabled  it.  It  was  a  most  remarkable  shot  for  dis 
tance  and  precision,  and  showed  the  proficiency  of  a  battalion, 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  677 

which,  besides  its  laurels  on  this  field, 'obtained  much  subsequent 
distinction  in  the  war. 

An  anecdote  illustrates  the  spirit  of  this  glorious  day  in  Lee's 
battalion.  In  the  afternoon,  as  the  action  became  hotter,  Capt. 
Parker  was  serving  his  guns  with  admirable  steadiness  and  zeal. 
The  Captain  was  an  elderly  man,  very  pious ;  and  many  of  his 
company  were  boys  placed  specially  under  charge  for  his  good 
example  and  fatherly  care.  As  the  different  reserves  of  the  enemy 
were  driven  back  two  or  three  times  in  their  effort  to  reach  their 
front  line,  engaged  with  Jackson,  it  became  evident  that  they  must 
capture  the  batteries  in  the  way  of  a  successful  assault.  Animated 
by  the  necessity  of  penetrating  this  fire,  the  enemy  rushed  gal 
lantly  on,  some  of  the  men  getting  within  100  yards  of  Parker's 
guns.  They  were  repulsed  in  great  disorder,  and  with  terrible  loss. 
The  excitement  was  intense,  and  one  little  fellow  of  sixteen  years 
rushed  up  to  Capt.  Parker,  and  exclaimed,  "Captain,  God  has  given 
us  the  victory!  "  "  Yes,  my  son,"  was  the  reply,  "but  go  back  to 
your  gun.  We  will  thank  God  after  a  while"* 

Col.  Lee  shared  in  the  Maryland  campaign,  and  was  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  where  his  command  lost  heavily — more 
than  100  men  and  90  horses  out  of  four  batteries.  On  the  return 
of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia  to  its  old  lines  of  defence,  his 
connection  with  it  ceased.  Although  his  transfer  to  another  thea 
tre  of  operations  was  accompanied  with  promotion,  he  quitted  Vir 
ginia  with  regret.  The  general  opinion  was  that  there  was  the 
head  and  front  of  the  war,  and  that  the  officers  who  remained 
in  the  army  that  operated  there  had  the  best  chance  of  distinction. 
The  Western  army  was  under  a  cloud ;  with  fine  officers  and  good 
troops,  fortune  was  against  it;  and  a  malignant  star  had  cast  upon 

*  The  artillery  which  Lee  commanded  in  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  and  which 
made  there  its  first  well-recognized  mark  of  glory,  was  composed  of  Rhett's  South 
Carolina  Battery,  under  Lieut.  William  Elliott,  and  Parker's,  Eubank's  and  Jordan's 
Virginia  Batteries.  This,  with  Moody's  Mississippi  Battery  (afterwards  added),  con 
stituted  the  command  of  Gen.  W.  E.  Alexander  (afterwards  Chief  of  Artillery  in 
Longstreet's  Corps),  when  Lee,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  was  sent 
to  the  West.  It  greatly  increased  its  reputation  at  Fredericksburg,  where  it  relieved 
the  Washington  Artillery,  and  repulsed  the  last  charge  of  the  enemy  at  dark  at 
Marye's  Hill.  It  was  also  engaged  at  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  and  in  all  impor 
tant  actions  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  Its  career  after  Lee  left  it,  was 
always  watched  by  him  with  great  pride  and  pleasure,  and  it  was  said  that  he  took 
more  interest  in  it  than  in  any  other  subsequent  command. 


678  LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

it  shadows  of  defeat  and  disaster  which  had  already  made  many 
dark  days  for  the  Confederacy. 

Lee  was  made  a  Brigadier-General,  and  sent  to  Vicksburg. 
About  this  time  President  Davis  visited  Mississippi.  The  South 
west  was  jealous  of  Virginia,  and  open  in  expressing  it.  "  Vir 
ginia,"  it  was  said,  "got  everything,  the  best  troops,  all  the 
clothing,  the  best  guns ;  nobody  in  Richmond  cared  what  became 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley."  President  Davis  made  a  speech  at 
Jackson,  Mississippi,  to  allay  the  rising  discontent.  Vicksburg,  he 
said,  was  to  be  defended ;  his  native  State,  Mississippi,  was  dear  to 
his  heart ;  and  he  had  reason  to  hope  that  within  her  borders  there 
would  be  achieved  victories  decisive  of  the  success  of  the  Southern 
cause.  He  argued  that  there  were  two  prominent  objects  in  the 
programme  of  the  enemy.  One  was  to  get  possession  of  the  Mis 
sissippi  Kiver,  and  to  open  it  to  navigation  in  order  to  appease  the 
clamours  of  the  "West,  and  to  utilize  the  capture  of  New  Orleans, 
which  had  thus  far  rendered  them  no  service.  The  other  was  to 
seize  upon  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy,  and  hold  this  out  as  a 
proof  that  the  Confederacy  had  no  existence.  "We  have  recently 
repulsed  them,"  said  the  President,  "at  Fredericksburg,  and  I 
believe  that  under  God,  and  by  the  valour  of  our  troops,  the  capital 
of  the  Confederacy  will  stand  safe  behind  its  wall  of  living  breasts. 

Vicksburg  will  stand,  and  Port  Hudson 

will  stand,  but  let  every  man  that  can  be  spared  from  other  voca 
tions  hasten  to  defend  them,  and  thus  hold  the  Mississippi  River, 
that  great  artery  of  the  Confederacy,  preserve  our  communications 
with  the  Trans-Mississippi  Department,  and  thwart  the  enemy's 
scheme  of  forcing  navigation  through  to  New  Orleans.  By  holding 
that  section  of  the  river  between  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg,  we 
shall  secure  these  results ;  and  the  people  of  the  West,  cut  off  from 
New  Orleans,  will  be  driven  to  the  East  to  seek  a  market  for  their 
products,  and  will  be  compelled  to  pay  so  much  in  the  way  of 
freights  that  those  products  will  be  rendered  almost  valueless. 
Thus,  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  first  daybreak  of  peace  were 
to  dawn  upon  us  from  that  quarter." 

In  the  close  of  this  speech  the  name  of  the  young  Brigadier- 
General,  who  was  to  command  at  Vicksburg,  was  for  the  first  time 
heard  by  many  of  the  people  of  Mississippi.  The  President  said: 
"  Some  time  since,  for  reasons  not  necessary  to  recapitulate,  I  sent 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  679 

a  General  unknown  to  most  of  you,  and,  perhaps,  even  by  name 
known  but  to  a  few  among  you.  This  was  the  land  of  my  affec 
tions.  Here  was  situated  the  little  of  worldly  goods  I  possessed.  I 
selected  a  General  who,  in  my  views,  was  capable  of  defending  my 
State  and  discharging  the  duties  of  this  important  service.  I  am 
happy  to  state,  after  an  attentive  examination,  that  I  have  not  been 
mistaken  in  the  General  of  my  choice.  I  find  that,  during  his 
administration  here,  everything  has  been  done  that  could  be  accom 
plished  with  the  means  of  his  command.  I  recommend  him  to 
your  confidence  as  you  may  have  confidence  in  me,  who  selected 
him.  For  the  defence  of  Vicksburg,  I  selected  one  from  the  army 
of  the  Potomac,  of  whom  it  is  but  faint  praise  to  say  he  has  no 
superiour.  He  was  sent  to  Virginia  at  the*  beginning  of  the  war, 
with  a  little  battery  of  three  guns.  With  these  he  fought  the  Yan 
kee  gunboats,  drove  them  off,  and  stripped  them  of  their  terrours. 
He  was  promoted  for  distinguished  services  on  various  fields.  He 
was  finally  made  a  Colonel  of  cavalry,  and  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that,  at  the  last  great  conflict  on  the  field  of  Manassas,  he  served  to 
turn  the  tide  of  battle  and  consummate  the  victory.  On  succeed 
ing  fields  he  has  won  equal  distinction.  Though  yet  young  he  has 
fought  more  battles  than  many  officers  who  have  lived  to  an 
advanced  age  and  died  in  their  beds.  I  have  therefore  sent  Gen. 
Stephen  D,  Lee  to  take  charge  of  the  defences  of  Vicksburg." 

Such  praise,  than  which  none  could  be  higher  or  more  accepta 
ble  to  the  patriotic  soldier,  raised  public  expectation,  and  stimulated 
all  the  pride  and  ambition  of  Lee  to  execute  the  great  and  difficult 
trusts  confided  to  him.  On  reporting  at  Vicksburg,  he  was  assigned 
to  a  brigade  of  Louisiana  and  Mississippi  troops,  and  given  immedi 
ate  command  of  the  country  from  Vicksburg  to  Snyder's  Bluff  on  the 
Yazoo,  including  the  batteries  at  the  latter  place  for  blockading  the 
river.  His  force  for  the  field  did  not  exceed  three  thousand  men. 
With  such  a  force  he  was  called  upon  to  meet  the  advance  of  Sher 
man  on  Vicksburg, .  in  the  winter  of  1862-3,  and  to  give  the  first 
lesson  to  the  insolence  of  that  charlatan  commander. 

The  enemy  made  his  first  demonstration  by  disembarking  his 
army  at  the  north  of  Chickasaw  Bayou  five  miles  from  Vicksburg 
on  the  Yazoo  River,  and  at  once  commenced  pushing  towards  the 
city  in  the  direction  of  the  road  leading  from  Snyder's  Bluff. 
Encountering  him  with  his  small  force,  Gen.  Lee  disputed  the 


680  LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

ground,  inch  by  inch,  to  the  Bluff,  two  and  a  half  miles.  By  hold 
ing  the  enemy  in  check  for  an  entire  day,  he  was  enabled  to  con 
struct  a  few  rifle  pits,  to  shelter  his  small  command  on  the  long 
line  he  had  to  defend,  a  distance  of  twelve  miles  from  Yicksburg 
to  Snyder's  Bluff.  The  enemy  seeing  the  small  force  in  front  of 
him,  determined  on  an  assault,  and  crossing  Chickasaw  Bayou 
moved  gallantly  to  the  attack,  Blair's  Missouri  division  and  part 
of  Morgan  L.  Smith's  in  the  lead.  Curiously  enough,  a  week 
before  the  action,  Gen.  Lee  had  reconnoitred  the  precise  field,  and 
had  then  remarked  to  one  of  his  officers  that  "it  was  the  weakest 
point  around  Yicksburg,  and  that  if  the  enemy  ever  came  towards 
the  city  he  would  try  this  route."  His  predictions  were  exactly 
realized.  But  the  assault  of  tbe  enemy  was  repulsed ;  four  hundred 
of  their  dead  and  wounded  were  left  on  the  field,  and  four  hundred 
prisoners;  and  so  decisive  was  the  repulse,  and  so  blind  was 
Sherman  to  the  advantages  he  had  fallen  upon,  that  he  desisted 
from  further  action,  embarked  on  his  transports,  and  left  the  Yazoo 
to  try  some  other  plan  or  point  of  attack.  The  victory  was  a  most 
important  one ;  it  came  near  extinguishing  Sherman's  then  flicker 
ing  reputation;  and  it  was  achieved  by  Gen.  Lee  in  the  most  unequal 
and  desperate  circumstances. 

When  Lieut.- Gen.  Pemberton  undertook  the  defence  of  Yicks- 
burs,  to  conclude  its  heroic  memories  by  an  ill-starred  chapter  of 
disaster,  Lee's  forces  were  drawn  into  the  city,  and,  in  addition  to 
his  brigade,  he  was  assigned  command  of  all  the  heavy  batteries. 
In  the  unfortunate  campaign  against  Grant,  when  Gen.  Pemberton 
entangled  himself  with  his  columns,  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  defeated 
in  detail  and  finally  shut  up  in  Yicksburg,  Gen.  Lee  took  the  field 
with  the  Alabama  brigade  in  Stevenson's  division,  and  by  the  gal 
lant  service  of  his  command  did  much  to  relieve  the  general  story 
of  misfortune.  In  the  battle  of  Baker's  Creek,  Lee's  brigade  was 
on  the  left,  covering  the  roads  to  Jackson  and  Kaymond.  The 
battle  was  a  clever  surprise  on  the  part  of  the  enemy.  He  was 
supposed  to  be  eight  or  ten  miles  off,  when  he  was  actually  turning 
the  left  flank  of  the  Confederates,  screened  only  by  a  skirt  of  woods. 
The  surprise  was  ascribed  to  Pemberton's  want  of  cavalry,  but  is 
more  justly  attributed  to  lack  of  vigilance  of  those  he  did  have. 
Gen.  Lee  was  the  first  to  discover  the  danger  of  the  army,  and 
immediately  sent  word  to  his  superiour  officer,  Maj.-Gen.  Stevenson, 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  631 

at  the  same  time  endeavoring  to  check  the  enemy,  and  losing 
heavily  in  the  encounter.  His  troops  were  compelled  to  move  con 
stantly  to  the  left  while  engaged,  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  gain 
ing  the  road  to  Vicksburg  in  the  rear  of  Pemberton's  forces.  There 
was  hot  fighting  that  day  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  Confederate 
commands,  but  to  no  purpose.  Pemberton  was  defeated,  and  com 
menced  retreating  at  4  o'clock  P.M.  The  loss  was  heavy,  especi 
ally  in  Bowen's  and  Lee's  brigades — the  latter  losing  more  than 
1,000  men,  or  about  one-third  of  its  effective  numbers.  Gen.  Lee 
was  highly  complimented  by  his  division  commander,  for  his  dis 
play  of  personal  gallantrj^  in  the  action.  Several  times  during  the 
day  he  rallied  different  regiments  by  taking  their  colours  and  lead 
ing  them  in  person.  He  had  three  horses  shot  under  him  within 
a  period  of  twenty  minutes;  several  balls  passed  through  his  clothes, 
and  he  was  slightly  wounded  in  the  shoulder. 

During  the  retreat  he  made  a  yet  more  wonderful  escape.  He 
and  his  Adjutant,  Capt.  Elliott,  were  conducting  some  troops  to 
reinforce  at  a  bridge,  on  a  road  about  a  mile  from  the  one  by  which 
the  main  army  was  retreating.  Gen.  Lee  was  informed  that  the 
road  was  still  in  possession  of  the  Confederates.  Seeing  troops  in 
advance,  the  two  galloped  ahead  to  reconnoitre.  The  enemy  seeing 
them  approach,  with  a  column  in  their  rear,  halted  in  the  woods 
and  proceeded  to  ambush  them.  Two  Federals  in  gray  shirts  were 
sent  out  to  ride  leisurely  along  a  fence,  as  a  decoy,  to  take  the  two 
officers  before  they  could  give  the  alarm  to  the  column,  now  about 
half  a  mile  in  the  rear.  So  perfect  was  the  deception  that  Gen. 
Lee  and  Capt.  Elliott  rode  up  within  six  paces  of  the  men,  and 
within  seventy-five  yards  of  the  enemy's  infantry  and  artillery. 
Two  pistols  were  presented,  and  they  were  called  on  to  surrender. 
They  wheeled  their  horses,  the  pistols  were  discharged  without 
effect,  while  the  infantry  and  artillery  both  opened  fire  on  them. 
Their  escape  seemed  miraculous.  After  the  surrender  of  Vicks 
burg,  a  Federal  officer  who  witnessed  the  affair,  recognized  Gen. 
Lee  as  one  of  the  parties,  and  told  him  he  could  not  account  for 
his  escape  from  such  a  fire. 

The  sorrowful  siege  of  Vicksburg  was  not  without  its  incidents 
3f  glory.  A  terrible  assault  was  made  by  the  Federals  on  the  22d 
Tune,  1863.  The  fighting  was  heavy  all  along  the  line,  the  enemy 
carrying  part  of  one  of  Gen.  Lee's  redoubts,  and  planting  three 


682  LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

stands  of  colours  on  it.  Lieut.-Col.  Pettus  was  ordered  to  retake  it. 
He  made  several  attempts  to  get  his  command  to  assault,  but  with 
out  success ;  the  men  were,  in  a  measure,  demoralized  by  the  pre 
vious  events  of  the  day.  Col.  Waul,  commanding  the  Texas 
Legion,  was  ordered  to  detail  forty  men  for  the  assault,  and  to  take 
the  Federal  colours  floating  over  the  narrow  breach.  An  entire 
company  of  noble  Texan  volunteers  stept  out  for  the  work.  But 
forty  of  them  were  selected,  and  as  they  reported  themselves  ready, 
the  bravery  and  coolness  of  the  men  made  them  a  remarkable 
spectacle,  even  at  a  time  when  the  excitement  of  battle  was  thrill 
ing  along  the  whole  line.  Fuses  were  cut  from  six-pounder  shell 
to  use  as  hand  grenades  to  be  thrown  over  the  traverse.  Before 
the  Federals  could  imagine  such  a  desperate  assault,  Pettus  and 
his  forty  Texans  were  upon  them ;  the  colours  were  captured,  and 
in  the  onset  a  hundred  prisoners  taken.  Instantly  about  thirty 
guns  of  the  enemy  were  trained  on  the  narrow  spot  where  stood 
the  bold  adventurers ;  they  were  almost  buried  in  the  earth  and 
debris  which  the  shot  threw  up  around  them,  but  strange  to  say, 
though  some  were  wounded,  not  a  man  was  killed,  and  the  cap- 
tared  colours  were  carried  back  in  triumph.  They  were  presented 
to  Col.  Waul,  as  due  to  the  bravery  of  the  Texans.  It  was  another 
instance  of  the  heroism' of  the  soldiers  of  the  "Lone  Star,"  another 
instance  of  that  terrible  courage  which  so  often  tried  the  balance 
between  life  and  death,  was  ready  for  all  desperate  enterprises,  and 
made  the  name  of  Texans  one  of  peculiar  terrour  to  the  enemy. 

During  this  assault,  Gen.  Lee,  Col.  Waul,  and  the  Adjutant  of 
the  latter  were  standing  in  an  exposed  position  on  the  line,  in  full 
view  of  the  assaulting  column.  The  Adjutant  was  shot  through 
the  heart.  Two  days  afterwards,  the  Federals,  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  reclaimed  their  dead  for  burial  One  of  the  party  pointed 
out  a  place  on  the  line,  saying  that  during  the  assault  three  Con 
federate  officers  had  stood  there,  that  he  made  forty  men  fire  a 
volley  at  them,  and  he  asked  if  one  had  not  been  killed. 

The  surrender  of  Yicksburg  took  place  when  the  trenches  of 
the  enemy  were  only  twenty  feet  from  some  parts  of  the  line  held 
by  Gen.  Lee.  He  was  a  prisoner  but  a  short  time,  and  being  ex 
changed,  he  was  promoted  on  the  3d  August,  1863,  and  was  a 
Major-General  at  the  age  of  thirty.  He  was  now  assigned  to  the 
command  of  all  the  cavalry  in  Mississippi,  to  operate  against  Grant. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  683 

But  the  latter  did  not  advance  further  than  Brandon,  being  satis 
fied  to  hold  Vicksburg,  and  withdrawing  his  troops  to  other  points. 
Gen.  Lee  was  then  directed  to  operate  upon  the  enemy's  communi 
cations  towards  Chattanooga,  and  to  assist  the  enterprise  of 
Wheeler,  who  had  just  returned  from  his  famous  raid  through 
Middle  and  West  Tennessee.  When  Sherman  moved  from  Mem 
phis  to  reinforce  Grant  at  Chattanooga,  rebuilding  the  road  from 
Florence  to  Tuscumbia,  Gen.  Lee,  although  he  had  but  two  small 
brigades,  threw  them  in  front  of  his  old  enemy,  and  disputed  his 
progress  obstinately  from  Bear  Creek.  He  succeeded  in  destroy 
ing  the  railroad  to  Tuscumbia  so  thoroughly,  that  Sherman  gave 
up  the  route,  retraced  his  steps  to  Eastport,  and  then  crossed  the 
Tennessee  Eiver,  marching  on  the  north  side  to  meet  Grant.  The 
delay  thus  effected  was  important,  and  Gen.  Lee  was  complimented 
by  Bragg  for  the  vigour  and  efficacy  of  his  operation. 

Eeturning  to  Mississippi,  he  was  engaged  in  the  difficult  task 
of  gathering  and  organizing  the  scattered  cavalry.  There  were  but 
two  effective  brigades  in  the  State  at  that  time.  Gen.  Lee  had  an 
extensive  country  under  his  command,  but  only  a  few  troops  for 
its  defence — enough,  perhaps,  to  raise  the  expectations  of  his 
countrymen,  or  to  allure  an  advance  of  the  enemy,  but  not  enough 
to  effect  anything.  It  was  a  disheartening  command,  where  the 
utmost  bravery  could  secure  but  little  glory. 

When  Sherman  made  his  bootless  expedition  from  Yicksburg 
to  Meridian,  looking  to  some  remote  strategy  not  easily  appre 
hended — for  there  was  no  rich  country  to  despoil,  and  he  traversed 
a  region  of  pine  barrens  and  sand-hills — Lee,  with  his  little  force, 
was  again  in  his  front,  falling  back  day  by  day,  but  at  every  step 
skirmishing  and  harassing  the  enemy.  He  hung  upon  his  march 
from  the  Big  Black  to  Meridian.  Gen.  Polk,  with  his  small  army, 
bad  retired  to  Demopolis ;  and  Sherman,  with  his  thirty  thousand 
:nen,  marched  back  to  his  starting-point,  burning  a  few  depots  on 
bis  route,  but  finding  nothing  of  considerable  value  to  destroy. 
The  railroad,  after  he  left  it,  was  in  running  order  in  a  month. 
3ren.  Lee  moved  towards  Okalona,  to  assist  Forrest;  but  the  latter 
lad  already  driven  the  Federal  cavalry  back  into  Memphis. 

In  April,  1864,  Lieut.-Gen.  Polk  was  ordered  to  reinforce  Gen. 
Johnston,  then  commanding  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  at  Dalton ; 
ilso  to  turn  over  the  command  of  his  department  (consisting  of 


684  LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

Alabama,  .Mississippi,  West  Tennessee  and  East  Louisiana),  to 
Maj.-Gen.  S.  D.  Lee.  This  placed  the  latter  in  a  delicate  position,  as 
there  were  two  senior  officers,  Major-Generals,  ranking  him  in  the 
Department.  Gen.  Polk  took  with  him  all  the  infantry,  including 
even  the  garrison  of  Mobile,  and  the  division  of  cavalry  Gen.  Lee 
had  commanded,  leaving  the  latter  with  a  large  department, 
exposed  on  all  sides  to  the  enemy,  and  no  troops  except  a  division 
of  cavalry  under  Gen.  Forrest,  in  North  Mississippi.  Memphis  and 
Yicksburg  were  heavily  garrisoned  by  the  enemy,  and  he  at  once 
commenced  making  raids  into  East  Louisiana,  towards  Jackson  and 
from  Memphis.  At  Gen.  Johnston's  urgent  request,  Gen.  Forrest 
was  started  into  Middle  Tennessee,  to  interrupt  railroad  communi 
cations  in  rear  of  Sherman.  Scarcely  had  he  started,  when  Gen. 
Lee  recalled  him  from  the  vicinity  of  Tuscumbia,  to  meet  Sturgis, 
marching  from  Memphis  with  about  seven  thousand  infantry  and 
cavalry.  This  force  Forrest  easily  routed  with  less  than  half  its 
numbers. 

Shortly  thereafter,  Lee,  now  made  Lieutenant-General,  was  cal 
led  upon  to  meet  another  raid,  moving  out  from  Memphis,  under 
A.  J.  Smith,  and  consisting  of  about  16,000  men,  a  large  portion 
being  veteran  infantry,  with  some  cavalry.  Gen.  Lee  could  not  bring 
more  than  6,000  cavalry  against  this  force,  but  to  show  his  weakness 
was  to  surrender  his  department  to  the  enemy,  to  be  overrun  at 
their  pleasure.  Along  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad  lies  an  exceed 
ingly  fertile  country,  which  had  never  been  ravaged  by  the  Fede 
rals,  and  which  at  that  time  was  furnishing  untold  supplies  to 
Johnston's  army.  It  was  of  vital  importance  to  protect  it.  Gen. 
Lee  took  command  of  his  forces  in  person.  He  met  Smith  near 
Pontotac,  and  after  three  days'  desperate  fighting,  culminating  in  the 
action  of  Harrisburg,  one  of  the  severest  fights  of  the  war,  he  drove 
the  enemy  and  compelled  his  retreat  before  a  force  one-third  his 
numbers.  The  troops  which  achieved  this  victory  were  mostly 
those  of  Gen.  Forrest's  command  under  Brig.-Gens.  Buford,  Chal 
mers,  Rucker  and  Mabry. 

When  Gen.  Hood  was  put  in  chief  command  of  the  Army  of 
Tennessee,  Gen.  Lee  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  corps 
from  which  the  former  had  been  promoted.  He  reported  on  the 
20th  July,  and  was  at  once  put  on  active  duty.  His  corps  was  first 
engaged  with  a  part  of  Stewart's  in  trying  to  prevent  the  enemy's 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE.  685 


s 


extension  of  his  line  towards  the  west  around  Atlanta.  There  was  a 
severe  engagement,  resulting,  as  did  the  actions  of  the  20th  and  22d 
July,  in  no  advantage  to  the  Confederates.  The  next  action  of 
importance  in  which  Lee  was  engaged  was  at  Jonesboro,  where  his 
own  and  Hardee's  corps  -fought  the  enemy  without  success. 

In  the  Tennessee  campaign,  following  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  Lee's 
corps  was  the  first  to  cross  the  Tennessee  River,  at  Florence.  At 
Columbia,  the  Federals  evacuated  the  place  and  formed  in  line  of 
battle  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  Gen.  Lee  engaged  them  with 
two  divisions  of  his  corps  (Stevenson's  and  Clayton's),  while  Hood 
with  the  other  troops  made  a  detour  and  gained  their  rear  at  Spring 
Hill.  At  Franklin,  but  one  division  of  Lee's  corps  was  engaged 
(Johnston's),  but  he  was  with  it.  His  command  took  three  stands 
Df  colours.  In  the  two  days'  battles  around  Nashville,  his  corps 
was  on  the  extreme  right,  and  repulsed  every  assault  of  the  enemy; 
out  it  was  compelled  to  withdraw  in  some  disorder  when  the  other 
"orces  were  found  to  have  given  way.  The  three  days  following, 
ivere  those  of  flight,  the  enemy  closely  pursuing. 

Order  was  necessarj^  to  save  Hood's  army.     Lee's  troops  made 

lie  rear-guard  ;  and  when  retreat  was  determined  they  confronted 

he  victorious  pursuers,  falling  back  slowly  and  steadily,  and  halt- 

ng  the  night  after  the  fatal  battle,  eight  miles  from  the  field.    The 

lext  day  at  early  dawn,  the  Federal  cavalry  under  Wilson,  8,000  or 

0,000  strong,  came  down  upon  them ;  they  were  well  managed 

nd  confident;  they  charged  front  and  flanks  up  to  ten  o'clock  in 

be  morning.    But  Lee,  with  desperate  courage,  held  them  in  check. 

!o  bold  was  the  enemy's  cavalry  that  numbers  of  them  were  cap- 

ured  by  being  dragged  from  their  horses.     About  2  P.  M.,  Gen. 

jee  was  painfully  wounded  in  the  foot,  but  kept  command  until 

1  o'clock  that  night.     About  4  P,  M.,  the  enemy's  cavalry  again 

-ied  to  rout  the  rear-guard,  their  efforts  being  more  persistent  than 

i  the  morning.     At  one  time  they  succeeded  in  getting  between 

tevenson's  and  Clayton's  divisions,  assaulting  both  continuously 

>r  half  an  hour,  but  without  breaking  either.    Next  morning  Gen. 

'orrest  with  his  cavalry  was  sent  to  the  assistance  of  the  rear-guard. 

Tp  to  that  time  the  only  cavalry  with  it  was  a  small  force  under 

en.  A.  Buford,  who  received  a  sabre-cut  on  the  head,  in  a  hand 

>  hand  encounter.     Lee's  corps  was  the  only  organized  command 

uring  the  day  after  the  battle,  and  all  day  it  had  to  oppose  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.   LEE. 

exultant  charges  of  the  foe.  He  was  the  only  corps  commander 
complimented  in  Gen.  Hood's  official  report. 

Gen.  Lee  followed  the  army  across  the  Tennessee  River,  and 
being  disabled  by  his  wound,  proceeded  to  Columbus,  Mississippi. 
Here  he  found  a  brief  time  in  which  to  indulge  tenderer  sentiments 
than  those  inspired  by  war's  rough  usage,  and  he  was  married  to 
Miss  Harrison,  of  the  place,  a  lady  known  and  admired  for  her 
intellectual  accomplishments  as  well  as  for  her  large  portion  of  the 
beauty,  wit,  and  amiability  belonging  to  her  sex.  He  rejoined  his 
command  on  crutches.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel,  he 
reported  to  his  corps  headquarters  in  North  Carolina.  At  Smith- 
field,  the  army  was  reorganized ;  but  he  was  retained  in  command 
of  his  corps,  and  was  surrendered  and  paroled  with  Gen.  Johnston's 
army. 

In  person,  Gen.  Lee  is  tall,  six  feet  high,  with  dark  hair  and  eyes. 
Of  a  high-toned  and  circumspect  life,  of  unobtrusive  and  modest  man- 
ners,he  is  a  man  who  commands  respect  without  sensation,  and  wins 
the  steady  regard  of  friendship,  without  protestation.  Shy  and  reser 
ved  except  with  those  he  knows  well,  it  is  only  in  such  company  that 
he  does  himself  justice.  His  character  is  not  one  of  single,  striking 
features ;  but  he  presents  a  fine  mixture  of  the  elements  of  man 
hood,  and  as  a  military  commander  he  was  noted  for  the  range  and 
just  balance  of  his  accomplishments.  A  remark  of  President  Davis 
was  reported  during  the  war  in  which,  speaking  of  some  officers, 
and  their  special  fitness  for  different  arms  of  the  service,  he  added: 
"I  have  tried  Stephen  D.  Lee  in  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery, 
and  found  him  not  only  serviceable,  but  superiour  in  all."  Fortune 
did  not  favour  him;  but  on  the  contrary,  his  frequent  shiftings  to 
different  fields  and  arms  disturbed  the  growth  of  his  reputation,  and 
multiplied  the  tests  of  his  superiourity.  When  he  was  rising  in 
reputation  as  an  artillerist,  in  the  second  battle  of  Manassas,  he  was 
promoted,  and  sent  to  a  brigade  of  infantry  at  Yicksburg.  Here 
the  actions  of  Chickasaw  Bayou  and  Baker's  Creek  were  bringing 
him  into  public  notice,  when  he  was  transferred  to  a  command  of 
cavalry.  Again,  commencing  another  ascent  of  reputation,  when  he 
had  organized  his  forces,  and  commenced  to  realize  what  success  he 
could,  out  of  the  most  disheartening  material,  and  over  almost  in 
surmountable  obstacles,  he  was  returned  to  the  command  of  infantry, 
but  this  time  with  the  full  reward  of  a  Lieutenant-General's  com- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   STEPHEN  D.  LEE.  687 

mission,  and  a  veteran  corps  in  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  Prompt 
and  equal  to  all  these  various  tests  of  his  abilities,  he  accomplished 
one  of  the  best-founded  reputations  of  the  war.  It  may  be  said  of 
him  that  he  gave  additional  interest  and  lustre  to  the  most  glorious 
and  magical  name  of  the  war — that  of  LEE — now  thrice  recorded 
in  this  volume,  and  celebrated  in  an  unvarying  story  of  virtuous 
sentiments  and  heroic  deeds. 


MAJOR-GENERAL  PATRICK  R,  CLEBURNE. 


CHAPTER  LXIL 

His  first  military  experience  as  a  private  in  the  British  Army. — Campaign,  tinder  Har- 
dee,  in  Missouri. — His  part  in  the  Kentucky  campaign. — Gallantry  at  Murfrees- 
boro'. — Splendid  conduct  of  his  division  at  Chickamauga  — Affairs  with  the  enemy 
at  Tunnel  Hill  and  Ringgold. — Gen.  Cleburne's  last  order  in  the  battle  of  Frank 
lin. — Effect  of  his  death  on  the  army. — His  qualities  as  a  commander. — His  hu 
mour. — Anedotes  of  the  camp. — The  society  or  order  of  "  Comrades  of  the  Southern 
Cross." — The  battle-flag  of  Cleburne's  division. 

THE  military  fame  of  Patrick  R.  Cleburne  is  summed  in  the 
title  lie  won  in  the  war — "  the  Stonewall  Jackson  of  the  "West." 
He  was  an  Irishman  by  birth,  and  having  crossed  the  Channel  to 
better  his  fortune,  found  his  life  in  England  so  difficult,  that,  as 
a  last  resort,  he  joined  the  British  army.  He  was  then  only 
twenty-two  years  of  age.  In  the  low  condition  of  the  private 
soldier  he  took  his  first  military  lessons,  and  what  he  learned  here 
of  drills  and  discipline  was  often  recalled  to  his  mind  on  fields 
he  then  little  dreamed  of.  At  one  time  he  was  promoted,  for 
good  conduct,  to  the  rank  of  corporal.  After  remaining  about 
three  years  in  the  British  army,  he  procured  his  discharge  through 
the  influence  of  some  friends,  and,  conceiving  a  larger  adven 
ture,  crossed  the  ocean  to  make  his  home  in  the  Western  wilds 
of  America. 

The  opening  of  the  war  of  1861  found  the  Irish  emigrant  in 
Arkansas,  practicing  law  at  Helena,  and  enjoying  a  distinction 
in  his  profession  and  in  society  won  by  years  of  honourable 
labour.  He  was  among  the  first  to  raise  a  company  for  the 
defence  of  the  State.  With  this  company  he  joined  the  15th 
Arkansas  Regiment,  and,  when  it  was  organized  for  active  ser 
vice,  the  choice  of  the  men  almost  unanimously  designated  Cle- 


MAJ.-GEN.   PATRICK  R.   CLEBURNE.  689 

btirne  as  their  Colonel.  His  first  campaign  was  with  Hardee,  in 
Missouri.  On  the  termination  of  this  brief,  though  severe  cam 
paign  (especially  severe,  as  the  troops  were  then  unaccustomed 
to  hardships),  he  crossed  the  Mississippi  River,  accompanying  the 
command  of  Gen.  Hardee  to  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky. 

During  these  short  campaigns  he  had  displayed  such  fine  sol 
dierly  qualities  that  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a  bri 
gade.  At  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  and  around  Corinth,  he  fully  sus 
tained  the  estimate  his  superiours  had  formed  of  him  ;  and  in  the 
re-organization  of  the  army  at  Tupelo,  Mississippi,  it  was 
remarked  that  no  officer  laboured  harder  to  improve  its  discipline 
and  effectiveness.  At  the  battle  of  Richmond,  Kentucky,  he 
commanded  a  division,  and  to  the  fire  and  energy  of  his  attack 
was  mainly  due  the  defeat  and  almost  total  destruction  of  "  Bull " 
Nelson's  army.  In  this  battle  he  was  painfully  wounded  ;  yet,  in 
two  or  three  weeks  thereafter,  we  find  him  amidst  the  carnage 
at  Perry  ville,  and  gathering  some  of  the  bloodiest  laurels  of  that 
field. 

In  the  fierce  and  protracted  contest  of  Murfreesboro,  Gen. 
Cleburne  commanded  a  division  with  the  rank  of  Major-Gen erai. 
There  he  took  part  in  the  memorable  attack  on  the  right  of  the 
Federal  army,  the  desperate  power  of  which  was  arrested  only 
when  the  mass  in  its  front  became  too  dense  for  penetration.  On 
the  repulse  of  the  last  charge,  in  the  confused  mass  of  men  and 
banners,  amid  showers  of  grape,  shell  and  canister,  cutting  down 
the  cedars  like  wheat-straw,  Gen.  Cleburne  was  seen  endeavour 
ing  to  restore  order,  and  braving  the  death  whose  threats  shrieked 
and  howled  in  the  air  around  him.  His  time  had  not  then  come, 
and  he  was  unscathed  by  the  storm. 

At  Chickamauga,  he  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  actors. 
In  the  first  day's  battle  his  division  (of  Hill's  corps)  was  called  up 
late  in  the  evening  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  a  position  he  had 
stubbornly  maintained  during  the  day.  It  was  about  sunset;  all 
was  then  quiet,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  shot  from  a 
picket ;  suddenly  came  the  order  for  Cleburne  to  advance,  and 
there  was  a  blinding  flash  in  the  air  and  a  deafening  roar,  the  work 
of  an  instant.  The  enemy  was  within  a  short  distance,  and  as  Cle- 
burne's  division  advanced  it  was  wrapped  in  fire  and  smoke,  and 
for  fifteen  minutes  there  was  one  continuous  roar  of  arms,  in 

44 


690  MAJ.-GEN.   PATRICK  R.   CLEBURNE. 

which  the  ear  could  not  distinguish  a  moment's  cessation.  In 
that  fifteen  minutes  the  position  was  won  and  held ;  and  in  the 
night  that  followed  Cleburne,  wrapt  in  his  blanket,  slept  close  to 
the  enemy's  lines,  taking  rest  for  the  work  of  the  morrow  which 
made  the  Confederate  victory  complete. 

After  Chickamauga,  and  until  the  retreat  of  the  Confederate 
army  from  the  disastrous  field  of  Missionary  Ridge,  Gen.  Cle 
burne  had  but  little  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself.  In  that 
retreat  his  division  brought  up  the  rear,  and  about  the  time  it 
reached  Tunnel  Hill  it  had  to  sustain  an  assault  of  about  10,000 
men  of  all  arms.  Here  Gen.  Cleburne,  by  the  excellent  disposi 
tion  of  his  men  and  the  inspiration  of  his  commands,  repulsed 
three  different  attacks  made  on  his  position  by  Sherman,  chastis 
ing  that  insolent  commander  so  severely  that  he  fell  back  and 
fortified,  while  the  Confederates  passed  safely  across  the  Chicka 
mauga.  The  fording  of  this  stream  was  an  event  often  recalled 
by  the  hardy  soldiers  of  Cleburue's  command,  whose  boast  it  had 
been  to  have  been  "  foremost  in  every  fight  and  hindmost  in  every 
retreat."  It  was  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  a  freezing 
atmosphere  when  the  men  plunged  into  the  water  and  struggled 
to  climb  the  frozen  and  slippery  opposite  bank.  Just  beyond  the 
stream  lay  the  little  town  of  Ringgold,  through  which  Confeder 
ate  troops  were  already  moving;  the  main  army  struggling  in  a 
confused  mass  among  the  network  of  running  streams  beyond 
the  gap  through  which  it  had  effected  its  retreat.  Cleburne's 
division  had  almost  cleared  the  town,  and  the  safety  of  the  army 
was  thought  assured,  when  again  the  enemy  made  his  appearance, 
and  compelled  a  last  and  desperate  contest.  Orders  were  dis 
patched  to  Gen.  Cleburne  to  form  his  line  of  battle  on  a  com 
manding  ridge,  and  informed  him  that  the  progress  of  the  army 
was  so  impeded  that  something  must  be  quickly  done  to  save  it. 
The  Federals  advanced  boldly  up  the  ridge,  attempting  it  bravely 
and  struggling  up  the  ascent,  until  in  some  places  they  had 
advanced  within  twenty  paces  of  the  Confederate  line.  But  there 
were  men  there  animated  by  the  appeals  of  a  favourite  (reneral,  and 
determined  to  die  rather  than  yield  an  inch  of  the  critical  ground. 
The  Federals  were  cut  down  by  well-directed  shot ;  stones  were 
hurled  upon  them  by  men  whose  muskets  were  impracticable ; 
.and  at  last  they  retreated  in  confusion,  leaving  about  1,000  killed 


MAJ.-GEN.   PATRICK  R.   CLEBURNE.  691 

and  wounded  and  250  prisoners.  The  victory  won  here  by  Gen. 
Clebnrne  convinced  the  enemy  that  the  Confederates  were  not  a 
demoralized  fugitive  army,  and  determined  Gen.  Grant  to  recall 
the  pursuit,  impressed  as  he  already  was  with  the  necessity  of 
despatching  reinforcements  to  aid  Burnside  at  Knoxville. 

In  the  series  of  defensive  operations  in  which  the  Army  of 
Tennessee  was  engaged  under  the  command  of  Gen.  Johnston, 
during  the  summer  of  1864,  Gen.  Cleburne  was  not  conspicuous, 
and  there  was  nothing  calling  for  especial  mention  of  his  name. 
He  accompanied  Gen.  Hood  in  that  famous  and  fatal  attempt  to 
recover  Tennessee,  which  probably  lost  the  Southern  Confederacy. 
On  the  20th  November,  1864,  the  Army  of  Tennessee  approached 
Franklin,  and  Gen.  Cleburne  arriving  on  the  heights  that  over 
looked  the  town,  took  his  position  on  the  right  of  the  road  lead 
ing  from  Spring  Hill.  He  formed  his  brigades  into  column  ; 
and  before  the  hour  of  attack  came,  he  instructed  his  Brigadiers 
to  impress  upon  the  men  the  advantages  of  carrying  the  enemy's 
works  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  The  works,  he  declared, 
must  be  carried,  and  the  quicker  they  were  in  them,  the  shorter 
would  be  the  time  they  were  under  fire,  and  the  smaller  their 
loss.  No  man  was  to  stop  to  fire  ;  all  were  to  move  forward  as 
rapidly  as  possible.  It  was  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
when  the  signal  of  attack  was  given,  Cleburne's  division  then 
being  some  300  or  400  yards  from  the  front  line  of  the  enemy's 
works,  and  sheltered  by  slightly  rising  ground.  Then  came  the 
command,  from  Gen.  Cleburne,  "Fix  bayonets!"  delivered  in  a 
voice  as  clear  and  piercing  as  was  the  cold,  sharp,  deadly  steel 
the  men  were  told  to  handle.  Another  instant  and  the  word, 
"Forward,"  rang  down  the  line.  It  was  Gen.  Cleburne's  last 
order ;  for,  in  obeying  it,  he  and  half  of  his  division  marched  to 
death.  He  was  within  twenty  paces  of  the  rear-rank,  his  sharp 
eye  upon  his  brigadiers,  searching  the  conduct  of  his  troops,  when 
he  fell  from  his  horse,  pierced  by  three  wounds.  He  died  on  the 
battle-field. 

With  Cleburne  expired  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  Army  of 
Tennessee.  His  hardy  and  tried  veterans  were  principally  from 
the  Southwestern  States,  beyond  and  bordering  on  the  Mississippi 
River,  and  were  distinguished  for  impetuosity  in  the  charge — that 
part  of  the  battle  where  the  ardour  of  the  soldier  comes  most 


692  MAJ.-GEN.   PATKICK  K.   CLEBURNE. 

into  play,  and  courage  flames  most  grandly.  It  has  been  said, 
"  his  division  would  have  made  the  reputation  of  any  man  that 
commanded  it."  There  is  some  truth  in  this  remark ;  but  it  is 
also  true  that  Gen.  Cleburne  made  his  division  what  it  was, 
and  educated  it  up  to  the  point  of  uniform  success.  He  was  a 
good  disciplinarian ;  he  was  remarkable  for  his  close  personal 
attention  to  details  ;  he  gained  the  steady  regard  of  his  troops  by  a 
conscientious  care  for  all  their  reasonable  wants ;  and  impetuous 
on  the  field,  he  showed  his  appreciation  of  that  method  of  attack 
which  at  once  acquires  momentum  and  inspires  men  by  the 
rapidity  and  decision  of  the  movement. 

In  person,  Gen.  Cleburne  was  of  the  medium  height,  sparely 
made,  growing  thinner  as  the  war  progressed,  and  mind  and 
body  were  worn  by  a  restless  activity.  He  had  a  grey  eye  of 
very  changeful  expression,  sometimes  as  cold  and  dead  as  that 
of  a  fish,  yet  when  excited,  flashing  like  a  broad- sword.  His 
hair  that  was  originally  black  became  very  grey  before  the  close 
of  the  war,  and  being  closely  cropped,  it  stood  above  his  forehead 
in  bristly  individuality.  High  cheek  bones,  with  thin  lower  vis 
age,  a  rather  sallow  complexion,  with  but  little  beard,  and 
remarkably  large  ears,  with  long  limbs  and  heavy  emphatic 
steps  in  walking,  he  was  not  one  who,  in  appearance  or  manners, 
would  have  won  adrniratian  or  confidence.  His  features  were 
not  repulsive,  they  were  very  plain  ;  but  when  on  duty  he  habitu 
ally  wore  on  his  countenance  a  somewhat  terrible  expression 
which  not  a  little  impressed  his  men,  and  signified  the  earnest 
ness  he  really  possessed.  This  expression  was  partly  natural  and 
partly  due  to  an  ugly  wound  from  a  minie  ball  at  Richmond, 
Kentucky,  which  had  carried  away  two  of  his  front  teeth,  and 
disfigured  his  mouth.  His  accent  would  at  any  time  have 
betrayed  his  nativity;  but  it  was  especially  remarkable  when  he 
gave  emphatic  orders.  Habitually  thoughtful  and  grave,  he  was 
considered  cold  and  repellent  in  manner  by  those  who  only  met 
him  in  his  official  capacity ;  but  to  his  intimate  friends,  he  was 
genial  and  pleasant  in  conversation,  with,  at  times,  a  real  spark 
ling  of  Irish  wit  and  humour  that  would  bring  the  hearty  laugh 
from  auditors,  responsive  to  his  rather  grim  smile. 

The  men  who  served  under  him  relate  many  anecdotes  of  his 
peculiar  humour.  His  usual  habit  was  to  wear  an  old  brown 


MAJ.-GEN*   PATRICK  R.   CLEBURNE.  693 

hat,  and  a  coat,  originally  of  Confederate  grey,  dyed  a  dingy  dirty 
black,  his  appearance  being  described  as  "  more  like  a  waggon- 
master  than  a  General."  For  the  former  character  he  was  mis 
taken  once  by  some  of  his  men,  at  whose  expense  he  enjoyed  a 
hearty  laugh.  Joining  a  group  of  shivering  tatterdemallions  on  a 
wintry  day,  he  asked  "  why  they  did  not  get  some  rails  and  make 
a  fire."  One  of  them  said  "  it  would  not  do,  they  were  too  near 
Pat  Cleburne's  headquarters."  The  reply  was,  "never  mind 
Pat  Cleburne,  get  some  rails  and  make  a  fire."  "  Well,"  said  one 
of  the  group,  "  if  you  are  not  afraid  of  him,  get  the  rails  yourself, 
and  I'll  bet  in  five  minutes  Pat  Cleburne  will  be  down  here, 
with  his  guard  at  his  heels,  and  have  you  marking  time  in  front 
of  his  tent."  "  I  will  take  the  bet,"  said  the  General,  "  and  now 
get  the  rails  and  if  anybody  says  anything  to  you,  say  General 
Cleburne  told  you  to  get  them" — considerable  emphasis  being 
put  on  the  word  "  General,"  for  the  title  had  been  entirely  neg 
lected  in  the  conversation. 

He  prided  himself  in  being  up  to  all  the  "  tricks  "  of  the  men ; 
and  indeed  his  former  experience,  as  a  common  soldier,  made 
him  a  master  detective  in  this  particular.  In  the  season  when 
apples  ripened,  it  happened  on  the  march  that  some  of  the  men 
often  got  ahead  of  the  division  to  strip  the  trees  on  the  road-side 
of  their  fruit,  and  afterwards  sell  it  in  camp  or  trade  it  for  bis 
cuit.  This  nice  arrangement  was  spoiled  by  Gen.  Cleburne  in  a 
notable  way.  About  the  time  when  the  stragglers  would  be  cool 
ing  themselves  under  the  shade  of  some  apple-tree,  and  discuss 
ing  the  probabilities  of  obtaining  buttermilk  at  the  next  house, 
Cleburne's  escort  would  come  up,  arrest  the  party,  and  then 
compel  them  to  carry  a  load  of  apples  to  the  road-side  for  the 
men  as  they  passed  by.  The  General  himself  superintended  this 
part  of  the  operations.  He  would  pass  an  order  down  the  column 
for  each  man  to  take  two  apples  from  the  pile  as  he  marched  by; 
he  would  then  take  his  position  near  the  apples,  to  see  that  the 
men  took  their  allowance,  and  woe  to  the  unlucky  wretch  who 
exceeded  it.  The  duty  was  performed  by  him  with  the  utmost 
gravity,  until  he  saw  completed  the  last  distribution  of  the  stolen 
fruit. 

Gen.  Cleburne  is  reported  to  have  instituted,  or  originated, 
the  secret  order  (approximating  the  order  of  the  "  Cincinnati " 


694:  MAJ.-GEN.   PATRICK  R.   CLEBURNE. 

of  the  old  revolution)  known  as  the  order  of  the  "  Comrades  of 
the  Southern  Cross,"  which,  though  partially  philanthropic  in  its 
object,  was  intended  mainly  to  bind  together  as  one  man  the 
soldiers  of  the  Southern  army,  obligating  themselves  to  stand  by 
each  other,  and  never  to  desert  their  comrades  in  distress,  or  the 
cause  of  their  country  in  any  adversity,  while  she  maintained  an 
organized  opposition  to  threatened  tyranny.  He  attributed  the 
valour  of  his  troops  mainly  to  the  effect  of  this  organization, 
and  he  was  anxious  that  it  should  be  extended  throughout  the 
Southern  armies. 

There  was  a  peculiarity  of  Cleburne's  division  that  distin 
guished  it  to  the  time  of  the  death  of  its  commander.  It  never 
fought  under  the  flag  of  the  "  Southern  Cross,"  but  retained  the 
original  blue  battle-flag  with  white  moon  in  the  centre,  adopted 
originally  by  Gen.  Hardee,  previous  to  the  battle  of  Shiloh. 
The  union  of  the  Confederate  flag,  the  "  St.  Andrew's  Cross," 
when  adopted  as  the  battle-flag  of  the  Confederate  armies,  was, 
on  more  than  one  occasion,  brought  on  parade  to  be  presented  to 
the  different  regiments  of  this  division,  but  at  the  urgent  solici 
tation  of  the  Major-General  and  his  entire  command,  they  were 
allowed  to  retain  their  old  bullet-riddled  blue  flags,  each  of  which 
had  earned  the  significant  device  of  the  "  crossed  cannon  invert 
ed,"  and  the  name  of  every  battle  in  which  they  had  been 
engaged.  It  was,  indeed,  a  compliment  to  their  commander  and 
the  gallantry  of  the  men  that  this  division  should  have  been  the 
only  one  in  the  Confederate  service  allowed  to  carry  into  battle 
other  than  the  national  colours.  This  azure  flag  became  well 
known  to  friends  and  foes ;  it  clearly  defined  Cleburne's  position 
in  the  line ;  and  if  not  always  on  the  track  of  victory,  it  never 
moved  where  lurked  disaster  and  shame. 


LIEUT.-GEK  JOSEPH  WHEELER. 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 

Services  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  command  of  cavalry  under  Gen.  Bragg. — 
Important  service  at  Murfreesboro. — Desperate  encounter  with  the  enemy  at 
Shelbyville. — Personal  gallantry  of  Gen.  Wheeler. — His  famous  raid  into  Ten 
nessee. — Summary  of  services  in  the  "Western  Army. — Operations  of  Wheeler's 
cavalry  on  Sherman's  march  through  Georgia. — Gen.  Wheeler's  farewell  address 
to  his  troops. — What  he  accomplished  in  the  war. — His  career  and  genius. 

JOSEPH  WHEELER  was  born  in  Augusta,  Georgia,  on  the  10th 
September,  1836.  His  youth  was  spent  in  the  first  schools  of 
the  country,  and,  in  1854,  he  was  appointed  to  West  Point,  and 
was  among  the  first  that  graduated  under  the  five  year  rule. 

In  October,  1859,  he  was  ordered  to  the  cavalry  school  at 
Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  and  there  remained  on  duty  during  the 
winter.  In  the  spring  of  1860,  we  find  him  in  JSTew  Mexico, 
stationed,  successively,  at  Forts  Union,  Craig,  and  Fill  more,  and 
engaging  in  several  important  scouts  against  the  hostile  Indians. 
Early  in  March,  1861,  seeing  the  storm-cloud  gathering  over  his 
country,  he  at  once  decided  his  course,  and  when  his  native  State 
seceeded,  forwarded  his  resignation  and  returned  to  Georgia. 
On  his  arrival,  he  was  commissioned  1st  lieutenant  of  artillery 
in  the  regular  army,  and  assigned  to  duty  at  Pensacola,  Florida. 
He  was  subsequently  promoted  to  the  Colonelcy  of  the  19th  Ala 
bama  Infantry  Regiment,  and  bore  brave  part  in  the  great 
battle  of  Shiloh. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July,  186.1,  he  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  cavalry  of  the  Army  of  Mississippi,  which  had  been 
idle,  and  had  worn  away,  for  want  of  care,  to  a  mere  squad. 
In  four  days  after  taking  command,  he  had  penetrated  the  ene- 


696  LIEUT.-GEN.   JOSEPH  WHEELER. 

my's  lines,  and  was  destroying  bridges  on  the  line  of  communi 
cation  near  Bolivar  and  Jackson,  Tennessee.  A  large  force,  not 
less  than  twenty  times  his  own,  was  sent  to  capture  him,  but  he 
eluded  his  pursuers  and  brought  his  command  out  in  safety. 
From  this  period,  the  true  genius  of  the  young  soldier  began  to 
expand  and  show  itself,  and  it  soon  became  manifest  that  the 
cavalry  was  to  shine  forth  and  aid  our  cause  in  a  manner  never 
before  conceived  by  our  military  men. 

Upon  the  march  of  Bragg's  army  into  Kentucky,  Col.  Wheeler 
struck  many  a  well-aimed  blow  at  the  flanks  of  the  enemy,  as  he 
rapidly  retreated  to  the  Ohio  River.  His  gallantry  and  the  bril 
liancy  of  his  charges  at  Mumfordsville,  elicited  the  admiration 
and  compliments  of  the  enemy.  During  the  battle  of  Perryville, 
he  handled  his  command  with  ability,  keeping  back,  during  the 
day,  by  his  stubborn  resistance,  an  entire  corps  of  the  enemy. 
Gen.  Polk  commended  his  gallantry  for  leading  a  charge  in  which 
a  battery  and  a  number  of  prisoners  were  taken. 

When  Gen.  Bragg  determined  to  leave  Kentucky,  he  appointed 
Col.  Wheeler  chief  of  cavalry,  and  entrusted  to  him  the  work  of 
covering  the  retreat.  Although  this  responsibility  was  of  a  mag 
nitude  sufficient  to  appal  many  an  older  soldier,  this  gallant  and 
intrepid  soldier  bore  it,  and  distinguished  himself  in  many  a  bril 
liant  engagement.  From  Danville  to  London,  the  blush  of  the 
grey  dawn  and  the  shades  of  night  alike  bore  testimony  to  the  able 
manner  in  which  the  enemy's  exultant  columns  were  met  and 
handsomely  repulsed.  His  soldiers  soon  learned,  from  his  always 
being  in  front  and  ever  watchful  at  night,  that  their  labour 
was  not  only  one  of  great  importance,  but  about  to  reflect 
honour  alike  upon  officer  and  man.  During  this  retreat,  his 
effective  force  did  not  exceed,  at  any  time,  one  thousand  men ; 
but  so  ingeniously  did  he  dispose  it,  that  he  protected  every 
approach  to  the  Confederate  army,  and  forced  the  enemy  to 
advance  in  long  lines  of  battle,  under  the  impression  that  a  large 
infantry  force  was  in  his  front.  Thus  was  his  advance  restricted 
to  six  or  seven  miles  per  day.  So  successfully  was  the  retreat 
covered  by  the  cavalry,  that,  in  no  instance,  was  an  infantry 
soldier  ever  called  upon  to  fire  his  musket.  Gen.  Buell,  who 
was  severely  censured  and  relieved  from  the  command  of  his 
army,  for  allowing  Gen.  Bragg  to  escape  from  Kentucky,  stated, 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JOSEPH  WHEELER.  697 

officially,  that  the  Confederate  rear  was  covered  by  cavalry, 
handled  with  more  skill  than  had  ever  been  known  under  similar 
circumstances. 

After  this  campaign,  Wheeler,  upon  the  combined  recom 
mendation  of  Gens.  Bragg,  Polk,  Hardee  and  Buckner,  was  com 
missioned  Brigadier-General,  and  immediately  sent  to  Middle 
Tennessee.  Here  he  was  very  active,  sallying  forth  almost  daily, 
frequently  capturing  foraging  parties  with  their  trains  from  Nash 
ville,  and  keeping  his  pickets  in  view  of  the  spires  of  that  city. 
In  one  of  these  engagements  his  horse  was  torn  to  pieces  by  a 
cannon  ball,  his  aide  killed  at  his  side,  and  he  himself  painfully 
wounded  by  the  fragment  of  a  shell.  During  two  months,  he  was 
3ngaged  in  twenty  distinct  fights,  besides  many  skirmishes,  at  all 
times  exhibiting  so  dauntless  a  spirit  that  the  soldiers  of  his  com 
mand  gave  him  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  Little  Hero." 

Just  before  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Gen.  Wheeler  did 
nost  valuable  service  in  manoeuvring  his  command  so  as  to  hold 
lie  enemy  in  check  until  the  Confederate  army  was  prepared  to 
grapple  with  him  on  the  banks  of  Stono  River.  In  his  official 
•eport  of  the  battle,  Gen.  Bragg  stated  :  "To  the  skillful  manner 
n  which  the  cavalry,  thus  ably  supported,  was  handled,  and  the 
:xceeding  gallantry  of  its  officers  and  men,  must  be  attributed 
he  four  days'  time  engaged  by  the  enemy  in  reaching  the  battle- 
ield,  a  distance  of  only  twenty  miles  from  his  encampments,  over 
.ne  macadamized  roads."  During  these  four  days  it  is  said  that 
ren.  Wheeler  did  not  sleep  as  many  hours,  and  was  in  the  saddle 
ighteen  hours  out  of  every  twenty-four,  now  directing  a  scout, 
ow  posting  a  picket,  and  then  dashing  like  a  phantom  on  some 
msuspecting  body  of  the  enemy. 

After  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro,  Wheeler  was  at  work  on  the 
nemy's  communications,  and  subsequently  covered  Gen.  Bragg's 
•ont,  picketing  close  up  to  the  enemy's  main  army.  Whenever 
ny  part  of  his  command  could  be  spared  from  the  front  of  the 
rmy,  he  would  make  rapid  incursions  into  the  lines  of  the  enemy, 
^fter  the  lapse  of  some  months  in  this  service,  he  was  again  called 
pon  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  Confederate  army,  as  it  left  the 
;rtile  lands  of  the  hospitable  and  patriotic  people  of  Middle 
ennessee,  and  sought  the  line  of  the  Tennessee  River  at  Chat- 
tnooga.  In  this  movement  occurred  a  desperate  encounter  at 


698  LIEUT.-GEN.  JOSEPH  WHEELER. 

Shelbyville,  and  a  remarkable  display  of  personal  gallantry  on 
the  part  of  Gen.  Wheeler.  He  had  been  left  at  Shelbyville  to 
cover  the  movement  of  the  army  to  Tullahoma ;  and,  forming  his 
command  in  front  of  the  Court-House,  he  fought  the  enemy 
warmly  as  he  approached.  Finally  a  column  was  seen  moving 
rapidly  down  the  road  upon  which  Forrest  was  expected.  Sud 
denly,  as  the  column  drew  -  near,  it  was  discovered  they  were 
Federals  instead  of  friends.  Three  other  heavy  columns  were 
pressing  upon  him.  One  of  them  had  charged  a  portion  of  his 
forces  and  driven  them  over  the  Tullahoma  Bridge.  Finding 
himself  so  completely  surrounded,  Wheeler  started  the  remainder 
of  his  command  out  of  town,  and  remained  with  his  escort,  and 
checked  one  column  which  threatened  their  destruction.  •  Charge 
after  charge  was  made,  and  his  sabre  flashed  over  the  head  of 
many  an  invader.  When  entirely  surrounded,  he  charged  through 
a  column  which  held  his  line  of  retreat,  and  might  have  himself 
retired  without  further  danger.  He  then  saw  that  a  portion  of 
his  forces  had  been  cut  off,  and  the  Federals  held  the  bridge 
over  Duck  River,  which,  if  permitted  without  further  resistance, 
would  have  enabled  them  to  have  pursued  and  overtaken  the 
army  trains.  Regardless  of  his  own  life,  he  quickly  gathered 
some  fifty  or  sixty  brave  spirits,  and  like  a  brave  "  Navarre," 
hurled  himself  upon  the  enemy's  flanks,  driving  them  back  into 
the  town  in  utter  confusion,  opening  the  road  for  the  escape  of 
his  command,  and  placing  the  waggon  train  out  of  danger.  The 
enemy  rallied,  and  charged  again  and  again,  but  Wheeler  met 
them  with  volleys  of  pistol  shots  and  the  clatter  of  sabres,  and 
repulsed  them.  It  was  now  sundown ;  everything  was  across 
Duck  River  in  security,  and  he  was  about  to  make  still  another 
charge,  when  a  staff  officer  came  up  and  pointed  to  his  rear, 
where  the  enemy  had  again  surrounded  him.  Wheeling  quickly, 
he  charged  through  a  column  of  the  enemy  and  plunged  head 
long  into  the  river,  then  swollen  to  a  mighty  torrent,  and  amid  a 
shower  of  bullets,  he  clambered  up  the  opposite  bank.  Of  the 
sixty  who  formed  this  "  forlorn  hope,"  but  thirteen  escaped,  and 
three  of  these  were  badly  wounded.  Gen.  Wheeler  was  dressed 
in  full  uniform,  and  citizens  and  prisoners  taken  early  in  the  fight 
so  described  him  that  the  Federals  easily  recognized  him,  and 
repeatedly  called  to  each  other  to  capture  him.  They  afterwards 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JOSEPH   WHEELER.  690 

4 

told  the  citizens  of  Shelby  ville  that  they  "  had  whipped  him  that 
day,  but  that  he  was  the  bravest  man  in  the  world." 

It  is  not  within  the  limits  and  design  of  this  sketch  to  detail 
all  the  operations  of  Wheeler's  command.  Its  incessant  activity 
would  make  a  long  story,  and  we  can  do  scarcely  more  than 
glance  at  its  remarkable  services  which  followed  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga.  The  most  important  and  brilliant  of  these  was  a 
raid  into  Tennessee,  in  which  Gen.  Wheeler  was  ordered  to  make 
the  circuit  of  Rosecrans'  army.  So  worn  and  jaded  were  his  men 
and  horses  that  his  subordinate  commanders  gave  it  as  their 
opinion  that  it  was  impracticable  to  execute  the  order.  The  com- 
aianders  of  three  brigades  entered  solemn  protests  against  their 
3ommands  being  further  called  upon  in  their  unserviceable  and 
worn  condition.  Cavalry  officers  of  extended  experience  asserted 
;hat  half  of  the  command  would  be  lost  from  inability  to  travel, 
ind  even  predicted  the  entire  command  would  be  sacrificed.  In 
he  face  of  these  discouraging  statements  and  predictions,  Wheeler 
mew  nothing  but  obedience  to  his  orders,  and  the  bugle  notes 

0  "  march  "  were  sounded.    By  a  skillful  ruse  de  guerre,  he  boldly 
Tossed  the  Tennessee  River  at  Cotton  Port,  in  the  face  of  an 
nemy  whose  strength  was  fully  equal  to  his  own,  and  drove  him 
awards  the  Cumberland  mountains,  capturing  nearly  a  hundred 
risoners.     At  dusk  the  column  was  put  in  motion  towards  Wal- 
ron's  Ridge,  in  a  drenching  storm.     About  10  o'clock,  General 
Vheeler  being  in  advance  with  his  staff  and  escort,  encountered 

1  the  extreme  darkness  of  the  night  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  which 
e  charged,  driving  them  into  the  most  perfect  confusion,  wound- 
)g  a  few  of  the  enemy,  and  capturing  ten  prisoners.     With  great 
ifficulty  the  command  marched  up  the  mountain,  and  next  day 
Cached   Sequatchie  Yalley.      By   this   time   the    horses   were 
sceedingly  worn.     He  selected  about  1,300  of  the  best  mounted 
len,  and  took  the  saddle  on  the  2d  October,  1863,  to  scour  the 
alley  in  search  of  his  prey,  while  the  remainder  of  the  command 
as  ordered  to  march  slowly  over  Cumberland  mountain  towards 

IcMinnville. 

Arriving  at  Anderson's  Cross-Roads,  he  came  in  sight  of  his 
rey.  Upon  the  level  valley  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and 
J  the  way  up  the  mountains,  nothing  but  the  white  tops  of  the 
aemy's  waggon-trains  could  be  seen.  This  train  was  guarded  by 


700  LIEUT. -GEN.  JOSEPH  WHEELER. 

a  brigade  of  cavalry  in  front,  one  in  rear,  and  a  brigade  of  infantry 
supported  by  cavalry  was  directly  opposed  to  him.  For  nearly 
two  hours  the  enemy  resisted  stubbornly,  but  by  attacking  each 
column  with  vigour  in  detail,  before  they  had  time  to  concentrate, 
Gen.  Wheeler  succeeded  in  routing  them — thus  capturing  the 
entire  train,  with  more  than  a  thousand  prisoners.  No  accurate 
estimate  of  the  number  of  waggons  and  value  of  the  property 
captured  could  be  made,  as  no  one  person  saw  the  entire  train. 
The  Federal  quartermaster  in  charge  showed  by  his  papers  that 
it  numbered  800  government  waggons,  drawn  by  mules,  loaded 
with  all  kinds  of  quartermaster,  commissary,  ordnance  and 
medical  stores,  besides  which  there  were  a  large  number  of  sut 
lers'  waggons,  and  other  private  vehicles  of  all  kinds — probably  in 
all  about  1,000  waggons.  Many  citizens  who  saw  the  train  esti 
mated  the  number  at  between  2,000  and  3,000  waggons.  Some  of 
the  enemy's  newspapers  represented  it  as  the  richest  train  cap 
tured  during  the  war. 

From  McMinnville  Gen.  Wheeler  moved  towards  the  Nash 
ville  railroad.  The  enemy  at  Murfreesboro  having  been  strongly 
reinforced,  he  deemed  it  unwise  to  attack  him  in  his  fortifications. 
After  capturing  a  strong  stockade,  with  its  garrison,  in  the 
suburbs,  destroying  the  large  railroad  bridge  over  Stono  River, 
and  tearing  up  several  miles  of  the  track,  he  moved  down  the 
railroad  to  Wartrace,  capturing  two  trains  with  supplies  at 
Christiana  and  Fosters ville,  tearing  up  many  miles  of  the  track, 
burning  all  the  railroad  bridges,  including  the  large  ones  near 
and  just  below  Wartrace  and  over  Duck  River,  and  capturing 
the  stockades,  with  the  garrisons.  Thence  he  marched  on  Shelby- 
ville,  where  he  captured  and  destroyed  a  large  quantity  of 
stores,  the  garrison  having  beat  a  hasty  retreat  the  night  previous. 
The  garrison  of  Columbia  also  retreated  rapidly  towards  Nashville, 
after  destroying  their  stores. 

The  designs  of  the  expedition  had  been  accomplished  with 
far  greater  success  than  the  most  sanguine  had  expected.  Gen. 
Wheeler  commenced  his  return  march  towards  the  Tennessee 
River.  Rosecrans'  entire  cavalry  force,  not  less  than  13,000  men, 
had  been  warmly  fighting  him  in  rear  and  on  the  flanks  for  four 
days,  and  had  been  continually  repulsed  with  great  loss.  Con 
testing  his  way  with  steady  courage  and  unremitting  toil,  Gen. 


LIEUT. -GEN.   JOSEPH  WHEELER.  701 

Wheeler  continued  his  withdrawal  to  the  Tennessee  River,  and 
crossed  it  at  Muscle  Shoals,  the  enemy  appearing  on  the  northern 
bank  as  he  reached  the  southern.  For  forty  successive  days  he 
had  been  engaged  with  the  enemy ;  he  had  obtained  a  victory 
in  every  fight,  destroyed  a  vast  amount  of  property,  and,  most 
important  circumstance  of  all,  he  had  drawn  from  Rosecrans  all 
of  his  cavalry.  Indeed,  it  was  this  forced  absence  of  the  enemy's 
cavalry,to  which  may  be  attributed  the  saving  of  the  Confeder 
ate  army  from  utter  destruction,  when  it  was  defeated  at  Mis> 
sionary  Ridge,  and  hard  pressed  by  Hooker's  infantry  in  its  rear. 
In  his  campaign  in  East  Tennessee  with  Longstreet ;  in  his 
engagements  on  Johnston's  retreat  to  Atlanta  ;  in  his  part  in  the 
first  eight  days  in  the  siege  of  Knoxville,  and  in  the  battles  of 
Ringgold,  Rocky  Face,  Dalton,  Resaca,  Cassville,  New  Hope, 
Kennesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  and  Decatur,  Gen. 
Wheeler  was  constantly  engaged  in  fighting  superiour  forces  of 
the  enemy,  and  with  such  success,  that  it  was  remarked  that  the 
irmy  never  met  a  reverse,  or  was  otherwise  than  successful  in 
ts  undertakings,  while  he  commanded  its  cavalry.  When  At- 
anta  was  wrested  from  the  Confederates,  Wheeler  was  in  Ten- 
lessee ;  and  during  Hood's  disastrous  campaign  in  Tennessee, 
Wheeler  was  fighting  Sherman  in  Georgia. 

In  the  latter  part  of  January,  1865,  Sherman  commenced  his 
narch  towards  Augusta,  which  march  Gen.  Wheeler  contested, 
tep  by  step,  daily  inflicting  heavy  losses  upon  the  enemy.  Ev- 
a*y  bridge  was  burned,  and  deadly  volleys  poured  into  Sherman's 
lolumns  as  they  attempted  to  force  passages  of  streams  by  ford- 
ng.  By  this  means,  the  progress  of  the  enemy  was  slow,  and 
hus  ample  time  was  given  for  the  defence  of  Augusta  and  other 
,ities.  On  February  10th  and  llth,  Gen.  Wheeler  had  a  severe 
Ight  with  the  enemy  at  Aiken,  driving  back  vastly  superiour 
umbers  in  the  greatest  confusion,  capturing,  killing  and  wound- 
Qg  over  two  hundred.  By  these  victories,  not  only  were 
Uigusta  and  Aiken  saved,  but  also  the  vast  manufactories  in 
Iraniteville  and  its  vicinity.  At  Columbia,  Gen.  Beauregard 
ad  assumed  command,  with  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  Teunes- 
3e  to  defend  it.  Wheeler  fought  the  enemy  desperately  on  his 
pproach  to  the  city,  holding  him  for  two  days  beyond  gun-shot 
inge.  After  the  enemy's  capture  of  Columbia,  he  continued  to 


702  LIEUT.-GEN.   JOSEPH   WHEELER. 

harass  him  as  he  moved  through  the  Carolinas,  daily  taking  large 
numbers  of  prisoners.  At  Averysboro,  Gen.  Hardee  had  become 
engaged  with  a  largely  superiour  force  of  the  enemy.  Gen. 
Wheeler,  hearing  the  guns,  hastened  to  his  relief,  reaching  the 
field  just  in  time  to  check  a  force  of  the  enemy  which  was  turn 
ing  his  flank,  and  would  have  caused  great  disaster  to  his  army. 
At  Beltonville,  he  held  the  left  of  the  Confederate  army,  and  did 
some  heavy  fighting  during  the  two  days  of  the  engagement. 
By  a  gallant  charge  here  he  restored  the  Confederate  line  of 
retreat  or  communication,  and  held  the  enemy  at  bay  until  John 
ston  got  across  Mill  Creek.  After  this  battle,  Sherman  moved 
with  his  army  to  Goldsboro,  thus  ending  the  campaign  through 
the  Carolinas,  during  which,  Gren.  Wheeler  captured  or  placed 
kors  de  combat  more  than  five  thousand  of  the  enemy  ;  was  vic 
tor  in  a  number  of  engagements,  and  saved  from  the  enemy's 
ravages,  Augusta  and  several  smaller  cities. 

Thus  ended  hostile  conflicts  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
During  the  spring,  Wheeler  was  appointed  by  the  President, 
Lieutenant-General  of  Cavalry,  he  having  held  a  command 
which  entitled  him  to  that  rank  continuously  for  two  years  and 
a  half,  a  longer  period  than  any  other  officer  of  the  Confederate 
army  had  retained  continuous  command  of  an  army  corps  in  the 
field.  Upon  the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  Army,  Gen. 
Wheeler  issued  the  following  farewell  address — 

HEADQUARTERS  CAVALRY  CORPS,  ) 
April  29th,  1865.  \ 

"  Gallant  Comrades: 

"  You  have  fought  your  battles,  your  task  is  done.  .During  a 
four  years'  struggle  for  liberty,  you  have  exhibited  courage, 
fortitude  and  devotion  ;  you  are  the  sole  victors  of  more  than  two 
hundred  severely  contested  fields  ;  you  have  participated  in  more 
than  a  thousand  successful  conflicts  of  arms  ;  you  are  Heroes, 
Veterans,  Patriots;  the  bones  of  your  comrades  mark  battle 
fields  upon  the  soil  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi ; 
you  have  done  all  that  human  exertion  could  accomplish.  In 
bidding  you  adieu,  I  desire  to  tender  my  thanks  for  your  gallan 
try  in  battle,  your  fortitude  under  suffering,  and  your  devotion 


LIEUT.-GEN.   JOSEPH  WHEELER.  703 

at  all  times  to  the  holy  cause  you  have  done  so  much  to  main 
tain.  I  desire  also  to  express  my  gratitude  for  the  kind  feeling 
you  have  seen  fit  to  extend  towards  myself,  and  to  invoke  upon 
you  the  blessings  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  to  whom  we  must 
always  look  for  support  in  the  hour  of  distress. 

"  Brethren  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  Comrades  in  arms,  I  bid 
you  farewell! 

u  J.  WHEELER." 

Gen.  Wheeler  had  commanded  in  more  than  two  hundred 

actions,  many  of  which,  considering  the  numbers  engaged,  were 

the  most  severe  and  successful  recorded  in  the  history  of  cavalry. 

In  each  case  where  his  strength  had  been  equal,  and  in  many 

cases  where  it  was  far  inferiour  to  that  by  which  he  was  opposed, 

he   had  entirely  overcome  the  enemy,  capturing  or  dispersing 

him.     In  many  cases,  Gen.  Wheeler  had  been  called  upon  to 

engage  forces  many  times  his  superiour,  in  order  to  retard  the 

snemy  while  covering  retreats,  or  to  create  a  diversion  while 

important  movements  were  carried  on  in  other  localities.     Oper- 

itions  of  this  character,  which  are  the  most  difficult  the  service 

presents,  had  been  conducted  by  Gen.  Wheeler  with  such  consum- 

nate  skill,  that  not  only  had  he  invariably  accomplished  the 

lesired  object,  but  in  almost  every  case  inflicted  a  loss  upon  the 

memy  far  heavier  than  that  which  he  himself  sustained. 

Such  was  the  career  of  a  man  whose  promotion,  based  upon 
n's  own  merits,  without  having  influence  or  friends,  presents  a 
apidity  of  military  advancement  with  scarcely  a  parallel  in 
American  or  European  armies.  A  Cadet  at  seventeen,  a  Second 
^ieutenant  at  twenty-two,  a  First  Lieutenant  at  twenty-three,  a 
Colonel  at  twenty-four,  a  Brigadier-General  at  twenty-five,  a 
lajor-General  at  twenty  six,  a  Corps  Commander  at  twenty-six, 
Lieutenant  General  at  twenty-eight. 

Gen.  Wheeler  had  sixteen  horses  killed  under  him  in  the  war, 
nd  a  great  number  wounded.  His  saddle  equipments  and 
lothes  had  also  been  frequently  struck  by  the  missiles  of  the 
lemy.  He  had  himself  been  three  times  slightly  wounded,  and 
ace  painfully.  He  had  had  thirty-two  staff  officers,  or  acting 
laff  officers,  killed  or  wounded.  In  almost  every  case  when  his 
aff  officers  had  been  wounded,  they  were  immediately  by  his 


704  LIEUT. -GEN.   JOSEPH  WHEELEK. 

side,  as  they  sank  from  their  horses  to  the  ground.  Although 
small  in  stature,  Gen.  Wheeler  is  in  appearance,  "  every  inch  a 
soldier,"  and  bears  a  head  which,  as  termed  by  the  phrenologists, 
is  "  admirably  fixed."  His  eye  is  the  very  impersonation  of  that 
quick  conception,  heroic  valour  and  dauntless  courage,  which 
stamped  him  as  one  of  the  great  leaders  of  the  war,  and  which 
explains  how  he  manoeuvred  his  command  under  a  hail-storm  of 
the  missiles  of  death,  regarding  them  no  more  than  leaves  wafted 
by  the  wind- — or  how  he  led  his  squadrons  to  the  charge,  crashing 
into  the  enemy's  ranks,  and  perfectly  unconscious  of  the  carnage 
and  death  by  which  he  was  everywhere  surrounded.  The  con 
tour  of  his  face  and  the  expression  of  his  countenance  exhibit 
that  cool  judgment,  calm  though tfuln ess,  and  quiet  dignity,  which 
mark  his  career  as  a  soldier  and  gentleman.  The  arduous  duties 
he  performed,  which  his  large  cavalry  command  devolved  upon 
him,  only  strengthened  his  energy  and  endurance.  His  soldiers 
had  learned  to  love  and  admire  in  him  all  those  noble  traits,  which, 
as  the  distinguished  author  of  Charles  XII.  says,  "  stamp  him  as 
the  steel-clad  warrior,  with  the  heart  of  the  patriot  and  sympa 
thizing  man  beating  in  every  action." 

In  scientific  and  literary  attainments,  Gen.  Wheeler  stands 
among  the  most  learned  men  of  our  country.  In  military  infor 
mation  he  is  most  thoroughly  read.  His  system  of  "  Cavalry 
Tactics  "  is  pronounced  by  cavalry  officers  to  be  the  most  com 
plete  and  perfect  work  yet  published.  His  leisure  moments  are 
spent  in  the  study  of  his  profession.  A  work  he  is  reported  to 
be  now  preparing,  showing  the  part  taken  by  cavalry  in  many 
of  the  great  battles  of  the  world,  is  said  to  show  great  research 
and  profound  knowledge. 


BRIG.-GEK  FELIX  K.  ZOLLICOFFER. 


CHAPTER  LXV. 

His  early  life  as  a  politician  and  member  of  Congress. — Appointed  a  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  in  the  Confederate  States  Army. — His  leniency  to  the  people  of  East  Ten 
nessee. — At  Cumberland  Gap. — Letter  to  Governor  Magoffin. — The  "  wild-cat 
stampede." — Killed  in  the  battle  of  Mill  Springs. — How  the  enemy  insulted  his 
corpse. — His  character. — Extraordinary  public  regret  of  his  death. 

THE  record  of  Gen.  Felix  K.  Zollicoffer  in  the  war  was  brief; 
ae  fell  in  the  first  year  of  the  contest ;  but  at  this  period  of  the  war 
,here  had  been  no  death  that  inspired  a  profounder  sorrow,  for  he 
«vas  a  man  peculiarly  beloved,  one  who  had  a  wide  range  of  vir- 
-ues,  and  a  popularity  extending  over  the  space  of  many  years. 

He  was  born  in  Tennessee.  He  was  of  Swiss  descent,  but  in 
vhat  degree  the  writer  is  unable  to  state.  His  early  education  was 
imited,  and  he  was  thrown  with  but  little  preparation  upon  his 
»wn  resources.  In  his  boyhood,  he  was  employed  in  a  printing- 
•ffice,  where  he  soon  became  proficient,  and  was  advanced  to  the 
ditorship  of  a  political  newspaper.  In  1835,  he  was  editor  of  the 
Columbia  Observer ;  and  afterwards  was  editor  of  the  Nashville 
Banner,  which  paper  he  conducted  with  ability  and  success  as  an 
xponent  of  the  Whig  creed  of  that  day.  Here  he  earned  for  him- 
3lf  considerable  celebrity  as  a  leader  and  partisan.  In  1841,  he 
ras  appointed  Attorney-General  of  the  State.  In  the  same  year 
e  was  elected  Comptroller  by  the  Legislature,  and  in  1849  he  was 
iected  to  the  State  Senate.  In  1853,  he  was  sent  to  Congress  from 
le  Nashville  district,  which  position  he  continued  to  hold  by 
jveral  re-elections,  acquiring  much  popular  distinction  as  a  debater 
a  the  leading  issues  of  the  day.  In  the  arena  of  politics  he  was 
.smarkable  for  the  array  of  facts  which  he  brought  to  bear  upon 

45 


706  BRIG.-GEN.   FELIX   K.   ZOLLICOFFER. 

all  the  subjects  he  discussed ;  and  in  this  respect,  he  was  a  very 
formidable  and  dangerous  opponent.  He  was  not  eloquent,  but  he 
was  powerful  in  amassing  and  wielding  figures  and  statistics,  and 
he  often  vanquished  superiour  rhetoric  by  superiour  facts. 

In  the  time  of  Zollicoffer,  to  be  a  Whig  in  Tennessee  was  to  be 
for  the  Union.  He  shared  this  view  of  his  party,  until  the  excite 
ment  arose  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  question,  when  he  began  gra 
dually  to  coincide  with  the  extreme  Southern  view  of  the  difficul 
ties  then  besetting  the  country.  Meanwhile,  he  had  taken  an 
earnest  and  prominent  part  in  advocating  a  reform  of  the  naturali 
zation  policy,  believing  that  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  in  a 
great  measure,  depended  upon  a  more  restricted  system  with  regard 
to  foreigners.  In  1860,  he  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  Bell 
and  Everett  Presidential  ticket,  and  so  active  was  his  interest  in 
its  success  that  he  canvassed  the  State  of  New  York  for  it,  declar 
ing  his  conviction  that  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  would 
result  in  a  sectional  war.  Having  done  all  he  could  to  avert  the 
catastrophe,  according  to  his  theory,  and  regarding  the  weakness 
of  the  South  in  the  face  of  impending  hostilities,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to  gird  on  his  sword,  and  risk  all  for  his  native  land.  Public  opinion 
had  already  designated  him  as  a  conspicuous  actor  in  the  new 
drama. 

He  took  part  in  the  first  stages  of  the  war,  assisted  in  the  organi 
zation  of  the  provisional  army  of  Tennessee,  and  was  appointed 
by  the  Governor  a  Brigadier-General.  This  grade  was  afterwards 
confirmed  by  the  Confederate  Government,  and  he  was  assigned  a 
command  in  the  eastern  part  of  Tennessee.  In  his  new  sphere  of 
duty  he  was  distinguished  by  the  same  patience,  industry  and 
moderation  which  had  marked  his  former  life.  He  had  many 
difficulties  to  encounter,  especially  in  the  strong  sentiment  of  oppo 
sition  to  the  Southern  movement,  which  obtained  in  that  part  of  the 
State  where  he  commanded.  But  it  is  historical  now  that  he  acted 
with  great  justice  and  moderation.  The  following  order  was 
issued  on  his  taking  command,  and  in  the  lenient  spirit  of  it  he 
continued  to  act,  despite  of  its  abuse  by  the  enemy: 

"  BRIGADE  HEADQUARTERS,  ? 
"  KNOXYTLLE,  August  18,  1861.       f 

"  The  General  in  command,  gratified  at  the  preservation  of 
peace  and  the  rapidly  increasing  evidences  of  confidence  and  good- 


BRIG.-GEN.   FELIX  K.   ZOLLICOFFER.  707 

will  among  the  people  of  East  Tennessee,  strictly  enjoins  upon  those 
under  his  command  the  most  scrupulous  regard  for  the  personal 
and  property  rights  of  all  the  inhabitants.  No  act  or  word  will  be 
tolerated  calculated  to  alarm  or  irritate  those  who,  though  hereto 
fore  advocating  the  National  Union,  now  acquiesce  in  the  decision 
of  the  State  and  submit  to  the  authority  of  the  Government  of  the 
Confederate  States.  Such  of  the  people  as  have  fled  from  their 
homes,  under  an  apprehension  of  danger,  will  be  encouraged  to 
return,  with  an  assurance  of  entire  security  to  all  who  wish  to  pur 
sue  their  respective  avocations  peacefully  at  home.  The  Confede 
rate  Government  seeks  not  to  enter  into  questions  of  difference  of 
political  opinions  heretofore  existing,  but  to  maintain  the  indepen 
dence  it  has  asserted  by  the  united  feeling  and  action  of  all  its 
citizens.  Colonels  of  regiments  and  Captains  of  companies  will  be 
held  responsible  for  a  strict  observance  of  this  injunction  within 
their  respective  commands,  and  each  officer  commanding  a  separate 
detachment  or  post  will  have  this  order  read  to  his  command." 

No  one  can  lay  at  the  door  of  this  just  and  humane  commander, 
the  responsibility  for  any  outrages  upon  person  or  property.  But 
bime  and  emergency  pressed,  and  he  was  precipitated  forward  to 
Cumberland  Gap,  and  into  Kentucky.  On  the  14th  September, 
1861,  he  wrote  to  Gov.  Magoffin  as  follows:  "The  safety  of  Ten- 
lessee  requiring,  I  occupy  the  mountain  passes  at  Cumberland,  and 
;he  three  long  mountains  in  Kentucky.  For  weeks  I  have  known 
,hat  the  Federal  commander  at  Hoskins'  Cross  Roads  was  threaten- 
ng  the  invasion  of  East  Tennessee,  and  ruthlessly  urging  our  peo 
ple  to  destroy  our  railroad  and  bridges.  I  postponed  this  precau 
tionary  movement  until  the  despotic  government  at  Washington, 
;efusing  to  recognize  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky,  has  established 
brmidable  camps  in  the  centre  and  other  parts  of  the  State,  with 
he  view  first  to  subjugate  your  gallant  State  and  then  ourselves. 
*  *  *  If  the  Federals  will  now  withdraw  from  their  menac- 
ng  position,  the  force  under  my  command  shall  be  immediately 
vithdrawn." 

Finding  this  proposition  scoffed,  Gen.  Zollicoffer  advanced  a 
>ortion  of  his  command  to  Barboursville,  and  dispersed  a  Federal 
amp  there  without  any  serious  struggle.  Thence  he  moved  in  the 
.irection  of  Somerset,  causing  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Schoepff,  the  Fede- 


708  BRIG.-GEN.   FELIX  K.  ZOLLICOFFER. 

ral  commander,  which  from  its  frantic  disorder  took  the  name  of 
"the  wild  cat  stampede."  In  January,  1862,  his  command  (about 
4,000  men)  was  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Cumberland,  near  Mill 
Springs,  Maj.-Gen.  Crittenden  ranking  him  ;  and  here  occurred  the 
unfortunate  battle  of  the  19th  January,  in  which  this  small  force 
was  thrown  against  enormous  odds,  and  suffered  a  defeat  which 
broke  the  right  of  the  Confederate  defensive  line  in  Kentucky.  It 
was  a  sad  affair,  and  for  Zollicoffer  a  short  record — a  single  cam 
paign,  a  single  battle,  and  then  death.  In  the  attack  he  commanded 
the  first  column,  consisting  of  four  regiments  of  infantry  and  four 
guns.  The  day  at  first  went  well  for  the  Confederates,  and  Zolli- 
coffer's  command  was  ascending  a  hill  where  the  enemy  had  col 
lected  his  strength,  when  the  General  fell,  to  the  consternation 
and  dismay  of  his  troops,  whose  disorder  and  rout  were  then  soon 
completed. 

He  fell  near  the  camp  of  the  enemy.  As  he  rode  forward,  as 
he  believed,  to  victory,  he  came  upon  a  regiment  of  Kentuckians, 
commanded  by  Col.  Fry,  concealed  in  a  piece  of  woods.  The  first 
intimation  he  had  of  his  dangerous  position  was  received  when  it 
was  too  late.  Although  a  rubber  overcoat  concealed  his  uniform, 
his  features  were  recognized,  and  a  man  called  out  "  There's  Zolli 
coffer,  kill  him."  At  that  moment  an  aide  to  Gen.  Zollicoffer 
drew  his  revolver  and  fired,  killing  the  person  who  first  recognized 
the  General.  Col.  Fry  was  within  a  short  distance  of  Zollicoffer, 
and  the  latter,  hoping  yet  to  deceive  the  enemy,  rode  within  a  few 
feet  of  him  and  said,  "  You  are  not  going  to  fight  your  friends,  are 
you  ?  "  pointing  to  a  Mississippi  regiment  in  the  distance.  The 
reply  was  a  pistol  shot  from  the  Colonel  and  a  volley  of  musket 
balls,  and  Gen.  Zollicoffer  fell  from  his  horse  a  mangled  corpse. 

His  body  was  treated  with  a  brutal  curiosity,  at  the  bare  recital 
of  which  the  blood  runs  cold.  A  correspondent  of  a  Northern 
newspaper  says  that  as  it  lay  upon  the  ground  it  was  surrounded 
by  Federal  soldiers,  when  an  officer  rode  up  exclaiming  to  the 
men :  "  What  in  h — 1  are  you  doing  here  ?  Why  are  you  not  at 
the  stretchers  bringing  in  the  wounded  ?  "  "  This  is  Zollicoffer," 
said  a  soldier.  "  I  know  that,"  replied  the  officer,  "  he  is  dead,  and 
could  not  have  been  sent  to  h— 1  by  a  better  man,  for  Col.  Fry 
shot  him — leave  him  and  go  to  your  work."  Another  correspon 
dent  indulged  in  the  following  survey  of  the  corpse:  "It  lay  by 


BRIG.-GEN.   FELIX  K.   ZOLLICOFFER.  Y09 

the  side  of  the  road  along  which  we  all  passed,  and  all  had  a  fair 
view  of  what  was  once  Zollicoffer.  I  saw  the  lifeless  body  as  it 
lay  in  a  fence-corner  by  the  side  of  the  road,  but  Zollicoffer  him 
self  is  now  in  hell.  Hell  is  a  fitting  abode  for  all  such  arch-traitors. 
May  all  the  other  chief  conspirators  in  this  rebellion  soon  share 
Zollicoffer's  fate — shot  dead  through  the  instrumentality  of  an 
avenging  God — their  spirits  sent  straightway  to  hell,  and  their  life 
less  bodies  lie  in  a  fence-corner,  their  faces  spattered  with  mud,  and 
their  garments  divided  up,  and  even  the  hair  of  their  head  cut 
off  and  pulled  out  by  an  unsympathizing  soldiery  of  a  conquering 
army,  battling  for  the  right."  Comment  is  unnecessary,  further 
than  to  say  that  it  is  seldom  the  death  of  a  brave  enemy  has  been 
thus  viewed  by  the  worst  savages,  or  by  the  filthiest  cowards,  or, 
in  brief,  by  any  form  of  men,  short  of  incarnate  devils. 

There  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  Gen.  Zollicoffer,  in  agreeing 
to  the  experiment  of  attack  at  Mill  Springs,  was  imposed  upon  by 
spies,  and  that  the  information  he  acted  on,  as  to  the  force  and 
position  of  the  enemy,  was  designedly  false.  While  he  was  as 
brave  a  man  as  ever  lived,  he  was  eminently  cautious  and  circum 
spect.  He  was  slow  to  form  his  conclusions,  deliberate  in  all  his 
purposes,  as  well  as  firm  and  tenacious  in  following  up  what  he 
had  resolved  upon.  Those  who  knew  him  best  have  long  per 
sisted  in  the  belief  that  he  would  never  have  made  the  movement 
he  did  upon  the  camps  of  the  enemy,  unless  upon  apparent  facts 
far  more  satisfactory  than  the  sequel  would  seern  to  warrant. 

G-en.  Zollicoffer,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  must  have  been 
between  forty- five  and  fifty  years  of  age.  He  was  a  man  of 
unblemished  moral  character.  He  was  amiable  and  modest  in  his 
deportment,  but  quick  as  lightning  in  resenting  an  insult  or  a  reflec- 
,tion  upon  his  honour.  No  man  possessed  a  cooler  courage  or 
superiour  perseverance.  In  his  mental  characteristics  he  was  not 
brilliant ;  he  had  but  little  imagination,  and  never  aspired  to  orna 
ment  in  his  literary  style.  But  he  was  untiring  in  his  application ; 
he  took  clear  and  solid  views  of  all  subjects;  and  he  would 
undoubtedly  have  become  eminent  in  the  war  as  a  division  com 
mander,  if  courage,  firmness,  industry  and  high  moral  conduct 
could  have  achieved  the  distinction.  His  life  was  without  a  stain, 
and  his  death  was  heroic.  Many  public  honours  were  paid  to  his 
memory  in  the  South ;  the  Provisional  Government  of  Kentucky 


710  BRIG.-GEN.   FELIX  K.   ZOLLICOFFER. 

named  one  of  the  counties  of  the  State  in  honour  of  him ;  and  a 
meeting  in  New  Orleans,  called  to  testify  the  public  sorrow  at  his 
death,  declared  that  "  no  man,  since  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson,  enjoyed 
so  completely  the  confidence  and  undivided  esteem  of  the  people 
of  Tennessee." 


LIEUT.-GEK  ALEXANDER  P.  STEWART. 


CHAPTER  LXVI. 

Fame  as  a  scholar  and  instructor.— His  different  Professorships. — First  services  in 
the  Confederate  States  Army. — Yarious  commands  in  the  West. — Memorable 
action  of  his  division  at  New  Hope  Church. — A  compliment  from  Gen.  Johnston. — 
A  review  of  his  character. — A  tribute  from  one  of  the  most  distinguished  schol 
ars  of  the  South. 

AT  the  close  of  the  war,  Alexander  P.  Stewart  was  ranking 
officer  from  the  State  of  Tennessee.  He  was  born  2d  October, 
1821,  at  Rogersville,  in  East  Tennessee.  His  parents  were  poor, 
but  remarkable  for  their  piety  and  zeal  in  the  Methodist  Church ; 
his  father,  descended  from  a  Scotch-Irish  family  that  had  settled 
in  Delaware,  was  noted  for  his  integrity,  and  still  lives,  in  his 
seventy-sixth  year,  residing  at  Winchester,  Tennessee,  honoured  by 
all  who  know  him,  and  crowned  with  all  the  satisfactions  of  a  well- 
spent  life. 

His  family  removed  to  Franklin  county,  Middle  Tennessee, 
when  the  subject  of  our  sketch  was  eight  or  ten  years  old.  He 
soon  showed  an  aptitude  for  books,  and  was  put  to  school,  and 
liberally  educated  by  an  uncle,  the  late  Mr.  Benjamin  Decherd,  of 
Winchester,  Tennessee.  In  1838,  he  procured,  through  Hon. 
Hopkins  L.  Turney,  an  appointment  to  West  Point,  where  he 
graduated  in  1842,  in  the  same  class  with  Longstreet,  D.  H.  Hill, 
Van  Dorn,  G.  W.  Smith,  R.  H.  Anderson,  McLaws,  Rosecrans, 
and  Pope.  Commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Artil 
lery,  he  was  stationed  one  year  at  Fort  Macon,  in  North  Carolina. 
He  was  then  ordered  back  to  West  Point  as  Assistant  Professor 
of  Mathematics,  and  fulfilled  the  duties  of  the  instructor's  chair 
for  two  years.  In  1845,  he  resigned  from  the  army  and  married 


712  LIEUT.-GEN.   ALEXANDER  P.    STEWART. 

Miss  Harriet  Chase,  of  Ohio,  a  connection  of  the  Spalding  family, 
and  a  niece  of  Judge  Rufus  P.  Spalding,  present  member  of  Con 
gress  from  the  Cleveland  district  of  Ohio.  After  this  event  in  his 
life,  he  settled  in  Lebanon,  Tennessee,  and  was  elected  to  a  pro 
fessorship  in  Cumberland  University.  He  was  connected  with 
this  institution  of  learning  from  1845  to  1861,  excepting  three 
years,  in  one  of  which  he  occupied  a  chair  in  the  Nashville  Uni 
versity,  and  in  two  others,  from  1854  to  1856,  had  charge  of  a 
female  school  at  Lebanon.  In  1850,  he  was  offered,  and  declined 
the  professorship  in  the  Virginia  Military  Institute,  afterwards  filled 
by  Stonewall  Jackson.  In  1854,  he  declined  the  professorship  in 
the  Mississippi  University,  formerly  filled  by  Professor  Bledsoe, 
and  in  the  following  year  he  was  urged  to  accept  a  chair  in  the 
"Washington  University,  at  St.  Louis,  but  refused  to  leave  his  hon 
oured  post  as  instructor  in  Tennessee.  The  number  and  variety 
of  these  calls  attest  the  high  scholarly  worth  of  the  man,  and  the 
extent  of  his  fame  in  the  South. 

When  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  sounded  the  dread 
summons  of  war,  Professor  Stewart,  recollecting  his  military  edu 
cation,  offered  his  services  to  Gov.  Harris,  and  was  at  once  employ- 
ed  by  the  Military  Board  at  Nashville,  in  making  army  contracts, 
establishing  camps,  and  giving,  in  various  ways,  to  the  rising  war- 
spirit  of  the  land  the  benefit  of  his  military  experience.  In  May, 
1861,  he  was  appointed  Major  of  the  the  Tennessee  artillery  corps. 
He  had  been  offered  command  of  the  7th  regiment  of  infantry 
(Hatton's),  but  he  disclaimed  all  thought  of  ambition  and  considera 
tions  of  rank,  and  was  directed  by  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  artillery 
arm  of  the  service,  in  which  he  considered  himself  most  proficient. 
His  command  was  at  first  stationed  at  Kandolph,  on  the  Mississippi 
Eiver,  and  in  August,  1861,  was  sent  to  Island  No.  10,  and  com 
menced  to  fortify  that  position.  Thence  it  was  ordered  to  Colum 
bus,  Kentucky,  after  that  place  was  occupied  by  Gen.  Polk ;  and 
in  the  battle  of  Belmont  which  ensued,  Stewart  had  command  of 
all  the  heavy  artillery,  and  did  distinguished  service  in  turning 
upon  Gen.  Grant's  column  the  heavy  rifled  gun  (the  Lady  Polk), 
from  the  fort  on  the  bluff,  and  arresting  his  career  of  victory  at  the 
time  he  had  driven  the  Confederate  infantry  to  the  river. 

The  commission  of  Stewart  as  Brigadier-General,  was  dated  the 
8th  November,  1861.  It,  as  well  as  all  the  promotions  he  subsequent- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   ALEXANDER  P.   STEWART.  713 

ly  obtained,  was  unsolicited  by  him ;  he  never  visited  the  Confede 
rate  capital,  he  was  thoroughly  innocent  of  all  political  intermedia 
tions,  and  the  official  honours  bestowed  upon  his  career  were  never 
sought  by  him,  and  were  valued  only  as  approving  testimonies  to  his 
conscience  in  the  performance  of  his  duty.  On  the  evacuation  of 
Columbus  in  1862,  he  was  sent  to  Island  No.  10,  to  report  to  Maj.- 
Gen.  McCown,  and  was  placed  by  him  in  command  at  New  Madrid. 
The  defence  of  this  island  was  an  extraordinary  one,  and  has  been 
recited  in  all  the  histories  of  the  war.  Gen.  Pope  came  down  the 
river  with  more  than  30,000  troops;  the  effective  force  of  the  Con 
federates  was  2,700  men  in  two  little  forts  a  mile  apart,  while  on 
the  water  they  had  nothing  but  the  sham  gun-boats  of  Commodore 
Hollins.  The  evacuation  of  New  Madrid  was  superintended  by 
Gen.  Stewart,  and  was  the  only  successful  incident  for  the  Con 
federates,  as  finally  they  had  to  surrender  the  island,  but  not  until 
they  had  held  at  bay  for  ten  days,  a  force  that  should  have  instantly 
overwhelmed  them. 

At  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  Gen.  Stewart  commanded  a  brigade  in 
Clark's  division  of  Folk's  corps.  Gen.  Clark  being  wounded,  he 
took  command  of  this  division,  and  fought  it  with  skill- and  vigour. 
In  Gen.  Bragg's  Kentucky  campaign,  he  commanded  a  brigade  in 
Cheatham's  division — one  of  the  three  brigades  that  bore  the  brunt 
of  battle  at  Perry  ville.  These  three  brigades  (Donelson's,  Stewart's 
and  Maney's),  fought  on  the  extreme  right,  and  lost  1,500  men  out 
of  the  total  loss  of  twenty -one  or  twenty-two  hundred  sustained  by 
the  Confederates  on  that  field.  Gen.  Stewart  commanded  the  same 
tried  brigade  in  the  battle  of  Murfreesboro. 

In  the  subsequent  chequered  history  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee, 
the  name  of  Gen.  Stewart  constantly  occurs,  with  increasing  fame, 
and  shows  brilliantly  even  in  some  of  its  stories  of  disaster.  In 
June,  1863,  he  was  commissioned  a  Major-General,  and  assigned  to 
the  command  of  a  division  in  Hardee's  corps.  At  Hoover's  Gap, 
where  the  advancing  enemy  was  desperately  held  until  Gen. 
Bragg  could  retire  his  forces  towards  Tullahoma,  he  was  the  superi- 
our  Confederate  officer,  and  seconded  by  the  brave  Bate  and  his 
other  brigade  commanders,  he  achieved  a  success  that  proved  vital 
in  its  consequences.  Before  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  he  rein 
forced  Buckner,  and  operated  in  East  Tennessee. 

After  this  battle,  the  Army  of  Tennessee  was  reorganized.    To 


714  LIEUT.-GEN.   ALEXANDER  P.   STEWART. 

Gen.  Stewart's  command  were  assigned  Clayton's,  Gibson's, 
Stovall's  and  Strahl's  brigades;  and  his  division  thus  composed 
was  put  in  Breckinridge's  corps,  and  fought  on  the  extreme  left  on 
Missionary  Kidge.  When  the  Confederate  lines  were  broken  there, 
Gen.  Stewart  was  ordered  by  Breckinridge  to  take  command  at  the 
bridge  over  the  Chickamauga,  and  here  he  saved  much  of  the  dis 
astrous  day,  restoring  order,  collecting  the  troops,  passing  them 
over  the  bridge,  and  then  burning  it  in  the  face  of  the  enemy. 

While  the  Confederate  army  recovered  at  Dalton,  Gen.  Stewart 
occupied  Mill  Creek  Gap  in  Kocky  Face,  and  sustained  the  brunt 
of  Gen.  Thomas'  attack  in  February,  1864.  On  the  repulse  of  the 
Federals,  he  fortified  the  gap  and  mountain,  constructing  lines  of 
small  advanced  works  for  skirmishers ;  and  it  has  been  remarked 
that  this  experiment  of  Gen.  Stewart  led  to  the  general  custom  in 
the  Army  of  Tennessee,  during  the  campaign  under  Johnston,  of 
intrenching  the  skirmish  line.  In  the  famous  retreat  through  North 
Georgia,  and  especially  at  Eesaca,  Stewart's  division  was  conspi 
cuous,  and  did  some  of  the  hardest  and  most  successful  service  of 
the  campaign.  At  New  Hope  Church,  he  held  the  centre  of  Hood's 
corps,  and  gave  the  enemy  a  terrible  lesson,  fighting  the  whole  of 
Hooker's  corps,  and  inflicting  upon  it  a  loss  of  nearly  3,000  men. 
This  fight  was  made  by  Stewart's  division  alone ;  his  command 
was  without  intrenchments,  other  than  a  few  logs  hastily  piled  up; 
the  Commanding  General,  in  great  anxiety,  sent  several  brigades 
to  report  to  him  ;  but  he  did  not  use  the  reinforcements,  and  with 
the  loss  of  not  more  than  400  men,  he  sustained  the  enemy's  entire 
attack,  and  obtained  the  first  decided  success  on  the  Confederate 
side  since  the  campaign  had  opened.  This  was  perhaps  the  most 
brilliant  event  in  Gen.  Stewart's  military  career.  His  personal 
gallantry  on  the  field  was  marked  and  admirable ;  during  the 
whole  fight  he  rode  up  and  down  the  line  encouraging  his  troops, 
and  to  their  frequent  entreaties  to  "  go  back,"  he  replied  steadily 
and  with  a  self-possessed  and  cheerful  courage,  that  he  was  there  to 
die  with  them.  The  next  morning  his  men  sent  him  a  touching 
message — that  he  should  take  care  of  himself,  as  they  wished  no 
one  else  to  command  them. 

On  the  death  of  Gen.  Polk,  June  7,  1864,  Gen.  Stewart  was 
promoted  Lieut. -General  and  succeeded  to  the  command  of  his 
corps.  In  announcing  to  him  his  promotion,  Gen.  Johnston  re- 


LIEUT.-GEN.  ALEXANDER.   P.   STEWART.  715 

marked :  "  I  did  not  recommend  any  one.  I  only  telegraphed  that 
you  were  the  best  Major-General  in  this  army  for  the  position." 
On  the  20th  July,  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  Peach  Tree 
Creek,  and  a  portion  of  his  command  (Loring's  Division)  carried 
the  enemy's  works,  but,  owing  to  some  disconcert  of  the  action  on 
the  right,  was  unable  to  maintain  its  success.  In  a  subsequent 
action  on  the  Lick-Skillet  road,  an  attempt  to  turn  the  enemy's 
right,  Gen.  Stewart  was  wounded,  and  had  to  retire  from  the  field. 

His  wound  detained  him  several  weeks  from  his  command. 
When  Gen.  Hood  recrossed  the  Chattahooche,  Stewart's  corps  was 
sent  to  capture  the  enemy's  posts  and  destroy  the  railroad  from 
Big  Shanty  to  Ackworth.  One  of  his  divisions  (French's)  was 
detached  to  attack  Alatoona,  and  might  have  captured  the  place, 
but  for  a  false  alarm  of  the  enemy's  movements  which  induced  it  to 
draw  off.  In  the  campaign  of  Hood  into  Tennessee,  Gen.  Stewart 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  battles  of  Franklin  and  Nashville, 
and  in  the  first  day's  fight  at  the  last  mentioned  place,  although 
forced  back,  he  still  handled  his  troops  so  well  as  to  prevent  a 
rout,  and  keep  the  enemy  at  bay.  The  next  day  he  was  in  the 
centre,  and  it  was  the  disaster  on  the  Confederate  left  that  lost 
the  field. 

After  the  retreat  from  Tennessee,  Gen.  Stewart  was  ordered  to 
Augusta,  Georgia,  and  thence  to  North  Carolina.  He  commanded 
all  that  remained  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee  on  the  field  of  Benton- 
ville  on  the  21st  March,  1865 — an  honourable  day  for  the  brave 
fragment  of  that  army.  He  was  at  Greensboro  when  Gen.  Johnston 
surrendered. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  military  life  of  Gen.  Stewart  shows  a 
career  remarkable  for  its  steady  advances  in  reputation  and  solid 
worth.  He  was  another  example  of  Christian  virtue  in  the  Con 
federate  armies ;  his  piety  was  as  remarkable  as  his  valour ;  and  he 
is  most  tenderly  known  for  his  private  walks  of  charity,  and  his 
shining  example  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  which  he  is  a  mem 
ber.  To  this  imperfect  record  of  a  man,  admirable  in  other  res 
pects  than  that  of  arms,  the  writer  may  add  here  some  passages 
from  a  letter  from  a  literary  associate  of  the  General  in  the  days 
before  the  war.  The  tribute  is  from  the  pen  of  Doctor  N.  Lawrence 
Lindsley,  a  gentleman  whose  name  is  known  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  Tennessee,  whose  labours  as  a  lexicographer  have  honoured  and 


716  LIEUT.-GEN.   ALEXANDER  P.   STEWART. 

improved  the  South,  and  whose  stores  of  pure  and  tasteful  lan 
guage  give  to  whatever  he  writes  a  scholarly  interest.  His  letter 
refers  to  Gen.  Stewart  as  the  Professor,  and  proceeds  to  some  just 
and  admirable  reflections  on  the  revived  concern  of  learning  in 
the  South. 

"He  observed  himself,  and  required  in  his  students,  punctu 
ality  in  regard  to  all  College  appointments,  thoroughly  entering 
into  the  sentiment  of  Seneca,  that  '  time  is  almost  the  only  thing 
of  which  to  be  covetous  is  a  virtne.'  To  the  respect  and  admira 
tion  in  which  he  was  ever  held  by  his  pupils,  was  added  their 
devoted  affection.  He  was  not  only  their  teacher,  but  a  counsellor, 
guide  and  friend,  ever  exhibiting  as  lively  concern  for  their  health 
and  comfort,  as  for  their  intellectual  progress.  Even  in  the  audito 
rium,  frigid  as  such  places  commonly  are,  and  chilling  as  are  its 
exercises,  the  students  realized  the  amplitude  and  wealth  of  his 
heart,  as  well  as  of  his  head.  Possessing,  by  nature,  talents  of  a 
high  order,  accomplished  in  all  liberal  studies,  and,  in  the  truest 
sense,  trained  for  the  educator's  work,  Gen.  Stewart  devoted  him 
self,  from  first  to  last,  with  untiring  assiduity  to  the  duties  of  his 
office;  winning  a  reputation,  in  his  chosen  field,  of  which  the 
University  had  cause  to  be  proud,  and  which,  at  the  time  of  its 
suspension  in  '61,  was  second  to  that  of  no  other  mathematical 
instructor  in  the  land.  But  it  is  not  my  purpose,  in  this  commu 
nication,  with  sounding  phrases  to  essay  to  set  forth  his  praise. 
Such  an  effort  would  be  out  of  keeping  with  his  character,  which 
is  marked  far  more  bj-  utility  than  display.  He  had,  years  pre 
vious  to  the  war,  been  crowned  with  that  pure  fame  which  is  the 
best  earthly  reward  of  meritorious  exertions.  He  stood  and  stands 
among  the  foremost  of  our  men  of  science  and  scholars.  Frequently 
invited  to  other  institutions,  and  but  lately  elected  President  of  the 
University  whose  mathematical  chair  he  had  made  famous,  he 
bears  his  honours  with  that  unconscious  ease  which  is  the  test  of 
true  worth. 

"  His  moral  and  personal  qualities  form  the  proper  complement 
of  Gen.  Stewart's  public  character.  Unaffected  deportment  stamps 
him,  with  its  authentic  seal,  the  thorough  gentleman.  The  virtues 
and  humanities  of  domestic  life,  softening  and  shading  down  the 
energy  of  his  intellect,  unite  to  render  him,  at  his  fireside,  and  in 
all  social  circles,  the  object  of  equal  affection  and  admiration.  Pos- 


LIE Ur.- GEN.   ALEXANDER  P.   STEWART.  717 

sessing  an  uncommon  degree  of  refinement,  punctilious  in  his 
observance  of  all  the  nicer  proprieties  of  life,  never  encroaching  on 
the  sanctity  of  those  rights  and  feelings  which,  unprotected  by  law, 
must  owe  their  security  to  delicacy  of  sentiment  in  enlightened 
communities,  a  firm  believer,  without  a  shade  of  bigotry,  in  the 
Christian  religion,  an  ardent  lover  of  truth,  liberal  in  his  principles, 
affable  in  his  manners,  and  combining  with  extraordinary  attain 
ments  in  the  severer  sciences  the  art  of  recommending  them  with 
impressive  effect,  Gen.  Stewart  is  undeniably  one  of  the  most  useful 
of  men,  and  a  living  proof  that  pure  patriotism  is  not  a  delusion, 
nor  virtue  an  empty  name. 

"  Ours  is  the  noblest  form  of  government  when  a  people  are 
prepared  for  it,  and  to  this  end  they  require  a  higher  education 
than  obtains  in  any  other  country.  And  on  the  same  principle,  we 
ought  to  have  more  philosophers,  men  of  science,  artists,  authors, 
statesmen — in  fine  more  great  men  and  accomplished  citizens  than 
any  other  people.  The  highest  forms  of  culture  need  to  be  multi 
plied,  not  merely  for  embellishment,  but  to  preserve  our  very  exist 
ence  as  a  nation,  which  has  been  all  the  while  endangered  by 
cunning  demagogues  and  boastful  sciolists  abounding  much  more 
than  men  of  high  intelligence  and  real  worth.  The  sons  of 
Greece  caught  new  life  from  desperation.  And  fortunate  it  is  for 
the  desolated  but  heroic  South,  that  her  Stewarts,  her  Lees,  and 
others,  are  now  consecrating  their  great  talents  and  mighty  ener 
gies  to  a  work  which,  more  than  all  others,  will  infuse  new  life 
into  the  people,  revive  and  surpass  the  prosperity  of  former  days, 
and  win,  from  surrounding  ruin,  a  triumph  more  glorious  than  the 
greatest  recorded  in  American  history.  It  was  well  said  by  the 
gifted  Jean  Paul  Kichter  • — *  Honour  to  those  who  labour  in 
school-rooms.' " 


MAJ.-GEK  BENJAMIN  F,  CHEATHAM. 


CHAPTEE  LXYII. 

His  military  services  in  Mexico. — His  popularity  at  home.— Commands  in  the  "West.— 
Adventure  in  the  battle  of  Belmont. — Record  of  his  division  in  the  Army  of  Ten 
nessee. — Anecdote,  illustrating  his  fighting  qualities. 

BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  CHEATHAM  was  born  in  Davidson 
county,  Middle  Tennessee,  in  1819.  He  was  a  nephew  of  the  first 
male  child  born  in  that  county,  and  was  grandson  of  the  famous 
old'  Indian  fighter,  Robinson,  to  perpetuate  whose  memory  and 
virtues  the  adjacent  county  was  named.  His  father  was,  dur 
ing  the  administration  of  Martin  Van  Buren,  postmaster  at  Nash 
ville,  and  the  son  was  his  deputy,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  the 
place.  He  never  went  further  into  public  office,  although  he  was 
often  solicited,  on  account  of  his  popularity,  to  stand  for  some  of 
the  honours  within  the  gift  of  his  party ;  and  he  was  tendered  a 
foreign  mission  during  Mr.  Buchanan's  Administration,  which  he 
declined  from  his  preference  for  private  life. 

In  1846,  he  went  to  Mexico  as  captain  of  a  company  in  the  1st 
Tennessee  regiment.  With  this  company  he  fought  at  Monterey, 
and  there  first  attracted  marked  attention  for  his  skill  and  daring 
courage.  "With  his  regiment  he  had  participated  in  the  preceding 
battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de  la  Pal  ma.  From  Monterey,  he 
joined  Gen.  Scott  at  Yera  Cruz.  The  time  for  which  his  company 
had  enlisted  expired  soon  afterwards,  and  he  returned  to  Nash 
ville,  and  raised  a  regiment.  With  this  he  again  joined  Gen.  Scott 
on  his  march  to  the  capital  of  the  country,  and  participated  in 
nearly  all  the  battles  around  the  City  of  Mexico.  In  most  of 
these  desperate  conflicts,  as  senior  colonel,  he  commanded  a 
brigade. 


MAJ.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  F.  CHEATHAM.  719 

At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war,  Col.  Cheatham  returned  to  his 
farm  near  Nashville,  where  he  remained  nearly  a  year.  He  then 
went  to  California,  where  he  resided  about  two  years,  and  again 
returned  to  Nashville.  He  seems  to  have  been  happy  in  his  suc 
cessful  farming  operations;  his  life  was  sweetened  by  many  friend 
ships  ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  more  universally  beloved  by  his 
neighbours,  and  those  who  knew  him  best,  than  any  man  in  East 
Tennessee.  He  was  in  these  peaceful  and  dear  occupations  when 
the  alarm  of  war  aroused  him.  In  the  commencement  of  hostili 
ties,  he  organized,  at  the  request  of  the  Military  Board  of  Tennes 
see,  the  whole  supply  department  of  the  Western  army,  and  was 
thus  constantly  employed  up  to  the  time  of  his  appointment  as 
Brigadier-General  by  President  Davis.  His  commission  bore  date 
in  May,  1861. 

Immediately  after  his  appointment,  Gen.  Cheatham  took  off 
the  West  Tennessee  regiments  and  established  the  camp  at  Union 
City.  He  participated  in  the  Missouri  campaign  in  the  demon 
stration  against  Cape  Girardeau.  The  first  fire  exchanged  between 
the  enemy  and  the  Confederate  army  in  the  West  was  at  Hickman, 
by  order  of  Gen.  Cheatham.  From  Hickman  he  went  with  his 
command  to  Columbus,  and  thence  to  Mayfield,  twenty-five  miles 
on  the  road  to  Paducah.  He  was  anxious  to  capture  this  place, 
and  thus  prevent  the  ascent  of  the  Tennessee  river  by  Federal  gun 
boats.  He  was,  however,  ordered  back  to  Columbus,  where  his 
brigade  did  its  full  share  in  perfecting  the  fortifications. 

On  the  7th  November,  1861,  Gen.  Cheatham  led  three  regi 
ments  of  Pillow's  brigade  (Pillow  commanding  the  whole  force 
thrown  that  day  across  the  Mississippi)  in  the  battle  of  Belmont. 
On  crossing  the  river,  Cheatham  collected  parts  of  three  regiments, 
Wright's,  Tappan's  and  Walker's,  and  passed  through  the  woods 
to  the  rear  of  the  enemy.  It  was  this  movement  which  defeated 
the  enemy,  and  put  him  in  flight  to  his  gunboats,  five  miles  dis 
tant.  The  route  of  the  retreat  was  strewn  with  the  slain,  and  as 
the  Federals  crowded  on  board  the  boats,  Cheatham's  command 
followed  them  up,  and  with  deadly  volleys  swept  the  decks  of  the 
steamers. 

An  incident  of  personal  adventure  occurred  in  this  battle,  in 
which  Gen.  Cheatham  narrowly  escaped.  Just  as  he  was  about 
to  attack  the  enemy  he  discovered  a  squadron  of  cavalry  coming 


720  MAJ.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  F.  CHEATHAM. 

down  the  road  near  his  position.  Uncertain  as  to  which  force  it 
belonged  to,  he  rode  up,  accompanied  only  by  an  orderly,  to  within 
a  few  yards  of  it  and  inquired:  "What  cavalry  is  that?" 
"  Illinois  cavalry,  Sir,"  was  the  reply.  "  Oh !  Illinois  cavalry. 
All  right;  just  stand  where  you  are."  The  cavalry  obeyed  the 
coolly  uttered  order ;  and  Gen.  Cheatham  rode  safely  back,  directly 
under  the  guns  of  another  Federal  regiment  which  had  by  that 
time  come  up,  but  seeing  him  riding  from  the  direction  of  the 
cavalry,  shared  the  mistake  that  he  was  a  Federal  officer. 

On  the  1st  March,  1862,  Columbus  was  evacuated.  In  accom 
plishing  this  movement  Gen.  Cheatham  toiled  both  day  and  night. 
His  brigade  went  to  Bethel,  twenty  miles  from  Corinth,  on  the 
Mobile  and  Ohio  railroad.  Thence  he  was  ordered  by  Gren.  John 
ston  to  the  field  of  Shiloh,  some  twenty  miles  distant. 

He  was  near  the  right  wing  of  the  Confederate  army  on  that 
field,  and  entered  the  fight  a,bout  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He 
was  under  fire  about  three  hours,  and  charged  a  battery,  which 
was  taken  off  the  field  by  the  retreating  enemy.  The  next  day 
Cheatham  held  his  command  steadily  before  the  reinforced  Fed 
erals.  He  was  ordered  off  the  field  by  Gen.  Beauregard  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  Not  pursued,  he  fell  back  to  Corinth, 
where  he  commanded  the  left  wing  of  Folk's  corps. 

Cheatham's  commission  as  Major-General  bore  date  in  March, 
1862,  before  the  battle  of  Shiloh  was  fought.  From  Corinth  and 
Tupelo  his  division  moved  to  Chattanooga,  and  thence  marched 
across  Tennessee  into  Kentucky.  At  the  battle  of  Perryville  it 
bore  the  brunt  of  the  conflict,  and  won  brilliant  honours.  In  the 
evacuation  of  Kentucky,  Cheatham  commanded  the  right  wing, 
the  rear-gutird,  of  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi.  At  Murfreesboro 
his  division,  with  that  of  Withers',  formed  the  left  wing  of  the 
army,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day's  fight  was  thrown  upon 
the  position  where  the  enemy  had  massed  his  artillery,  and  suf 
fered  greatly.  In  the  two  actions  of  Chickamauga,  Cheatham's 
veterans  had  a  critical  part,  and  in  the  first  day  encountered 
Thomas'  corps,  while  making  a  desperate  attempt  to  turn  the  right 
wing  of  the  Confederates,  and  for  three  hours  withstood  the  most 
terrible  shock  of  battle.  The  record  of  his  command  extended 
through  all  the  operations  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  sharing  iu 
Hood's  final  campaign. 


MAJ.-GEN.  BENJAMIN  F.  CHEATHAM.  721 

His  reputation  in  that  army  was  always  high.  He  was  regarded 
rather  as  an  executive  officer  than  a  strategist ;  yet  he  was  believed 
to  be  far  superiour  to  many  of  his  rank  in  the  conception  of  plans 
and  campaigns.  His  intellect  was  quick  and  acute.  With  the 
ardour  of  the  soldier,  he  had  the  discernment  of  the  commander. 
In  an  eminent  degree  he  possessed  that  indispensable  quality  of  a 
leader  of  troops,  which  enabled  him  to  go  wherever  duty  or  neces 
sity  demanded  his  presence,  without  inquiring  if  it  was  dangerous 
or  safe.  He  understood  thoroughly  that  it  was  better  that  a  leader 
should  lose  his  life  than  his  honour ;  and  that  there  was  no  better 
mode  of  exciting  courage  than  by  displaying  his  own. 

An  anecdote  illustrates  the  estimation  in  which  the  enemy  held 
his  fighting  qualities.     Near  the  field  of  Murfreesboro,  Gen.  Alex 
ander  McDowell  McCook  had  established  his  headquarters  at  the 
aouse  of  a  gentleman  resident  in  the  rear  of  the  Confederate  lines. 
Ee  commanded  the  enemy's  right  wing.     When  he  heard  the  first 
sound  of  attack  he  was  engaged  in  shaving.     He  instantly  rushed 
Tom  the  room,  saying,  without  addressing  anybody,  in  a  confused 
md  excited  manner :  "  That  is  contrary  to  orders ! "     He  ordered 
ris  horse  to  be  brought  without  delay,  and  turning  to  the  gentle- 
nan  at  whose  house  he  was,  hurriedly  asked  :  "  Who  is  opposing 
ne   to-day  ? "     "  Major-General    Cheatham."     General    McCook, 
urning  ashy  pale,  and  trembling  from  some  nameless  emotion, 
ejoined:  "Is  it  possible  .that  I  have  to  meet  Cheatham  again!" 
^he  information  was  incorrect,  as  Gen.  Cheatham  fought  on  the 
ight  at  Murfreesboro ;  but  the  force  of  the  anecdote  is  not  dimin- 
shed  on  that  account. 

Gen.  Cheatham  is  squarely  and  firmly  built,  and  is  noted  for 

is  extraordinary  physical  strength.     He  is  slightly  round- shoul- 

lered,  and  his  weight  is  about  two  hundred  pounds.     His  height 

about  five  feet  eight  inches;  his  eyes  are  light  blue,  clear  and 

'cpressive;  his  hair  light  brown;  his  complexion  fair;  and  his 

loustache — he  wears  no  other  beard — very  heavy.     His  forehead 

broad,  and  his  face  expressive  of  that  imperturbable  good  humour 

hich  characterizes  him  not  more  in  social  life  than  on  the  battle- 

fcld.. 

46 


MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE. 


CHAPTER  LXVIII. 

Enlists  as  a  private  in  the  Mexican  "War. — His  distinction  there. — Public  honours  in 
Tennessee. — Colonel  of  the  2d  Tennessee  Regiment— Curious  plan  to  capture 
the  Federal  fleet  in  the  Potomac. — His  extraordinary  and  successful  appeal  to 
the  Tennessee  soldiers  to  re-enlist  for  the  war.  —  Sent  to  the  army  of  Gen. 
A.  S.  Johnston. — A  compliment  to  his  command. — In  the  battle  of  Shiloh. — Pro 
motion  of  Gen.  Bate. — Action  of  Hoover's  Gap. — An  admirable  sentiment  to  a 
political  convention. — At  Chickamauga. — Re-organization  of  the  Army  of  Ten 
nessee. — Record  of  Bate's  division. — Its  part  in  Hood's  campaign. — How  its  line 
was  broken  in  the  battle  of  Nashville. — Explanations  of  this  disaster. — At  Ben- 
tonville. — The  surrender. — Gen.  Bate  a  wanderer. — Returns  to  Tennessee. — His 
political  sentiments  after  the  war. 

WILLIAM  B.  BATE  was  born  on  the  7th  October,  1826,  near 
Cascalian  Springs,  in  Stunner  county,  State  of  Tennessee.  Here 
he  passed  the  period  of  youth  amid  a  generous  and  cultivated 
moral  people.  Left  an  orphan  at  fifteen  years  of  age,  without 
patrimony,  he  soon  developed  a  spirit  of  independence  and  love  of 
adventure.  He  started  life,  while  yet  in  his  "  teens,"  as  a  steam 
boat  clerk,  being  in  that  capacity  in  New  Orleans  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  Mexican  War,  which  opened  to  him  the  visions  of  a 
soldier's  life.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  a  Louisiana  regiment, 
and  embarked  for  the  seat  of  war.  He  served  his  time  out,  and  reen- 
listed  in  a  Tennessee  regiment,  and  finally  became  Lieutenant  and 
Acting  Adjutant  of  Cheatbam's  3d  Tennessee  Kegiment.  In  this 
capacity  he  was  a  favourite  with  Gen.  Joe  Lane,  who  was  his  Briga 
dier,  and  accompanied  him  in  a  volunteer  capacity  in  his  famous 
raids,  near  the  close  of  the  war,  in  pursuit  of  Santa  Anna.  He 
especially  distinguished  himself  for  daring  and  adventure  in  these 
romantic  and  perilous  trips,  and  captured  the  last  flag  ever  taken 
in  that  war  by  U.  S.  forces,  which  is  still  a  trophy  in  Tennessee. 


MAJ.  GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE.  723 

Upon  the  cessation  of  hostilities  in  1848,  Lieut.  Bate  returned 
to  his  native  place.  He  became  an  editor  at  twenty -one  ;  in  which 
capacity  he  exhibited  vigorous  thought  and  a  graceful  style  in 
writing.  He  was  elected  at  this  early  age  to  represent  his  native 
county  in  the  Tennessee  Legislature ;  and  he  subsequently  enjoyed 
many  public  honours  in  his  State.  In  1854,  when  by  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution  of  Tennessee,  judicial  officers  were  for  the 
first  time  elected  by  the  people,  Bate  became  a  candidate  for 
Attorney-General  of  the  Nashville  District,  and  in  the  face  of 
strong  and  talented  opposition  was  elected.  His  career,  as  public 
prosecutor,  was  full  of  incidents;  and  to  this  day  the  features  of 
many  an  important  criminal  trial  conducted  by  him  remain  indel 
ibly  impressed  upon  the  public  mind.  His  powers  as  an  advo 
cate,  when  aroused,  were  rarely  equalled  ;  his  argument  was 
always  clear,  cogent  and  pointed,  and  his  eloquence  fervid  and 
impressive.  For  six  years  in  this  capacity  his  legal  labours  were 
uninterrupted,  save  by  an  occasional  dash  into  the  more  exciting 
field  of  politics,  especially  in  1855,  when  he  took  an  active  part  on 
the  stump,  in  favour  of  the  Gubernatorial  election  of  Andrew 
Johnson. 

When  the  telegraph  flashed  over  the  land  the  news  of  the  first 
fire  at  Fort  Sumter,  Bate  responded  to  it  with  instant  excitement 
and  extraordinary  zeal.  He  left  the  court-house,  where  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  an  important  trial,  and  headed  a  list  that  day 
as  a  "  high  private  "  in  the  Southern  army.  Tennessee,  hesitating 
as  to  what  course  she  would  pursue,  he  was  not  to  be  restrained 
by  what  he  deemed  the  too  tardy  deliberation  of  his  State,  and  he 
immediately  started  to  Montgomery,  to  see  if  troops  would  be 
received  from  his  State,  in  anticipation  of  her  entering  the  Con- 
,  federate  league  of  defence.  Upon  the  solicitation  of  the  then 
Secretary  of  War,  L.  P.  Walker,  he  returned  to  his  company,  of 
which  he  was  elected  captain,  and  extending  his  field  of  opera 
tions,  he  soon  assembled  around  his  standard  a  regiment  of  as  gal 
lant  men  as  ever  levelled  a  gun.  He  was  elected  its  Colonel,  and 
in  the  first  week  of  May,  1861,  he  was  at  the  head  of  his  volun 
teers  in  Virginia.  They  were  mustered  into  the  Confederate  ser 
vice  at  Lynchburg,  as  the  2d  Confederate  Regiment  of  Tennessee 
Volunteers,  the  command  of  Turney  having  reached  the  rendez 
vous  the  day  before,  and  gained  the  appellation  of  the  1st.  No 


724  MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE. 

regiment  was  better  organized,  drilled,  and  disciplined  than  the 
one  Col.  Bate  placed  thus  early  in  the  field  ;  and  nothing  is  haz 
arded  in  saying,  that  for  gallantry,  active  service,  devotion  to  the 
cause,  and  the  number  of  battles  on  its  rolls,  it  had  no  superiour  in 
the  history  of  the  Confederate  struggle.  It  was  armed  and  equip 
ped  under  the  auspices  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee,  who  was  then  (in 
May,  1861)  at  Richmond,  organizing  forces  for  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia. 

The  Richmond,  Fredericksburg,  and  Potomac  Railroad,  which 
dips  into  the  Potomac  at  Acquia  Creek,  being  threatened  by  a 
naval  fleet  of  the  enemy,  consisting  of  the  Pawnee,  Freeborn,  and 
other  Federal  vessels,  Col.  Bate  was  ordered  with  his  command  to 
support  the  naval  batteries  of  Virginia  at  that  point,  and  resist  the 
landing  of  troops  by  the  enemy.  The  first  artillery  of  the  war 
fired,  after  Sumter,  was  levelled  at  his  command,  and  a  number  of 
Virginia  troops,  supporting  the  guns  of  Capt.  Lynch  (of  "  Dead 
Sea"  fame)  of  the  Confederate  Navy,  in  the  engagement  of  Acquia 
Creek,  which  continued  during  a  greater  portion  of  the  30th  May, 
1861,  and  ended  in  the  discomfiture  and  retirement  of  the  enemy. 
This  singular  spectacle,  at  so  early  a  period  in  the  struggle,  of  Ten 
nessee  troops  from  a  distant  portion  of  the  State,  uniting  upon 
the  very  frontier  of  Virginia  with  her  own  valourous  sons,  to  pro 
tect  the  integrity  of  her  boundaries,  and  to  resist  her  invasion  by 
an  unscrupulous  and  malignant  enemy,  was  productive  of  the- 
most  salutary  influence  upon  the  early  struggle  of  the  Confederacy. 

Shortly  after  this,  an  important  expedition  of  land  and  naval 
forces  was  organized,  for  the  desperate  purpose  of  boarding  the 
naval  fleet  in  the  Potomac,  capturing  it,  and  turning  it  upon  the 
commerce  of  the  enemy.  For  the  command  of  the  land  forces, 
Col.  Bate  was  selected  by  the  government  at  Richmond.  At  the 
head  of  500  picked  men  of  his  own  regiment  he  proceeded  by  steamer 
down  the  Rappahanock  River ;  and,  landing  in  Northumberland 
County,  made  a  forced  march  across  the  country  to  Cone  River  in 
time  to  meet  the  steamer  St.  Nicholas,  on  which  his  troops  were  to 
have  embarked  for  the  fleet.  The  successful  capture  of  this  vessel 
the  night  before  by  Col.  Thomas  alias  Zarvona,  for  this  purpose, 
was  a  part  of  the  programme,  then  not  understood  by  the  public, 
and  reported  in  the  newspapers  as  a  desperate  and  foolish  inci 
dent.  The  killing  of  the  Federal  Admiral  Ward  the  day  before  by 


MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE.  725 

a  picket  on  the  Virginia  shore,  caused  the  departure  of  the  fleet 
with  his  remains  to  Washington,  and  saved  it  from  a  probable 
capture,  and  the  consummation  of  a  scheme  which  at  that  time  was 
of  momentous  consequence  to  the  Confederacy.  The  precision 
with  which  this  expedition  was  managed,  and  the  close  connection 
made  by  Col.  Bate  with  the  St.  Nicholas,  arranging  it  all  so  as  to  pass 
over  the  country,  and  reach  her  before  the  news  of  the  movement 
could  be  known  to  the  people  in  time  to  be  conveyed  to  the  enemy, 
was  deemed  a  success,  which  accident  alone  changed  into  a  disap 
pointment.  As  it  was,  the  St.  Nicholas  made  a  successful  detour 
of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  under  Commodore  Hollins,  captured  four 
merchantmen,  laden  with  necessary  supplies,  and  passed  up  the 
Rappahanock  with  great  eclat. 

With  the  command  of  then  Brig. -Gen.  Holmes,  Col.  Bate's 
regiment  made  a  forced  march  from  Brooks'  Station  on  the  Rich 
mond.  Fredricksburg  and  Potomac  Railroad  to  Manassas  Junction, 
and  arrived  there  the  day  before  the  great  battle  of  the  21st  July. 
Assigned  to  what  was  then  regarded  the  imminent  portion  of  the 
line,  the  right  commanded  by  Gen.  Evvell,  it  participated  in  the  dis 
appointment  which  met  the  almost  certain  promise  of  an  engagement 
on  that  part  of  the  line  in  the  early  part  of  the  day.  About  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  however,  the  firing  in  the  centre  giving 
token  of  a  desperate  encounter  in  that  portion  of  the  field,  the  force 
of  which  Col.  Bate's  command  was  part,  moved  at  a  double-quick 
a  distance  of  four  miles  to  relieve  the  brave  men  who  were  there 
struggling  to  resist  the  impetuous  onset  of  the  enemy.  This  march 
was  performed  under  a  heavy  fire  of  artillery,  directed  by  the  Fed 
erals  to  prevent  the  consummation  of  the  object  of  the  movement. 
While  the  force  of  Gen.  Holmes  reached  the  critical  point  just  a 
little  too  late  to  have  seized  the  opportunity  by  which  the  arrival 
of  the  command  of  Kirby  Smith  a  short  time  before  enabled  it  to 
distinguish  itself,  they  were  present  to  enjoy  the  spectacle  of  tne 
entire  rout  of  the  enemy,  and  to  aid  in  the  dismay  and  panic  which 
seized  him  at  the  appearance  of  fresh  troops. 

Returning  from  Manassas  Junction  Col.  Bate  was  left,  ^>n  the 
return  of  Gen.  Holmes'  command  to  their  old  quarters  at  Brooks' 
Station,  to  occupy  Evansport,  where  was  located  the  subsequent 
blockade  of  the  Potomac.  He  strongly  recommended  this  means 
of  embarrassing  the  enemy,  to  his  superiour  officers,  and  was  finally 


726  MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE. 

gratified  by  the  order  to  erect  and  fortify  this  point  for  that  pur 
pose,  a  reinforcement  of  Fagan's  1st  Arkansas  regiment,  and  the 
llth  North  Carolina,  under  Col.  Pettigrew,  participating  with  the 
2nd  Tennessee,  in  the  erection  of  the  works,  and  their  subsequent 
garrison.  By  this  well-timed  measure,  water  communication  to  the 
Federal  capital  was  cut  off,  and  naval  vessels  and  transports  of 
supply  blockaded  from  a  passage  to  and  fro,  causing  an  amount  of 
embarrassment  and  expenditure  to  the  Government  at  Washington, 
as  well  as  failure  to  its  contractors,  that  demonstrated  the  vital  point 
in  which  the  blockade  had  assailed  it.  Col.  Bate  being  assigned 
to  the  command  of  a  brigade  of  troops,  remained  on  the  Potomac, 
guarding  the  water  approaches  to  our  lines  until  the  latter  part  of 
February,  1862. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  he  achieved  a  success,  even  more 
creditable  than  a  victory  of  arms.  The  first  period  of  despondency 
had  seized  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and  threatened  it  with  an 
early  demise.  The  soldiers  all  along  the  Potomac  had  become 
disgusted  with  the  inactivity  of  camp  life,  and  weary  with  the 
watching  of  gunboats,  which  glided  through  the  placid  waters  of 
that  border  river.  Unused  to  absence  from  home  and  friends,  they 
were  restive  under  the  restraints  of  military  life,  and  were  threaten 
ing  to  disband  at  the  expiration  of  the  first  year  of  the  war.  It 
was  a  time  when  all  the  power  and  tact  of  their  commanders  were 
called  into  requisition  to  correct  the  malcontents,  and  give  them  a 
new  inspiration  to  duty.  A  brief  but  stirring  speech  of  Col.  Bate 
at  dress  parade,  pointing  out  the  necessities  of  the  country  and  the 
demands  of  patriotism,  had  an  effect  which  but  few  of  such  appeals 
had  yet  obtained.  His  eloquence  led  captive  his  whole  regiment 
of  Tennessee  volunteers.  "Within  forty-eight  hours  the  regiment, 
800  strong,  had  the  honour  of  enlisting  for  two  years  more,  before, 
yet  a  conscript  law  had  passed  to  constrain  their  service.  It  was 
the  first  example  of  reenlistment,  shortly  followed  to  a  great  extent 
by  Fagan's  noble  band  of  1st  Arkansas,  and  was  considered  such 
a  marked  evidence  of  patriotism,  that  it  was  proposed  in  the  Legis 
lature  flf  Tennessee  to  strike  for  this  regiment  a  medal  of  honour. 

Shortly  after  this  honourable  and  pleasing  event,  Col  Bate  left 
Virginia,  and  chose  the  West  as  the  theatre  of  his  military  ambition. 
In  consideration  of  the  reenlistment  of  his  men,  and  as  an  extraor 
dinary  compliment  to  them,  he  was  allowed  by  the  Secretary  of 


MAJ.-GEN.  WILLIAM  B.  BATE.  727 

"War  to  furlough  them,  and  to  remove  them  to  whatever  field  of 
action  he  might  prefer.  Before  their  furloughs  had  half  expired, 
he  reassembled  them  at  Huntsville,  Alabama,  and  moved  them  to 
Corinth,  where  the  retreating  forces  of  Gen.  Albert  Sidney  Johns 
ton  were  convening  for  battle.  The  readiness  of  Col  Bate  in  re- 
enlisting  his  men  had  already  obtained  for  him  the  regard  of  this 
distinguished  military  chieftain.  At  this  time  the  troops  of  some 
of  the  Cotton  States  were  in  the  habit  of  deriding  the  Tennessee 
soldiers,  because  of  the  Fishing  Creek  disaster.  On  reporting  to 
Gen.  Johnston,  Col.  Bate  was  asked  in  what  organization  he  would 
like  to  place  his  men,  as  it  was  considered  that  their  good  conduct 
had  given  their  commander  the  right  of  selection.  He  replied  that 
he  wished  to  place  the  2d  Tennessee  between  regiments  from  the 
States  which  had  been  deriding  their  fellow  soldiers ;  that  it  would 
lead  wherever  they  would  dare  to  follow.  Penetrated  by  the 
remark,  and  affectionately  placing  his  hands  on  the  speaker's 
shoulders,  the  eye  of  the  grand  old  hero  kindled  as  he  declared  that 
the  Confederacy  was  invincible  as  long  as  such  was  the  spirit  of 
its  defenders. 

Col.  Bate  was  ordered,  at  his  own  request,  the  day  before  the 
battle  of  Shiloh,  to  join  Hardee's  corps,  which  had  already  moved, 
and  which  he  did  in  time  for  the  opening  of  the  dread  encounter. 
Placed  on  the  extreme  left,  his  division  encountered  the  force  of  a 
whole  division  of  the  enemy,  and  pursued  the  fiery  path  of  con 
flict  with  the  steadiness  of  veterans.  Col.  Bate  had  six  of  his 
family  in  this  engagement,  three  of  whom  were  killed,  two  crip 
pled  for  life,  and  himself  fearfully  wounded.  His  brother,  Capt. 
Humphrey  Bate,  was  shot  down  gallantly  leading  his  men.  A 
writer  describing  at  the  time  the  scene  which  ensued,  says:  "Side 
by  side  upon  the  same  couch  lay  these  two  brothers,  one  mortally 
and  the  other  dangerously  wounded.  But  before  the  battle  ends, 
the  affecting  conversation  between  them  ceases,  and  the  Captain's  life 
less  body  tells  the  Colonel  that  death  has  closed  all  communion  upon 
earth."  The  ball  which  struck  down  Col.  Bate,  pierced  the  left 
,  leg  just  below  the  knee,  causing  a  compound  fracture  of  both  bones 
of  the  limb,  and  then  passed  through  the  body  of  the  horse  he  rode. 
This  noble  animal — a  beautiful  black  stallion — probably  the  most 
valuable  horse  in  the  engagement,  with  touching  intelligence,  fol 
lowed  the  prostrate  form  of  his  master  as  it  was  conveyed  to  Ahe 


728  MAJ.-GHEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE. 

field  hospital ;  and  as  he  trod  the  earth  with  head  yet  erect  and 
the  currents  of  his  own  blood  staining  his  sides,  recognizing  his 
master  as  he  insensibly  bled  to  death  in  following  him,  it  was  a 
scene  that  touched  the  human  heart,  and  challenged  the  pencil  of 
the  artist. 

Removed  to  Columbus,  Mississippi,  Col.  Bate  remained  in  bed 
five  months,  undergoing  a  protracted  siege  of  suffering  from  his 
wound.  As  soon  as  he  expressed  a  conviction  that  he  would  be 
able  again  to  take  the  field,  President  Davis  tendered  him  a  pro 
motion  as  Brigadier-General.  When  able  to  move  only  on  crutches, 
he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  district  of  North  Alabama, 
and  afterwards  to  the  more  important  post  of  Chattanooga,  posi 
tions  which  he  filled  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  his  superiour 
officers,  and  that  of  his  government.  This  command,  however, 
did  not  consist  with  the  desire  for  active  service,  which  was  his 
foremost  aspiration.  The  comforts  of  a  city  headquarters  did  not 
satisfy  the  restless  energy  of  his  nature,  or  his  impulse  to  be 
engaged  in  service  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  With  his  crutch  in 
one  hand  and  the  good  blade  which  he  had  flashed  upon  Shiloh 
and  other  fields  in  the  other,  he  asked  the  privilege  to  lead  again  a 
command  upon  the  perilous  issue  of  battle.  His  wishes  were 
pressed  upon  Gen.  Bragg,  then  in  command  of  the  Western  forces, 
who  assigned  him  to  the  command  of  the  late  Gen.  Rains'  brigade, 
in  McCown's  division  of  his  army.  When  that  division  was 
ordered  to  the  relief  of  Yicksburg,  Gen.  Bragg  retained  Gen. 
Bate's  services  for  immediate  operation  with  the  Army  of  Ten 
nessee,  withdrawing  one  of  his  regiments,  the  37th  Georgia,  to  be 
retained  as  a  nucleus  for  a  new  brigade.  Adding  to  it  the  4th 
Georgia  battalion  of  Sharpshooters,  the  58th  Alabama,  the  15th, 
20th  and  37th  Tennessee  regiments,  and  the  Eufala  Alabama  Light 
Artillery,  a  brigade  was  constituted  for  him  which  had  no  superiour 
in  the  army.  With  this  command  Gen.  Bate  was  sent  to  a  point 
near  Fail-field,  three  or  four  miles  from  Hoover's  Gap.  This  Gap 
was  an  important  strategic  position,  involving  as  it  did  the  secur 
ity  of  the  right  flank  and  rear  of  Gen.  Bragg's  position  at  Tulla- 
homa  and  Shelby  ville.  Rosecrans,  at  the  opening  of  this  campaign 
in  July,  1863,  moved  on  it  rapidly  with  an  entire  corps  of  his 
army.  So  sudden  was  the  movement,  that  the  small  force  of  cav 
alry  holding  it  gave  way  before  time  could  be  had  for  the  arrival 


MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE.  729 

of  reinforcements.  Gen.  Bate,  then  near  Fail-field,  was  ordered  by 
bis  division  commander  (Maj.-Gen.  Stewart)  first  with  only  a  part 
of  his  command,  and  afterwards  with  three  regiments  of  infantry 
and  a  section  of  artillery,  to  hurry  to  the  front,  and  meet  the  force 
of  Federals  who  had  come  through  the  gap  and  were  pouring  into 
the  valley.  With  his  small  command  rapidly  distributed,  and 
with  admirable  disposition,  he  attacked  the  exultant  enemy, 
checked  his  advance,  and  held  him  at  bay  with  perfect  success. 
The  force  of  the  enemy,  at  first  supposed  to  be  a  mere  brigade  of 
cavalry,  was  soon  ascertained  to  be  a  corps  of  infantry,  and  all 
arms,  constituting  the  advance  of  the  army  of  Rosecrans,  which 
but  for  the  sanguinary  and  vigorous  opposition  which  it  met  from 
the  small  command  of  Gen.  Bate,  might  have  succeeded  in  its 
intention  of  getting  on  the  flank  and  rear  of  the  army  of  Gen. 
Bragg.  The  advance,  however,  of  Bate  was  so  rapid  and  his 
assault  so  fierce  that  it  staggered  and  checked  the  head  of  the  Fed 
eral  column,  and  drove  it  back,  into  the  jaws  of  the  Gap.  Leaving 
a  small  force  in  front,  he  moved  with  great  rapidity  the  bulk  of 
his  infantry  and  a  section  of  artillery  to  the  left  of  the  point  of 
attack,  to  check  the  enemy's  movement  in  that  direction.  This 
was  a  timely  disposition,  and  effected  its  object,  but  not  without  a 
severe  conflict.  The  result  of  it  was  the  head  of  Eosecrans'  army 
was  thus  checked  on  that  part  of  his  line  for  that  evening,  which 
gave  Gen.  Bragg  time  to  concentrate  his  forces  at  Tullahoma. 

Shortly  before  this  engagement,  the  people  of  Tennessee  sent 
delegates  to  a  Convention  to  choose  a  candidate  for  Governor  to 
succeed  Gov.  Harris,  whose  term  was  then  about  to  expire.  This 
body  met  at  Winchester.  A  large  number  of  delegates,  represent 
ing  the  valour  and  chivalry  of  the  sons  of  Tennessee,  assembled. 
Gen.  Bate  was  the  favourite  of  a  large  portion  of  the  members  for 
the  position  ;  but  during  its  deliberations  a  dispatch  was  received 
from  him,  which  honoured  him  in  the  estimation  of  every  member 
of  that  Convention,  and  of  every  true  Tennesseean.  Declining  the 
nomination  most  unequivocally  and  positively,  he  referred  to  the 
tduty  he  owed  his  State,  and  said :  "  I  will  take  no  civil  office  in 
Tennessee.  I  would  rather  be  her  defender  than  her  Governor." 

Upon  the  retreat  of  Gen.  Bragg  south  of  the  Tennessee  Kiver, 
Bate's  command,  without  other  than  temporary  separation,  con 
formed  to  the  movements  of  Stewart's  division.  After  the  tern- 


730  MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE. 

porary  transfer  of  Lieut.-Gen.  Hardee  to  Mississippi,  he  was  placed 
in  the  corps  of  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  until  immediately  preceding  the 
manoeuvring  for  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  when  Stewart's  divi 
sion  became  a  part  of  Buckner's  corps,  in  the  consummation 
of  that  historic  drama,  on  the  19th  and  20th  September,  1863. 
Gen.  A.  P.  Stewart,  his  immediate  commander,  speaks  of  him  in 
his  official  report  of  this  battle,  as  "  the  indomitable  Bate."  He 
opened  the  fight  on  the  evening  of  the  18th,  near  Alexandria 
bridge,  and  on  the  18th  and  19th  was  on  what  might  be  termed 
the  left  centre  of  the  line  of  battle,  where  perhaps  there  was  more 
desperate  fighting  than  on  any  part  of  the  bloody  field.  His  com 
mand  was  desperately  engaged  on  both  days,  and  at  the  close  of 
the  contest  showed  by  official  reports  a  greater  per  cent,  of  loss 
than  any  command  in  the  army.  On  the  19th  he  had  two  horses 
killed  under  him,  and  a  third  shot.  Every  staff  officer  and  courier 
had  lost  their  horses.  Unhorsed  for  the  second  time  in  one  charge, 
being  still  unable  to  walk  without  crutches,  Gen.  Bate  was  yet 
determined  to  advance  with  his  command.  Instantly  he  had  a 
horse  cut  from  a  battery,  mounted  him  without  saddle,  and  moved 
to  the  head  of  his  shattered  columns,  amid  the  wildest  shouts  from 
his  soldiers. 

Soon  after  this  battle  a  reorganization  of  the  Army  of  Tennes 
see  to  a  considerable  extent  took  place.  Gen.  Bate,  still  a  Brig 
adier,  was  offered  a  Major-General's  commission,  with  a  division  of 
cavalry,  but  his  health,  precarious  from  his  wounds,  rendered  him 
unfit  for  the  arduous  duty  of  a  cavalry  command,  and  by  the  per 
suasion  of  his  medical  advices,  and  immediate  personal  friends,  he 
declined  it.  In  the  reorganization  Gen.  Breckinridge  was  put  in 
command  of  a  corps,  and  Gen.  Bate  in  command  of  Breckinridge's 
division,  composed  of  the  Kentucky  brigade  under  Gen.  Lewis, 
Finley's  Florida  brigade,  Bate's  brigade  increased  by  the  addition 
of  the  10th  and  30th  Tennessee  regiments,  Slocum's  5th,  Washing 
ton  artillery  and  Gracey's  and  Mebane's  batteries  (the  58th  Ala 
bama  being  withdrawn).  While  he  commanded  this  division,  the 
disastrous  fight  in  front  of  Chattanooga,  known  as  the  battle  of 
Missionary  Kidge,  took  place,  in  which  he  so  distinguished  himself 
under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  Commanding  General  (Bragg)  as 
to  elicit  special  commendation  for  signal  services  from  him  in  a 
telegraphic  dispatch  to  the  government  at  Richmond. 


MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE.  731 

The  Army  of  Tennessee  having  retreated  to  Dalton,  Georgia,  it 
enjoyed  its  first  repose  for  any  length  of  time  since  its  organiza- 
ion ;  for  it  had  literally  been  since  leaving  Bowling  Green,  1862, 
in  army  of  locomotion  and  battle.  Gen.  Johnston  having  taken 
:ommand  he  soon  began  to  shape  its  organization  and  repair  its 
vasted  strength  for  his  celebrated  North  Georgia  campaign.  Gen. 
Bate  having  been  highly  recommended  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
>f  Major-General,  and  upon  the  assigment  of  Gen.  Breckinridge  to 
he  department  of  Western  Yirginia,  he  was  permanently  assigned 
o  the  command  of  Breckinridge's  division  in  the  corps  of  Lieut.- 
ren.  Hardee.  During  the  winter  he  organized  it  to  the  highest  per- 
sction,  and  none  bore  a  more  active  or  successful  part  in  the  mem- 
rable  retreat  to  Atlanta,  which  was  but  a  series  of  battles  between 
fohnston  and  Sherman  for  three  months.  His  division  partici- 
>ated  in  all  of  the  many  battles  which  made  half  the  breadth  of 
Georgia's  soil,  over  which  the  hostile  armies  manosuvred,  a  scene  of 
anguinary  conflict.  Eesaca,  New  Hope  Church,  Pine  Mountain, 
)allas,  Kennesaw  Mountain,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta,  and  a 
ost  of  other  less  important  contests,  were  all  illustrated  by  the 
eroic  participation  of  Bate's  division,  and  the  valour  of  its  leader, 
le  brought  up  the  rear  from  Dalton  on  the  night  of  the  12th  May, 
eld  on  the  14th,  at  Eesaca,  the  salient  in  the  field  on  the  left 
entre  of  the  line,  which  was  several  times  severely  assaulted  by 
ae  enemy  in  several  lines  deep.  In  fact,  in  all  of  the  engagements 
rhich  culminated  in  those  around  Atlanta,  his  command  bore  a 
onspicuous  and  gallant  part. 

It  participated  in  the  battles  of  the  20th  and  22d  July,  around 
Atlanta,  which  were  the  first  essays  of  Gen.  Hood  to  save  that 
oomed  city  from  the  invading  Federal  army.  Like  the  other  por- 
,tons  of  the  corps,  it  was  repulsed  in  assailing  the  Federal  fortifica- 
ions,  but  not  without  first  inflicting  severe  punishment  upon  the 
nemy.  It  was  in  reserve  and  did  not  participate  in  the  battle  of 
be  28th  July.  On  the  6th  August,  however,  with  his  division 
lone,  Gen.  Bate  had  a  severe  engagement  on  the  Lick-Skillet 
load,  in  which  he  ambushed  the  enemy,  having  prepared  his  lines 
rith  such  skill  and  judgment  as  to  induce  an  attack.  The  assault 
7as  vigorous  and  fatal,  resulting  in  the  great  discomfiture  of  the 
nemy,  the  capture  of  several  stands  of  colours  and  many  prison- 
rs  and  arms.  This  affair  was  so  unique  and  managed  with  such 


732  MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE. 

skill  as  to  elicit  a  special  publication,  and  complimentary  commu 
nication  to  the  government  from  the  Commanding  General. 

A  day  or  two  after  this  Gen.  Bate  received  a  wound  through 
the  leg  which  had  already  been  disabled,  this  time  involving  the 
knee,  and  making  him  a  more  helpless  cripple  than  ever.  He  was 
confined  to  a  sick  bed  for  several  weeks.  Having  heard,  while  lan 
guishing  from  his  wound,  of  the  reported  arrest  of  his  mother,  and 
the  banishment  from  her  home  of  his  only  sister,  and  riot  having 
looked  towards  his  Tennessee  home  since  his  departure  for  Virginia 
in  the  spring  of  1861,  he  resolved,  notwithstanding  his  physical 
condition,  to  rejoin  his  command,  then  on  the  march  with  Gen. 
Hood  to  his  native  Tennessee.  He  rejoined  his  division  as  it  made 
the  circuit  of  Home,  Georgia.  He  found  in  it  many  changes. 
The  famous  Kentucky  brigade  had  been  mounted,  and  passed 
from  it;  H.  JL  Johnson's  Georgia  brigade  had  been  added  to  it; 
and  the  corps  had  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  Maj.-Gen. 
Cheatham.  Gen.  Bate  participated  in  the  movements  around  Dai- 
ton,  Georgia,  of  Hood's  advance  north,  captured  the  block-house  in 
Mill  Creek  Gap,  and  pursued  the  retreating  enemy  from  Tunnell 
Hill.  His  command  was  a  part  of  the  army  as  it  swept  through 
North  Georgia  to  Gadsen,  Alabama,  across  Sand  Mountain  and  in 
that  fatal  sally  into  Tennessee.  It  was  a  part  of  the  attacking  col 
umn  in  that  ill-starred  and  bloody  drama  at  Franklin  on  the  30th 
November,  1864,  which  destroyed  the  vitality,  hope,  and  spirit  01 
the  once  magnificent  Army  of  Tennessee.  The  position  assigned 
him  was  on  the  extreme  left  of  the  infantry  line,  and  being  requir 
ed  to  make  the  arc,  while  those  on  the  right  made  the  chord  of  the 
circle,  he  did  not  strike  the  enemy's  works  at  the  exact  time  of 
those  on  his  right,  but  pushed  in  upon  them  in  fine  style  and  spirit, 
driving  his  adversary  from  his  outer  works,  while  the  right  of  his 
division,  under  Gen.  H.  E.  Jackson,  entered  his  interiour  lines.  In 
this  engagement  he  lost  twenty  per  cent,  of  his  command,  many 
of  his  most  valuable  officers,  and  had  his  own  horse  shot  under  him 
immediately  in  front  of  the  Federal  breastworks. 

As  the  main  army  moved  on  Nashville,  Gen.  Bate  was  ordered 
to  make  a  detour  to  a  given  point  in  the  neighborhood  of  Murfrees- 
boro,  destroying  the  railroad,  block-houses,  bridges,  etc.,  along  bis 
route.  He  accomplished  this  expedition,  and  had  an  affair  with 
the  enemy  at  Murfreesboro,  in  which  he  rallied  his  men  by  a  char- 


MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.    BATE.  733 

^cteristic  act  of  personal  daring.  Seeing  the  lines  giving  way,  he 
eized  the  colours  of  the  nearest  regiment,  and  putting  spurs  to  his 
lorse  made  him  leap  the  works  in  face  of  the  enemy's  line  of  bat- 
le.  With  a  crutch  swung  to  his  side  and  the  colours  grasped  in 
lis  hand,  he  made  himself  a  spectacle  for  the  whole  field,  and  with 
uch  effect  that  he  not  only  brought  his  men  to  check  the  enemy, 
>ut  drove  back  part  of  his  line,  and  remained  on  the  field  at  the 
;lose  of  the  day. 

It  becoming  apparent  that  the  rapid  concentration  of  Federal 
brces  at  Nashville  indicated  an  attack  upon  the  main  army  there, 
xen.  Bate  was  ordered  to  join  the  right  flank  (under  Gen.  Cheat- 
lam)  of  that  wasted  and  unfortunate  little  army,  which  was  strung 
•lit  in  the  form  of  a  crescent  around  the  Capital  of  Tennessee,  then 
wollen  with  Federal  troops  recently  drawn  from  Arkansas,  Mis- 
ouri,  and  Kentucky  and  united  with  the  army  of  Thomas  for  the 
xpulsion  of  Gren.  Hood.  The  sleet  and  severe  freezes  had  made 
he  surface  of  the  earth  a  sheet  of  ice,  and  though  nearly  one-fourth 
•f  Gen.  Bate's  men  were  barefoot  they  plodded  their  way  tracked 
vith  blood,  and  arrived  in  time  to  participate  in  the  suffering  and 
lefeat  consequent  upon  the  Federal  attack. 

The  popular  report  of  this  battle  has  generally  ascribed  to  a 
•reach  in  Bate's  division  the  fate  of  the  day.  But  the  circum- 
tances  in  which  that  breach  was  made  have  been  but  little 
inderstood,  and  were  not  of  Gen.  Bate's  creation.  As  the  order 
f  battle  was  formed  he  repeatedly  protested  against  the  undue 
xtension  of  his  line,  and  remonstrated  against  its  situation  to 
iis  corps  commander,  who  informed  him  that  "he  was  not 
Authorized,  to  change  it."  He  occupied  an  angle  beneath  the 
>row  of  a  hill ;  the  works  were  flimsy,  and  only  protected  against 
mall  arms,  having  no  abattis  or  other  obstruction  to  impede  the 
novements  of  an  assaulting  party ;  and  the  enemy's  artillery 
ired  directly  across  both  lines  composing  the  angle,  besides 
hrowing  shells  from  another  point  directly  in  the  back  of  one 
>f  the  brigades.  Of  the  extraordinary  trials  of  this  fire,  and 
he  disaster  that  ensued,  Gen.  Bate  says,  in  his  official  report : 
'  The  enemy  was  on  two  lines  on  my  front,  and  in  the  afternoon 
noved  by  his  right  flank  from  direction  of  the  Granny  White 
turnpike,  and  massed  by  advancing  a  skirmish  line  at  a  time, 
inder  the  brow  of  the  hill  near  the  i  angle.'  I  made  this  known 


734:  MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE. 

to  Gen.  Cheatham,  by  a  staff  officer  (Lieut.  Charles  Rogan),  and 
asked  for  reinforcements.  The  General  informed  me  that  he  had 
nothing  that  could  possibly  be  spared,  and  desired  me  to  extend 
still  further  to  the  left,  as  he  had  to  withdraw  strength  from  his 
front  to  protect  his  left,  which  had  been  turned.  About  this 
time  the  brigade  on  the  extreme  left  (Govan's,  I  understand) 
was  driven  back  down  the  hill  into  the  field  in  my  rear,  and  the 
balls  of  the  enemy  were  fired  into  the  backs  of  and  killing  and 
wounding  my  men.  The  lines  on  the  left  (as  you  go  into  Nash 
ville)  of  the  Granny  White  Pike  at  the  juncture  were  the  three 
sides  of  a  square,  the  enemy  shooting  across  the  two  parallel  lines. 
My  men  were  falling  fast.  I  saw  and  fully  appreciated  the 
emergency,  and  passed  in  person  along  the  trenches  near  the 
angle  built  by  Ector's  brigade,  where  I  had  placed  troops  who  I 
knew  to  be  unsurpassed  for  gallantry  and  endurance,  and 
encouraged  them  to  maintain  their  place.  The  men  saw  the 
brigade  on  the  left  give  way,  and  the  enemy  take  their  place  on 
the  hills  in  their  rear  ;  yet  they  stood  firm  and  received  the  foe 
from  three  directions  with  coolness  and  courage.  Anticipating 
a  disaster,  I  ordered  Capt.  Beauregard,  who  commanded  my 
artillery,  to  move  his  battalion  back  to  the  Franklin  Turnpike, 
as  the  enemy  already  had  the  Granny  White  Pike  in  our  rear, 
which  was  my  channel  to  escape,  as  per  order  in  the  forenoon. 
About  four  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the  enemy  with  heavy  fire  assaulted 
the  line  near  the  angle  and  carried  it,  at  that  point  where  Ector's 
brigade  had  built  the  light  works  back  from  the  brow  of  the  hill, 
and  without  obstruction,  not  however  until  the  gallant  and  obsti 
nate  Col.  Shy,  and  nearly  half  of  his  brave  men,  had  fallen, 
together  with  the  large  part  of  the  three  right  companies  of  the 
37th  Georgia,  which  regiment  constituted  my  extreme  left. 
When  the  breach  was  made,  this  command — the  consolidated 
fragments  of  the  2d,  10th,  15th,  20th,  30th,  and  37th  Tennessee 
Eegiments — still  contested  the  ground  under  Maj.  Lucas.  Fi 
nally,  when  overwhelming  numbers  pressed  them  back,  only  65 
of  the  command  escaped,  not  as  a  command,  but  as  individuals. 
The  command  was  nearly  annihilated,  as  the  official  reports  of 
casualties  show.  Whether  the  yielding  of  gallant  and  well- 
tried  troops  to  such  pressure  is  reprehensible  or  not,  is  for  a  brave 
and  generous  country  to  decide.  The  breach  once  made,  the 


MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE.  735 

lines  lifted  from  either  side  as  far  as  I  could  see,  almost  instantly, 
and  fled  in  confusion." 

No  fair  mind  that  considers  this  official  exposition  of  the  con 
duct  of  this  gallant  and  battle-scarred  command,  as  connected 
with  the  disaster  of  Hood's  army  at  Nashville — no  true  and  gal 
lant  soldier,  who  has  passed  through  the  fiery  scenes  of  victory 
and  defeat,  and  been  alike  the  recipient  of  praise  and  blame,  as 
his  fortunes  varied  in  the  unequal  struggle,  can  do  otherwise  than 
sympathize  with  the  misfortunes  of  these  overpowered  men,  and 
admire  their  gallantry.  The  surprise  to  the  intelligent  mind  is, 
that  a  whole  army  should  at  once  leave  their  lines  of  defence, 
because  a  breach  is  made  at  one  of  the  salients.  This  is  too  patent 
to  need  more  than  a  suggestion  from  the  historian.  The  truth  is, 
the  preceding  battle  of  Franklin— the  dearest  of  all  dear-bought 
victories — destroyed  the  morale  of  the  army.  It  was  so  cut  up 
and  weakened  in  numbers,  and  in  the  loss  of  many  of  its  best 
men  and  officers,  that  after  that  it  had  no  confidence  in  its  ability 
to  cope  with  an  adversary  so  superiour  in  numbers  and  appoint 
ment. 

After  the  disaster  of  Nashville,  the  Army  of  Tennessee  swept 
back  across  the  Tennessee  River,  through  North  Mississippi, 
across  Alabama  and  Georgia  into  Carolina,  where  it  met  its  old 
commander,  Gen.  Joe  Johnston.  Under  his  leadership  it  fought 
its  last  battle  near  Bentonville,  North  Carolina,  in  March,  1865. 
In  this  last  fight  no  command  more  distinguished  itself  than  that 
of  Gen.  Bate.  In  the  absence  of  Maj.-Gen.  Cheatham,  he  com 
manded  that  part  of  the  corps  (including  his  own  division)  which 
was  engaged.  He  fought  upon  the  extreme  right  of  the  line.  His 
troops,  stung  by  the  recollections  of  Nashville,  were  not  only 
precipitous,  but  absolutely  reckless  in  the  charge  upon  the  works 
of  the  enemy,  and  carried  all  in  their  front  in  such  a  dashing 
manner  as  to  win  the  applause  of  the  whole  army. 

This  battle,  just  before  the  surrender,  terminated  the  military 
career  of  Gen.  Bate,  which  beginning  with  the  position  of  a  cap 
tain  in  command  of  a  company,  ended  in  that  of  a  Major-General. 
After  having  been  surrendered  and  paroled,  the  crippled  and 
heart-sick  warriour  made  his  way  to  a  plantation  in  Georgia,  where 
he  had  established  a  home,  during  the  war,  for  a  number  of  his 
devoted  negroes  who  had  fled  from  the  enemy's  mercies  in  Ten- 


736  MAJ.  GEN".   WILLIAM  B.   BATE. 

nessee.  He  now  claimed  their  protection  and  kindness.  As  a 
generous  master  he  was  endeared  to  all  of  them ;  and  as  an  evidence 
of  the  attachment  of  the  negro,  his  body-servant,  "  Jim,"  had  fol 
lowed  him  throughout  the  war,  and  had  twice  borne  him  wounded 
from  the  field.  The  dream  of  the  brave  man's  youth  had  vanished. 
The  cause  in  which  he  enlisted  every  aspiration  of  his  soul,  all 
the  energy  of  his  nature,  and  every  impulse  of  his  ambition ;  for 
which  he  had  forsaken  the  comforts  of  home,  the  rapid  accumula 
tions  of  a  large  business,  and  the  domestic  attractions  of  a  fond  and 
devoted  family,  had  perished  and  claimed  no  more  the  service  of 
his  preeminent  capacity  or  the  chivalric  exercise  of  his  enthusiastic 
patriotism.  The  devotion  of  his  constant  and  undying  love  for  the 
South  found  now  no  field  for  its  exercise  in  the  serious  display  of 
opposing  hosts  in  the  terrible  gage  of  battle.  Her  banners  all 
furled,  no  longer  rallied  to  them  devoted  warriours.  Sick  and 
despondent,  in  the  quiet  and  repose  of  his  rural  retreat  in  Georgia, 
Geii.  Bate  existed  for  a  few  weeks  in  melancholy  contemplation  of 
the  ruin  of  the  cause  for  which  he  and  so  many  brave  sons  of  the 
South  had  for  four  years  labored  and  perilled,  and  which  had 
passed  away  among  the  things  "  that  were  but  are  not." 

But  such  meditations  were  averse  to  his  better  nature.  They 
did  not  comport  with  the  practical  direction  of  his  mind,  or  the 
indomitable  energy  which  had  ever  characterized  him  in  both  civil 
and  military  life.  As  soon  as  his  wearied  and  crippled  body  had 
received  the  rest  which  so  long  a  time  in  active  and  exciting  ser 
vice  had  rendered  necessary,  he  made  his  way  back  to  his  own 
native  Tennessee,  where,  among  the  familiar  scenes  of  his  home, 
and  the  associations  of  a  people  who  had  ever  been  partial  to  him, 
he  proposed  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  his  new  existence,  and  lend 
his  influence  to  a  manly  and  dignified  encounter  of  the  situation. 

He  found  his  homestead  desolated  and  destroyed.  The  atro 
cious  spirit  of  the  enemy  could  not  forego  the  indulgence  of  a 
cowardly  revenge  upon  a  foeman  who  would  have  disdained  to 
have  fought  them  in  any  other  way  but  to  their  face  with  his  steel. 
They  had  destroyed  his  residence  and  laid  waste  his  grounds,  leav 
ing  no  evidence  of  the  once  beautiful  home,  but  the  standing  and 
charred  chimneys,  mute  but  damning  monuments  of  the  infamy  of 
a  cowardly  Vandalism.  Notwithstanding  this  and  his  many  other 
misfortunes,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  then  as  he  is  now,  an  unpar- 


MAJ.-GEN.   WILLIAM  B.   BATE.  737 

doned  rebel,  pursued,  indicted  for  treason,  his  estates  libelled,  and 

himself  hunted  by  "  Union  men  "  with  suits  for  fictitious  damages 

because  of  his  course  in  the  war,  he  resolved  to  remain  in  his 

native  State,  and  try  again  the  fortunes  of  the  profession  of  the 

law,  in  which  he  had  formerly  distinguished  himself.     Since  the 

surrender,  Gen.  Bate  has  taken  no  part  in  politics.     Disfranchised 

3y  the  usurping  Government  of  Tennessee,  because  of  his  devotion 

;o  a  cause  which  he  esteemed  dearer  than  life,  he  awaits  the  sense 

)f  returning  justice,  which  will  do  him,  and  the  brave  men  who 

icted  with  him,  the  fullest  vindication,  and  haply  restore  them  to 

he  rights  of  which  an  accidental  power  now  deprives  them.     His 

ntercourse  with  those  who  differ  with  him  exhibits  that  manly 

ndependence  which  must  always  command  respect,  characterized 

s  it  is  by  a  courtesy  which  attracts  while  it  does  not  invite,  and 

rhich  is  independent  without  being  repulsive.      Free  from  the 

isgusting  sycophancy  which  so  many  have  adopted  as  the  best 

leans  to  a  sordid  and  material  advantage,  he  pursues  the  even 

uties  of  his  professional  life,  indifferent  to  the  estimation  of  his 

aemies  as  he  is  jealous  of  the  regard  of  his  friends.     As  a  soldier, 

e  was  brave,  chivalric,  energetic,  and  untiring ;  as  a  citizen,  he  is 

onservative  and  dutiful ;  as  a  husband  and  parent,  domestic  and 

sfectionate;  as  an  enemy,  fierce  but  not  ungenerous;  as  a  lawyer, 

,1st  to  all  who  come  within  the  purview  of  his  practice;    as  a 

liend,  free  and  open-handed,  reserving  to  himself  nothing  in  sel- 

Jihness;  as  a  man,  replete  in  all  that  constitutes  the  man's  true 

andard. 

47 


IIEUT.-GEMRAL  WADE  HAMPTON. 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 

An  Englishman's  remark  on  the  military  aptitude  of  the  Southern  planter. — "Wealth 
and  culture  of  Wade  Hampton. — The  Hampton  Legion. — Its  mettle  tried  at  Manas- 
sas. — Gen.  Hampton  in  the  campaign  of  1862. — Detached  enterprises  against  the 
enemy. — In  the  battle  of  Brandy  Station. — Wounded  at  Gettysburg. — In  the 
campaign  of  1864. — Fights  with  Sheridan. — Trevillian  Station. — Sappony  Church. 
- — Hampton's  "beef-raid." — He  joins  Gen.  Beauregard's  command. — Operations 
against  Sherman. — A  severe  commentary  on  the  enemy's  atrocities. — Peculiar 
compliments  of  the  Northern  Eadicals  to  Gen.  Hampton  since  the  war. — His 
admirable  speeches  and  advice  to  his  countrymen. 

AN  Englishman  recently  writing  on  the  subject  of  the  American 
War,  ingeniously  remarks  :  "  The  richer  planter,  possessing  many 
slaves  dependent  entirely  on  him  in  regard  to  food,  clothing,  medi 
cine,  and  discipline,  acquires  habits  of  command  and  of  organization 
highly  useful  to  the  affairs  of  an  army.  A  man  capable  of  manag 
ing  the  affairs  of  a  large  plantation,  and  ruling  his  servants  with 
order  and  regularity,  has  advanced  far  in  the  qualities  necessary  to 
make  a  good  Colonel  of  a  regiment."  It  was  in  this  school  that 
Wade  Hampton  of  South  Carolina  was  eminently  educated — a 
school  where  was  not  only  taught  the  art  of  command,  but  which 
inspired  the  best  notions  of  chivalry,  and  produced  an  aristocracy 
haughty  and  narrow  in  some  respects,  but  singularly  pure,  circum 
spect,  and  aspiring. 

He  was  one  of  the  richest  planters  in  his  State,  owned  several 
large  tracts  of  land  well  stocked  with  negroes,  and  had  the  repu 
tation,  extending  beyond  his  neighbourhood,  of  an  enlightened 
and  liberal  agriculturist.  He  was  born  in  Charleston  in  1818. 
His  family  was  among  the  most  ancient  and  honoured  in  the  history 
of  South  Carolina.  His  grandfather,  Gen.  Wade  Hampton,  was  a 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WADE   HAMPTON.  739 

gallant  officer  in  the  Eevolution  which  gained  American  Independ 
ence,  and  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  respected  citizens  of 
South  Carolina,  in  those  days.  His  father,  Col.  Wade  Hampton, 
was  a  distinguished  officer  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  was  an  aide-de 
camp  to  Gen.  Jackson  in  the  memorable  battle  of  New  Orleans. 

Before  the  war  made  upon  the  South,  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
was  considered  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  the  State  of  South 
Carolina.  As  a  man  and  a  citizen  none  stood  above  him  in  the 
estimation  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  had  served  with  distinction 
in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  of  his  State.  His  first  wife  was 
a  daughter  of  Gen.  F.  P.  Preston,  of  Virginia,  and  after  the  death 
Df  this  estimable  lady,  he  married  a  daughter  of  the  celebrated  Gov. 
McDuffie,  of  South  Carolina.  He  owned  the  greatest  number  of 
legroes  of  any  gentleman  in  the  State,  and  was  distinguished  as 
Aie  most  humane  and  indulgent  of  men  in  the  management  of  his 
servants.  All  his  surroundings  were  those  of  a  gentleman  of  cul- 
,ure  and  honour.  His  residence  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  was 
inown  both  in  Europe  and  America  as  the  abode  of  splendid  hospi- 
,ality,  and  as  one  of  the  most  superb  residences  in  the  United 
States. 

In  the  first  gathering  of  troops  in  Virginia  to  oppose  the  Grand 
Irmy  of  the  North,  a  regiment  of  legionary  formation  (i.  e.  of  the 
tifferent  arms — infantry,  cavalry  and  artillery),  commanded  by  Col. 
lampton,  and  honourably  known  throughout  the  war  as  "  Hamp- 
on's  Legion,"  was  among  the  earliest  contributions  of  South  Caro- 
ina.  In  the  early  encampments  around  Richmond  it  was  recog- 
ized  as  the  elite  of  the  regiments,  and  obtained  the  best  of  the  social 
.onours  that  were  then  so  profusely  distributed  among  military 
len.  Its  associations  were  aristrocratic ;  its  dress-parades  at  Rock 
ets,  were  the  wonder  and  fashionable  resort  of  Richmond ;  and  as 
corps  of  gentlemen  soldiers,  they  were  perfect  in  every  appoint- 
lent.  The  munificent  spirit  of  the  commander  was  testified  by 
ie  fact  that  out  of  his  own  private  means  he  had  contributed 
irgely  towards  the  equipment  of  the  men.  Their  flag  Was  the 
atriotic  and  sacred  gift  of  the  ladies  of  South  Carolina,  and  in 
3cepting  it,  the  Legion  had  promised  to  defend  it  as  long  as  one 
f  their  number  remained  to  step  the  field  of  conflict. 

The  mettle  of  the  Legion  was  tried  on  the  first  field  of  Manassas. 
-,  was  here  that  Hampton's  600  infantry  held  for  some  time  the 


740  LIEUT.-GEN.    WADE  HAMPTON. 

Warrenton  road  against  Keyes,  and  when  forced  back,  recovered 
with  "  Stonewall"  Jackson,  and  afterwards  aided,  as  Gen.  Beaure- 
gard  wrote,  in  "restoring  the  fortunes  of  the  day  at  a  time  when 
the  enemy,  by  a  last  desperate  onset,  with  heavy  odds  had  driven 
the  Confederates  from  the  fiercely  contested  ground  about  the 
Henry  House."  The  personal  gallantry  of  Col.  Hampton  was 
noticed  in  all  accounts  of  the  battle.  His  horse  was  shot  dead 
under  him,  and  he  was  severely  wounded  in  the  head,  after  fighting 
some  time  on  foot  with  a  rifle.  His  Legion's  first  experience  of 
battle  was  severe  and  bloody,  and  its  loss  counted  as  110  killed  and 
wounded,  including  among  the  first,  Lieut.-Col.  Johnston,  an  officer 
of  brilliant  promise. 

In  nearly  all  the  battles  of  the  Peninsula,  Col.  Hampton  was 
ever  among  the  first  in  the  fight.  At  the  battle  of  Seven  Pines,  he 
lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  more  than  half  of  his  command,  and 
he  was  himself  again  severely  wounded.  After  the  terrible  battle 
of  Games'  Mills,  he  was  promoted  to  Brigadier-General  of  Cavalry, 
and  was  afterwards  with  Gen.  Stuart  in  all  his  memorable  deeds 
of  daring. 

We  find  him,  too,  noticed  separately  for  a  number  of  detached 
enterprises  of  the  cavalry  in  Virginia,  during  the  second  winter  of 
the  war.  About  the  1st  December,  1862,  with  a  detachment  of 
his  brigade,  he  crossed  the  Upper  Eappahannock,  surprised  two 
squadrons  of  Federal  cavalry,  captured  several  commissioned  offi 
cers,  and  about  one  hundred  men,  with  their  horses,  arms,  colours, 
and  accoutrements,  without  loss  on  his  part. 

On  the  llth  December  Gen.  Hampton  was  again  in  the  saddle, 
crossed  the  Eappahannock  with  a  detachment  of  his  brigade,  cut 
the  enemy's  communications  at  Dumfries,  entered  the  town  a  few 
hours  before  Sigel's  corps,  then  marching  on  Fredericksburg,  cap 
tured  twenty  wagons  with  a  guard  of  about  ninety  men,  and 
returned  safely  to  his  camp.  On  the  16th  December,  he  again 
crossed  the  river  with  a  small  force,  proceeded  to  Occoquan,  sur 
prised  the  pickets  between  that  place  and  Dumfries,  captured  fifty 
wagons,  bringing  many  of  them  across  the  Occoquan  in  a  ferry-boat, 
and  beating  back  a  brigade  of  cavalry  sent  to  their  rescue.  He 
reached  the  Kappahannock  with  thirty  wagons  and  130  prisoners. 

In  the  reorganization  of  Gen.  Lee's  army  in  186.3,  preparatory 
to  the  Pennsylvania  campaign,  we  find  Gen.  Hampton  assigned  to 


LIEUT.-GEN.    WADE   HAMPTON".  741 

a  brigade  of  cavalry,  and  again  zealously  engaged  with  Stuart  and 
the  two  Lees  in  the  operations  of  that  year.  The  most  important 
of  the  cavalry  affairs  of  this  period,  was  the  battle  of  Brandy  Sta 
tion;  and  here  Gen.  Hampton  again  distinguished  himself,  and 
gave  a  remarkable  example  of  valour  and  devotion.  His  command 
was  composed  of  the  1st  and  2d  South  Carolina,  the  1st  North 
Carolina,  the  Cobb,  Jeff  Davis,  and  Phillips  Legions.  In  this 
bloody  fight  every  field  officer  was  wounded,  as  he  successively  took 
command  of  the  brigade — Col.  Baker  of  North  Carolina  first,  then 
Col.  Young,  Cobb's  Legion,  then  Col.  Black,  1st  South  Carolina, 
and  lastly  Lieut.-Col.  Lipscomb,  2d  South  Carolina. 

When  Gen.  Lee's  army  occupied  Chambersburg,  Gen.  Hampton 
was  appointed  "  Military  Governor,"  and,  to  this  day,  the  candid 
inhabitants  of  the  place  admit  that  they  suffered  no  outrage  what 
ever  at  the  hands  of  the  Confederates.  At  the  battle  of  Gettysburg 
Gen.  Hampton  was  Ihree  times  wounded,  and  so  badly  that  he 
had  for  some  time  to  be  absent  from  his  command.  What  were  the 
perils  and  glories  of  this  campaign  may  be  judged  from  the  fact, 
that  out  of  twenty-three  field  officers  in  Gen.  Hampton's  command, 
twenty -one  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  statement  of  its  losses  is 
quite  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  cavalry  were  not  unworthy  com 
peers  of  the  glorious  infantry  of  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
and  that  in  the  article  of  hard  fighting  Hampton  contested  the  palm 
with  the  best  of  Lee's  lieutenants. 

For  his  many  brave  deeds,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
Major-General,  and  shortly  thereafter  Lieutenant-General,  and  had 
command  of  the  cavalry  in  Virginia  after  the  death  of  Stuart. 
Thenceforth  considered  as  Lee's  master  of  horse,  he  had  an  import 
ant  share  in  the  great  campaign  of  1864,  and  obtained  the  most 
brilliant  and  valuable  success  of  his  military  life.  A  part  of 
Grrant's  early  combination  against  Richmond  was  a  movement  of 
3avalry  under  Sheridan,  to  destroy  Gordonsville  and  Charlottes- 
yille,  with  the  railroad  near  these  places ;  then  to  unite  with  Hun- 
:er  in  his  attack  on  Lynchburg;  and  after  the  capture  of  that 
olace,  the  joint  forces  to  move  to  the  White  House  on  the  Pa- 
imnkey,  from  which  point  they  would  join  the  main  Federal  army 
)T  threaten  Richmond.  This  imposing  piece  of  strategy  was 
Drought  to  naught  by  Gen.  Hampton's  celerity  of  movement  and 
/igour  of  action.  On  the  10th  June,  he  succeeded  in  placing  him- 


742  LIEUT.-GEN.  WADE  HAMPTON. 

self  in  front  of  the  enemy  near  Trevillian's  Station,  on  the  Central 
railroad,  and  attacked  the  next  morning  at  daybreak.  In  his 
official  report  of  the  action,  Gen.  Grant  claims  that,  on  the  llth, 
Sheridan  drove  the  Confederate  cavalry  "  from  the  field,  in  com 
plete  rout;"  and  says,  when  he  advanced  towards  Gordonsville, 
on  the  12th,  "  he  found  the  enemy  reinforced  by  infantry,  behind 
well-constructed  rifle-pits,  about  five  miles  from  the  latter  place, 
and  too  strong  to  successfully  assault."  There  is  an  absurd  excess 
of  falsehood  in  this.  In  fact  there  was  not  an  infantry  soldier  in 
arms  nearer  the  scene  of  action  than  with  Gen.  Lee's  arm}1-,  at 
Cold  Harbour;  and  the  "well-constructed  rifle-pits"  were  nothing 
more  than  rails  put  up  in  the  manner  in  which  cavalry  were 
accustomed  to  arrange  them  to  prevent  a  charge.  Sheridan  mis 
took  some  of  Hampton's  cavalry,  dismounted  and  fighting  on  foot, 
for  infantry ;  he  saw  "  infantry "  "  too  strong  to  successfully 
assault;"  and  the  statement  was  eagerly  seized  by  his  superiour  to 
cover  his  shame  and  mortification  of  defeat. 

It  was  indeed  a  decisive  check.  Sheridan  was  defeated  at  Tre 
villian's — was  punished  in  the  skirmishes  at  the  White  House  and 
Forge  Bridges,  and  was  routed  at  Samaria  Church.  Nearly  1,000 
prisoners  were  taken,  and  from  the  last-named  place  the  enemy 
was  pursued  within  two  or  three  miles  of  Charles  City  Court  House, 
his  wounded  scattered  over  the  ground  upon  which  he  had  fought. 
He  retreated  to  Wynoke  Neck  in  order  to  cross  the  James  river 
under  protection  of  the  gunboats,  and  Gen.  Hampton,  in  accordance 
with  instructions  from  Gen.  Lee,  moved  on  the  26th  June  to  the 
pontoon  bridge,  with  a  view  to  cross  and  join  the  army  on  the 
south  side  of  the  James  river.  This  closed  his  operations,  which 
had  for  their  object  the  defeat  of  Sheridan's  movement  in  rear 
of  Lee. 

He  at  once  commenced  another  operation — which  was  to  inter 
cept  Wilson,  who  was  returning  from  Staunton  Kiver  bridge  to 
rejoin  Grant's  army.  A  force  of  infantry  and  artillery  having 
been  placed  at  Beams'  Station  (as  the  enemy  would  have  to  cross 
the  railroad  there — Jarrett's  or  Hick's  Ford),  Gen.  Hampton 
moved  out  with  his  division  to  attack  the  enemy  at  a  place  called 
Sappony  Church.  Here  he  broke  the  enemy's  lines,  and  pursued 
and  fought  him  for  several  days,  while  Fitz  Lee  at  Beams'  Station 
crowned  the  victory,  and  achieved  a  brilliant  success  of  his  own. 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WADE  HAMPTON.  743 

Hampton's  command  alone  took  800  prisoners.  The  pursuit  of 
the  enemy,  which  ended  near  Peter's  bridge,  closed  the  active  oper 
ations  which  commenced  on  the  8th  June,  when  the  movement 
against  Sheridan  began.  The  history  of  these  few  weeks  is  thus 
officially  related  by  Gen.  Hampton:  "During  this  time — a  period 
of  twenty-three  days — the  command  had  no  rest,  was  badly  sup 
plied  with  rations  and  forage — marched  upwards  of  400  miles — 
fought  the  greater  portion  of  six  days  and  one  entire  night — cap 
tured  upwards  of  2,000  prisoners,  many  guns,  small  arms,  wagons, 
horses,  and  other  material  of  war,  and  was  completely  successful  in 
defeating  two  of  the  most  formidable  and  well-organized  expedi 
tions  of  the  enemy.  This  was  accomplished  at  a  cost,  in  my  divi 
sion,  of  719  killed,  wounded  and  missing.  The  men  have  borne 
their  privations  with  perfect  cheerfulness;  they  have  fought  admi 
rably,  and  I  wish  to  express,  before  closing  my  reports,  not  only 
my  thanks  to  them  for  their  good  conduct,  but  my  pride  at  having 
had  the  honour  to  command  them." 

Perhaps  Gen.  Hampton's  most  grateful  enterprise  in  Gen.  Lee's 
army  was  the  famous  "  beef  raid,"  in  which  he  made  a  consider 
able  and  most  timety  addition  to  the  Confederate  commissariat.  On 
the  16th  September  he  got  in  Grant's  rear,  east  of  City  Point,  and 
drove  off  2,500  beeves  and  400  prisoners.  It  was  a  joke  well 
relished  in  an  army  of  half-starved  soldiers,  and  a  most  substantial 
comfort.  A  Eichmond  journal  made  the  following  savoury  and 
satisfactory  calculation  of  thje  prize :  "  The  Federal  commissaries 
buy  beeves  of  the  largest  size  for  the  use  of  their  armies  in  Virginia. 
The  expense  and  trouble  of  transportation,  which  are  in  proportion 
to  numbers,  make  this  very  expedient.  The  beeves  taken  in 
Hampton's  late  expedition  are  judged,  by  a  Loudon  grazier,  to 
weigh  800  pounds  net.  2,486  beeves  at  800  pounds,  would  make 
an  aggregate  of  1,988,800  pounds,  or  within  a  fraction  of  2,000,000 
pounds.  This,  distributed  in  daily  rations  of  a  pound  each,  would 
feed  1,000  men  for  nearly  2,000  days,  10,000  men  for  200  days,  or 
50,000  for  40  days,  and  so  forth." 

On  the  march  of  Sherman's  army  through  South  Carolina, 
Gen.  Hampton  was  detached  from  Lee's  immediate  command  to 
join  the  forces  then  under  Gen.  Beauregard.  Here  he  had  no 
opportunities  for  distinguished  service,  and  could  scarcely  do 
more  than  harass  the  enemy  as  he  advanced,  and  punish  the 


744  LIEUT.-GEN.   WADE  HAMPTON. 

murdering  and  marauding  cavalry  of  Kilpatrick.  This  latter  he 
did  very  effectually ;  once  surprising  Kilpatrick's  camp  and  caus 
ing  the  valorous  commander  to  take  hasty  flight,  with  no  other 
garment  on  but  his  shirt.  But  his  reduced  command  could  do 
little  to  restrain  the  outrages  of  Sherman's  main  army,  and  his 
sensibilities  were  lacerated  by  scenes  of  which  he  and  his  men 
were  compelled  to  be  almost  helpless  spectators.  He  was  ordered 
to  leave  Columbia  without  a  fight,  and  he  was  compelled  to 
abandon  his  own  home  there  to  the  torch  of  the  enemy,  whose 
cowardly  ferocity  spared  not  even  the  abode  of  hospitality, 
refinement,  luxury,  and  art.  Outrages  multiplied.  When 
Sherman's  army,  not  glutted  with  the  vengeance  and  spoil  of 
Columbia,  marched  northward  to  Charlotte,  it  was  preceded  by 
a  gang  of  men  called  "  bummers,"  who  robbed,  plundered,  and 
murdered  with  impunity.  Worse  villains  never  went  unhung. 
Some  of  these  Sherman  said  had  been  killed  after  capture  ;  and 
he  wrote  to  Gen.  Hampton  a  very  characteristic  letter,  stating 
that  he  would  hang  man  for  man.  Gen.  Hampton  replied  that 
he  knew  nothing  of  the  killing  of  any  of  his  "  foragers,"  as  he 
called  them ;  but  he  gave  him  fair  notice,  that  if  he  hung  a 
single  Confederate  soldier,  he  would  hang  two  Federals  ;  further 
more,  he  told  Gen.  Sherman  that  he  had  directed  his  men  to 
shoot  down  any  soldier  found  burning  houses,  and  that  he  should 
continue  to  do  this  as  long  as  he  (Sherman)  disgraced  the  profes 
sion  of  arms  by  destroying  private  dwellings.  "  Your  line  of 
march,"  said  Gen.  Hampton,  "can  be  traced  by  the  lurid  light 
of  burning  houses ;  and  in  more  than  one  household  there  is  an 
agony  far  more  bitter  than  death — a  crime  too  black  to  be  men 
tioned."  In  outrages  such  as  this  the  war  found  its  fitting  con 
clusion  ;  and  the  chivalric  and  honourable  protest  of  such  men 
as  Gen.  Hampton  was  scarcely  heard  in  the  midst  of  the  gen 
eral  ruin,  was  almost  unnoticed  in  the  boast  and  clamour  of  the 
enemy's  success,  and  is  on  record  now  only  for  the  purposes  of 
history. 

Since  the  war,  Gen.  Hampton  has  been  much  more  conspicu 
ous  than  the  majority  of  his  companions-in-arms,  and  his  name 
has  had  a  singular  importance  attached  to  it.  There  appears  to 
have  been  a  remarkable  consent  on  the  part  of  the  Eadical  press 
and  politicians  of  the  North  to  accept  him  as  a  representative 


LIEUT.-GEtf.   WADE  HAMPTON.  745 

of  a  class,  and  to  express  in  his  name  that  sentiment  in  the  South 
which,  surviving  the  war,  insists  yet  upon  the  honour  of  its  pros 
trate  cause,  and  pleads  for  a  tender  and  reverential  memory  of 
its  past.  It  is  the  sentiment,  in  fact,  which  while  submitting  to 
the  proper  arbitration  of  the  sword,  disdains  any  confession  of 
dishonour  or  exhibition  of  shame  in  the  matter;  and  reasserting 
its  rights  and  interests  in  a  restored  Constitution,  refuses  to  take 
the  position  of  the  vanquished,  and  to  be  punished  at  the  discre 
tion  of  the  conqueror.  It  has  been  common  in  Northern  journals 
to  describe  the  class  holding  this  sentiment  as  "  the  "Wade  Hamp 
tons  of  the  South,"  and  to  put  the  name  in  antithesis  to  the 
modern  self-styled  faction  of  "  Loyalists."  It  is  an  extraordi 
nary  compliment  to  the  noble  South  Carolinian.  It  is  in  this 
view  that  all  his  political  opinions  since  the  war  have  been 
quoted  with  importance,  and  have  had  a  large  circulation  through 
the  press.  These  opinions,  indeed,  constitute  not  the  least  inter 
esting  part  of  his  life,  and  indicate,  we  trust,  future  additions  to 
his  influence  and  fame. 

On  the  close  of  the  war  there  were  many  Southerners  who, 
in  the  first  bitterness  of  their  disappointment  and  defeat,  were 
disposed  to  abandon  their  land,  and  to  organize  schemes  of  emi 
gration  to  foreign  countries.  In  one  of  these  schemes  which 
proposed  a  refuge  and  colony  in  Brazil,  Gen.  Hampton  was 
iesignated  as  leader  and  conductor  of  the  enterprise.  But  he 
lot  only  discouraged  it,  but  rebuked  it  very  nobly,  and  so  effectu- 
illy,  that  it  was  almost  entirely  abandoned  by  those  who  were 
irst  active  in  its  advocacy.  He  published  a  letter  in  reply  to 
nquiries  addressed  to  him  by  persons  who  proposed  to  emigrate. 
Ee  dissuaded  his  correspondents  from  any  general  emigration  ; 
idvised  them  to  remain  at  home  and  devote  their  energies  to 
;he  restoration  of  law  and  order,  the  reestablishment  of  agricul 
ture  and  commerce,  the  promotion  of  education,  and  the  rebuild- 
ng  of  the  dwellings  and  cities  which  have  been  laid  in  ashes. 
To  accomplish  these  objects  he  urged  that  "  all  who  can  do  so 
should  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States  Govern- 
nent,  so  that  they  may  participate  in  the  restoration  of  civil 
government  to  our  State.  A  distinguished  citizen  of  our  State," 
le  wrote,  "  an  honest  man,  and  a  true  patriot,  has  been  appointed 
3-overnor.  He  will  soon  call  a  convention  of  the  people  which 


746  LIEUT. -GEN.   WADE  HAMPTON. 

will  be  charged  with  the  most  vital  interests  of  our  State."  He 
urged  that  the  delegates  elected  to  this  convention  should  be  men 
"  who  had  laid  their  all  upon  the  altar  of  their  country."  He 
himself  should  pursue  the  course  which  he  recommended  to 
others,  "devoting  himself  earnestly,  if  permitted  to  do  so,  to  the 
discharge  of  these  obligations,  public  and  private ; "  but  in  the 
mean  time  he  should  obtain  all  the  information  desirable  in  the 
establishment  of  a  colony,  in  case  they  were  obliged  to  leave  the 
country. 

These  statements  were  written  at  the  time  when  the  Radical 
party  of  the  North  had  not  yet  fully  disclosed  its  programme  of 
striking  down  the  State  institutions,  Africanizing  the  South,  and 
when  there  was  some  hope  of  the  resoration  of  civil  government, 
and  the  erection  of  some  measures  of  liberty  and  order  on  the 
ruins  of  the  war.  At  a  subsequent  period,  when  the  policy  of 
this  party  was  more  fully  declared,  Gen.  Hampton  addressed  his 
countrymen  on  the  darkened  political  prospect  of  the  South, 
with  reference  to  her  new  articles  of  policy  and  duty. 

In  a  speech  delivered  at  Wallahalla,  South  Carolina,  in  the 
autumn  of  1866,  he  treated  of  the  recent  war,  the  terms  upon 
which  the  South  had  capitulated,  and  the  future  policy  of  the 
South.  "  It  is  full  time,"  he  said,  "  that  some  voice  from  the 
South  should  be  raised  to  declare  that,  though  conquered,  she  is 
not  humiliated ;  that  though  she  submits,  she  is  not  degraded ; 
that  she  has  not  lost  her  self-respect,  that  she  has  not  laid  down 
her  arms  on  dishonourable  terms ;  that  she  has  observed  these 
terms  with  the  most  perfect  faith,  and  that  she  has  a  right  to 
demand  the  like  observance  of  them  on  the  part  of  the  North." 
He  declared  that  the  South  had  become  loyal  in  the  true  accept 
ation  of  the  word  ;  that  she  had  fulfilled  her  part  of  the  peace 
compact,  and  in  every  way  observed  her  obligations  since  the 
close  of  the  war. 

Concerning  the  policy  of  the  South,  he  said  :  "  In  the  anoma 
lous  condition  in  which  we  are  placed,  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
difficulty  to  mark  out  the  proper  course  for  us  to  pursue ;  but 
there  are  certain  cardinal  principles  of  which  we  should  never 
lose  sight.  The  first  of  them  is,  that  as  we  accepted  the  terms  of 
the  North  in  good  faith,  we  are  bound  by  every  dictate  of  honour 
to  abide  by  them  fully  and  honestly.  They  are  none  the  less 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WADE  HAMPTON.  747 

binding  on  us  because  the  dominant  and  unscrupulous  party  of 
the  North  refuse  to  accede  to  us  our  just  rights.  Let  us,  at  least, 
prove  ourselves  worthy  of  the  rights  we  claim  ;  let  us  set  an 
example  of  good  faith,  and  we  can  then  appeal  with  double 
effect  to  the  justice  and  magnanimity  of  the  North." 

Of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  he  said :  "  Of  all  the  inconsist 
encies  of  which  the  North  has  been  guilty — and  their  name  is 
legion — none  is  greater  than  that  by  which  she  forced  the  South 
ern  States,  while  rigidly  excluding  them  from  the  Union,  to  ratify 
the  constitutional  amendment  abolishing  slavery,  which  they 
could  do  legally  only  as  States  of  the  Union.  But  the  deed  has 
been  done  ;  and  I,  for  one,  do  honestly  declare,  that  I  never  wish 
to  see  it  revoked.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  the  people  of  the  South 
would  now  remand  the  negro  to  slavery  if  they  had  the  power 
to  do  so  unquestioned." 

In  conclusion,  he  urged  that  the  people  of  the  South  should 
fulfil  to  the  letter  all  obligations  they  had  entered  into,  keeping 
their  faith  so  clear  that  no  shadow  of  dishonour  could  fall  upon 
them  ;  that  they  should  sustain  President  Johnson  cordially  in 
his  policy,  giving  their  support  to  that  party  which  rallied 
around  him ;  that  they  should  render  full  obedience  to  the  laws 
of  the  land,  reserving  to  themselves,  at  the  same  time,  the  inalien 
able  right  of  freedom  of  speech  and  of  opinion  ;  and  that  as  to 
the  great  question  which  so  materially  affected  their  interests — 
the  abolition  of  slavery — they  should  declare  it  settled  for  ever. 


LIEUT.-GEK  NATHANIEL  B.  FORREST, 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

Peculiarities  of  the  "Western  theatre  of  the  war. — Forrest,  "the  Great  Cavalryman  of 
the  "West." — Nathaniel  B.  Forrest,  his  parentage  and  early  life. — Enters  the  army  as 
a  private. — His  escape  from  Fort  Donelson. — His  expedition  into  "West  Tennes 
see. — Pursuit  and  capture  of  Streight's  command  in  Georgia. — The  field  of  Cbicka- 
mauga. — Gen.  Forrest  leaves  the  Army  of  Tennessee.— His  career  in  Mississippi. — 
Victory  of  Okolona. — The  dramatic  story  of  Fort  Pillow. — Victory  of  Tishamingo 
Creek. — Gen.  Forrest  rejoins  the  Army  of  Tennessee.— His. last  affair  with  the 
enemy  at  Selma. — The  wonder  and  romance  of  his  career. — A  remarkable  theory 
of  cavalry  service. — His  extraordinary  prowess  in  the  war,  and  deeds  of  blood. 

DURING  the  whole  course  of  the  war,  a  contrast  was  observed 
between  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederate  army  operating  in  Vir 
ginia  and  those  of  what  was  popularly  known  as  the  Army  of  the 
West,  traversing  the  varied  and  intricate  theatre  extending  from 
the  Alleghany  Mountains  to  the  Mississippi  River.  While  victory 
was  the  usual  incident  of  the  former,  the  career  of  the  latter  may 
be  described  as  unequal :  a  chequer  of  light  and  shade ;  brilliant 
victories  converted  into  defeats,  followed  by  disasters,  chased  by 
the  shadows  of  misfortune.  Indeed,  the  history  of  the  Army  of 
the  West  appears  to  have  been  impressed  by  a  premonition  and 
augury  in  the  extraordinary  fate  of  its  first  great  commander, 
Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  fell  in  the  effulgence  of  success  on 
its  first  great  field,  quickly  overcast  by  the  shadow  of  disaster, 
and  who  poured  out  his  life-blood  on  the  boundary  of  fortune, 
between  the  victory  of  the  day  and  the  defeat  of  the  morrow. 

But  to  this  rule  of  contrast  between  the  Army  of  Virginia  and 


LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST.  749 

that  of  the  West  there  is  a  marked  exception.  It  is  to  be  found 
in  the  cavalry  service  of  the  latter.  This  arm  in  the  West  habit 
ually  wore  the  wreath  of  victory  ;  its  general  condition  was  that 
of  success ;  its  achievements  constituted  the  most  brilliant  and 
constant  pages  in  the  unequal  and  diversified  record  of  the  war 
west  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  While  in  the  Army  of  the 
West  there  was  perhaps  no  group  equal  to  Lee's  infantry  lieuten 
ants,  it  may  be  said  that  the  deeds  of  the  cavalry  commanders  of 
the  latter — Stuart,  Ashby,  and  the  Lees — were  more  than  matched 
by  the  exploits  of  such  men  as  Morgan,  Wheeler,  Stephen  D.  Lee, 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  incomparable  Forrest,  distinguished, 
even  in  this  assembly  of  admirable  names,  as  "  the  Great  Cav 
alryman  of  the  West."  His  military  life  was  thick  with  incident, 
his  path  of  victory  traversed  many  important  fields,  and  his  career 
occupied  the  whole  space  and  action  of  the  war  in  the  West. 

Nathaniel  Bedford  Forrest  was  born  on  the  13th  July,  1821, 
at  the  little  village  of  Chapel  Hill,  in  Bedford  County,  Tennes 
see.  His  family,  on  the  paternal  side,  emigrated  from  Virginia 
to  North  Carolina  some  twenty  or  thirty  years  before  the  Revo 
lution  of  1776,  and  every  male  member  of  it,  capable  of  bear 
ing  arms,  was  a  soldier  of  liberty  in  that  war.  In  1834,  the 
subject  of  our  sketch  removed  with  his  father,  William  Forrest, 
to  the  State  of  Mississippi ;  and  shortly  after  this  event,  his 
father  dying,  he  found  his  mother  and  a  large  family  of  young 
children,  his  brothers  and  sisters,  dependent  upon  him  solely  for 
support.  In  this  emergency  his  only  resource  was  a  small  farm 
in  Marshall  County ;  but  so  well  did  he  work  it,  and  such  was 
his  energy,  that  in  a  few  years  he  found  himself  successful,  and 
^ble  to  make  ample  provision  for  all  of  the  numerous  and  help 
less  family  that  looked  to  him  for  support.  His  education  under 
these  circumstances  could  not  but  be  neglected.  Having  suc 
ceeded  as  a  farmer,  he  removed  to  Hernando.  Mississippi,  in 
1841,  and  engaged  in  business  as  mail  contractor  and  proprie 
tor  of  a  livery  stable.  He  continued  to  make  money,  and,  in 
1852,  he  changed  his  residence  to  Memphis,  Tennessee,  and 
established  himself  there  in  the  joint  business  of  real-estate 
broker  and  negro  trader.  At  the  end  of  five  or  six  years  he  had 
amassed  a  handsome  fortune,  purchased  a  plantation  in  the  Mis 
sissippi  Bottom,  and,  at  the  time,  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war, 


750  LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST. 

was  a  large  and  influential  planter,  producing  an  annual  crop  of 
about  1,000  bales  of  cotton,  and  grain  in  proportion. 

He  entered  the  war  as  a  private  soldier ;  but  soon  obtained 
authority  to  raise  a  regiment  of  cavalry.  He  visited  Kentucky, 
to  procure  arms  and  equipments,  and,  having  also  obtained 
several  hundred  recruits  there,  he  returned  to  Memphis,  and 
organized  a  battalion  of  eight  companies,  with  which  he  repaired 
to  the  army,  commanded  by  Gen.  A.  Sidney  Johnston.  From 
this  time  his  career  commenced,  continued  to  the  last  moment  of 
hostilities,  arid  traversed  the  whole  theatre  of  the  war  in  the  West. 

At  the  battle  of  Fort  Donelson,  Forrest  commanded  with  dis 
tinguished  gallantry  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  raised  principally  in 
West  Tennessee  and  in  North  Alabama.  After  a  bloody  struggle 
against  overwhelming  odds,  for  three  or  four  days,  it  was  thought 
a  matter  of  imperative  necessity  to  surrender  the  brave  garrison. 
In  the  council  of  war  which  discussed  this  necessity,  there  occurred 
a  remarkable  incident,  of  the  authenticity  of  which  the  writer  has 
various  proofs.  Col.  Forrest  had  been  instructed  by  Gen.  Pillow, 
for  some  reasons,  to  examine  the  condition  of  a  road  running  near 
the  river  bank,  and  between  the  enemy's  right  and  the  river,  and 
also  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the  enemy.  From  this  examina 
tion,  and  from  information  obtained  from  a  citizen  living  on  the 
road,  Col.  Forrest  made  the  discovery  that  the  water  was  only 
about  to  the  saddle-skirts,  although  the  mud  was  about  half-leg 
deep  in  the  bottom  where  it  had  been  overflowed.  The  bottom 
was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  and  the  water  then  about  100 
yards  wide.  The  enemy,  as  descried  by  his  camp  fires,  remained 
in  the  distance ;  while  the  Confederate  council  of  war,  in  the 
dead  hours  of  night,  was  considering  the  sorrowful  necessity  of 
surrender,  a  courier  announced  an  officer,  who  desired  admit 
tance.  The  door  was  opened,  and  Col.  Forrest,  all  splashed 
with  mud  and  water,  with  high-topped  boots  and  an  old  slouched 
hat,  made  his  appearance.  He  walked  to  the  fire-place  and 
seated  himself  sullenly,  without  Haying  a  word.  After  a  few 
moments  Gen.  Floyd  said :  "Well  Colonel,  have  you  anything 
important  to  communicate,  that  you  come  here  at  this  late 
hour;  or  has  your  curiosity  led  you  to  pay  us  this  visit,  in 
order  to  find  out  what  we  have  decided  upon  ? "  "  Both," 
replied  Forrest,  dryly  ;  then  rising  from  his  chair  with  animation, 


LIEUT -GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST.  751 

he  said:  "But  is  it  possible,  gentlemen,  as  I  have  already  heard 
whispered  this  night,  that  you  intend  to  surrender?"  "Yes,"  was 
the  reply ;  "  we  have  just  arrived  at  that  conclusion."  "But," 
said  Forrest,  "there  is  no  occasion  for  it.  The  river  is  not  waist- 
deep  where  we  can  cross.  The  scouts  who  reported  that  the  river 
could  not  be  forded  told  you  a  d — d  lie.  For  myself  I  intend  to 
go  out,  if  I  save  but  one  man.  Have  I  your  permission,  gentlemen, 
to  take  my  regiment  out  ?  "  Gen.  Buckner  nodded  his  assent,  and 
Gen.  Pillow  said,  briefly :  "  Cut  your  way  out."  But  it  proved  no 
such  desperate  undertaking ;  the  sequel  was  that  Forrest's  regi 
ment  escaped  without  the  loss  of  a  man,  while  the  bulk  of  the 
Confederate  army  remained  to  surrender,  in  the  full  belief  of  its 
superiour  officers  that  all  exit  was  closed,  or  on  the  supposition  that 
it  could  not  be  moved  from  its  intrenchments  without  being  seen  by 
the  enemy  and  followed  and  cut  to  pieces.  This  last  supposition  may 
have  been,  in  a  measure,  correct;  but  that  there  was  an  exit  not 
known  or  covered  by  the  enemy,  the  adventure  of  Col.  Forrest 
fully  demonstrated  to  his  own  satisfaction  and  safety. 

He  afterwards  attended  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston  in  his  retreat  to 
the  Tennessee  River,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  where 
he  rendered  signal  service,  and  was  severely  wounded.  After  this 
fitful  battle  there  was  a  fearful  decline  in  the  fortunes  of  the  West. 
Gen.  Beauregard  was  compelled  to  fall  back  before  the  superiour 
forces  of  Halleck;  the  whole  of  Middle  Tennessee  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  Federal  army,  every  town  of  importance  and 
every  railroad  station  being  guarded  by  strong  and  effective  gar 
risons,  and  the  entire  South-west  seemed  about  to  be  lost  to  the 
Confederacy.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Col.  Forrest  commenced 
his  important  career,  starting  equally  with  Morgan,  and  on  a  cor 
respondent  expedition,  with  the  same  general  design  of  weakening 
the  main  armies  of  the  enemy,  by  creating  a  necessity  for  strong 
guards  for  their  communications.  When  Morgan  made  his  first 
famous  incursion  into  Kentucky,  to  operate  on  the  communica 
tions  of  Gen.  Grant's  army  in  Mississippi,  Forrest  marched  with  a 
cavalry  force  to  operate  on  those  of  Gen.  Rosecrans  in  Tennessee. 
Both  of  the  expeditions  were  successful,  and  dated  the  reputation 
of  two  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  Western  armies.  For 
rest,  having  crossed  the  Tennessee  river  at  Chattanooga,  com 
menced  with  the  capture  of  McMinnville,  surprised  the  garrison 


752  LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST. 

of  Murfreesboro,  taking  prisoner  the  Federal  General  Crittenden, 
and  venturing  to  attack  here  a  brigade  of  2,000  infantry,  with  one- 
half  of  that  number  of  poorly  mounted  horsemen,  he  killed, 
wounded  and  captured  the  entire  force,  with  its  artillery  and  sup 
plies.  It  was  a  blow  which  shook  the  imagination  of  the  enemy, 
gave  new  confidence  to  the  country  that  had  fallen  within  the  Fed 
eral  lines,  and  cheered  the  Confederate  army  at  Tupelo  in  their 
laborious  drills  and  preparations  for  the  coming  campaign. 

When  Gen.  Bragg's  columns  advanced  from  Chattanooga 
towards  Kentucky,  Forrest,  who  had  obtained  his  promotion  as 
Brigadier-General,  was  sent  again  to  Middle  Tennessee,  to  hang 
upon  Buell's  flanks,  and  gain  information  concerning  his  move 
ments.  The  details  of  this  and  similar  service  during  the  Ken 
tucky  campaign,  until  Bragg's  army  accomplished  its  retreat  and 
went  into  winter-quarters  at  Murfreesboro,  while  the  Federals 
encamped  quietly  around  Nashville,  were  of  one  description — con 
stant  and  harassing  activity.  The  whole  front  of  the  Confederate 
army  was  covered  by  Forrest's  cavalry,  and  continual  engage 
ments  were  fought  between  them  and  detachments  of  the  Federal 
army ;  sometimes  occasioned  by  the  former  advancing  from  their 
encampments  and  attacking  posts  far  in  the  rear  of  the  main  body 
of  the  enemy's  forces ;  sometimes  by  the  latter  endeavouring  to 
find  a  weak  place  in  the  Confederate  line,  and  coming  in  contact 
with  detached  bodies  guarding  the  rails  and  roads  to  the  South. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  through  a  tedious  narration  of  these 
partial  engagements,  although  they  were  sometimes  dignified  in  the 
newspapers  by  the  name  of  battles.  A  brilliant  field  awaited  For 
rest,  and  made  him  in  one  day  the  popular  hero  of  the  West.  In 
the  early  months  of  1863,  the  Federal  commanders  inaugurated 
their  policy  of  "  raiding  "  over  the  South,  for  the  purpose  of  destroy 
ing  manufactories,  arsenals  and  depots,  devoting  picked  commands 
to  this  service,  whose  missions  were  to  destroy — and  destroy  until 
they  were  overpowered  and  captured.  Having  this  object  in  view, 
Col.  Streight  had  disembarked  a  select  brigade  in  the  neighbour 
hood  of  Tuscumbia,  Alabama;  but  Forrest,  suspecting  his  inten 
tion,  had  marched  rapidly  with  a  force  of  1,500  men  to  the  Ten 
nessee  River.  Streight  had  taken  the  direction  of  Rome,  Georgia, 
through  North  Alabama,  and  was  already  many  miles  the  start  of 
Forrest,  who  immediately  began  pursuit.  After  forty -eight  hours 


LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST.  753 

of  tremendous  riding,  which  broke  down  half  his  horses,  he  over 
took  the  Federal  rear-guard  on  the  mountains,  and  drove  it  upon 
their  main  column.  The  weary  raiders  had  but  little  rest  from 
that  time;  for,  though  they  rode  hard,  night  and  day,  their  sleep 
less  and  untiring  pursuers  kept  upon  their  heels,  dealing  wounds 
and  death  among  them,  until  the  spires  of  Kome  were  almost  visi 
ble  in  the  distance.  Streight  was  brought  to  bay,  and  compelled, 
for  his  safety,  to  halt  and  make  his  dispositions  for  battle.  Forrest 
immediately  and  peremptorily  demanded  his  surrender,  and  the 
perplexed  raider,  believing  himself  threatened  by  a  superiour  force, 
yielded  to  the  necessity  of  the  case,  and  delivered  up  bis  sword  in 
sight  of  the  rich  prize  that  he  had  hoped  to  gain.  He  must  have 
been  somewhat  mortified  when  he  found  that  1,600  men  had 
stacked  their  arms  to  less  than  600.  It  was  said  that  he  declined 
the  first  summons  to  surrender ;  but  when  he  stood  face  to  face 
with  Forrest,  and  heard  the  summons  repeated  in  his  peculiar 
voice,  and  looked  into  the  fierce  gray  eye,  that  expressed  no  hesi 
tation,  his  heart  failed  him,  and  he  bowed  to  the  greater  spirit. 
Forrest  described  his  exploit  as  "  an  excellent  game  of  bluff." 
Some  of  Streight's  men,  speaking  of  the  affair,  well  said:  "When 
they  agreed  to  surrender  they  found  him  without  force ;  when  they 
fought  him,  he  was  a  host." 

The  capture  of  Streight's  command  was  an  important  success, 
as  it  probably  saved  not  only  the  manufactures  of  Kome,  but  those 
of  Atlanta  and  Macon,  and  indeed  every  magazine -and  arsenal 
upon  which  the  armies  of  the  West  depended.  The  country  was 
not  at  all  prepared  to  defend  itself  against  the  sudden  attack  of  a 
brigade  of  bold  raiders ;  there  were  then  no  militia  organizations 
for  home  defense ;  there  were  no  arms  for  the  squads  who  could 
Assemble  to  repel  a  raid ;  and  it  was  impossible  to  have  protected 
the  country  by  sending  detachments  from  a  distant  army.  The 
emergency  had  been  great,  and  Forrest  had  been  equal  to  it.  The 
entire  community  of  the  little  town  of  Kome  turned  out  to  wel- 
some  him  as  their  deliverer.  A  witness  of  his  triumphal  entry 
into  the  town,  says  :  "  Beautiful  girls  strewed  his  way  with  flowers, 
sought  to  kiss  his  lips,  and  lavished  their  caresses  upon  him. 
When  he  dismounted,  and  entered  a  parlour  for  rest,  he  fell  imme- 
liately  asleep  amid  a  cluster  of  fair  ones,  for  sleep  had  not  visited 
lis  eyes  for  the  previous  five  days  and  nights."  Forrest  was  no 

48 


754:  LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST. 

stranger  to  these  patriotic  endearments;  and  he  valued  the  admir 
ation  of  women  as  the  better  half  of  his  fame.  He  not  only  had 
the  exceeding  courage  that  wins  the  smiles  of  the  fair,  but  he  had 
also  that  characteristic  purity  of  soul  that  regards  woman  not  as  a 
toy  of  leisure  or  the  object  of  a  coarse  passion,  but  as  the  best 
judge  of  heroic  deeds,  the  justest  arbiter  of  a  contested  cause, 
holding  the  purest  court  of  virtue  and  honour  on  earth,  dispensing 
the  best  prizes  of  fame,  and  commanding  the  aspirations  of  all  noble 
and  ideal  ambition. 

The  death  of  Van  Dorn  placed  Forrest  in  command  of  the 
whole  cavalry  corps  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  In  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga,  his  command,  occupying  the  extreme  right  of  Bragg's 
line  of  battle,  dismounted  and  fought  with  the  stubbornness  of 
infantry,  and  his  guns  fired  the  first  and  the  last  shot  in  the  action. 
Gen.  Forrest  was  for  pursuing  the  enemy  into  Chattanooga,  and 
capturing  everything  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Tennessee  ;  but  the 
Commanding  General  did  not  respond  to  his  ardour,  and  refused  to 
advance  his  infantry.  Other  occasions  of  disagreement  and  dis 
pleasure  took  place  between  Gen.  Bragg  and  his  subordinate;  there 
were  reports  of  jealousy  and  intrigue ;  and  Gen.  Forrest,  whose 
resentment  was  quick,  tendered  his  resignation.  The  War  Depart 
ment,  however,  could  not  dispense  with  the  services  of  so  valuable 
a  soldier  as  Forrest  was,  and,  therefore,  his  resignation  was  not 
accepted,  but  he  was  transferred  to  North  Mississippi,  at  his  own 
request.  Two  or  three  weeks  before  the  battle  of  Missionary 
Kidge,  he  turned  his  back  upon  the  army  with  which  he  had  fought 
so  long,  and  with  a  single  battery  of  artillery,  and  a  single  battalion 
of  cavalry,  started  for  Mississippi. 

He  was  forced  back,  as  it  were,  to  the  commencement  of  a  new 
career.  He  was  beset  by  extraordinary  difficulties.  He  was  with 
out  men  or  money,  arms  or  assistance,  and  at  least  20,000  well 
equipped  Federal  troops  were  stationed  at  Memphis,  and  along  the 
line  of  the  Tennessee  River.  He  was  obliged,  in  order  to  oppose 
any  resistance,  even  to  foraging  parties,  first  to  raise,  organize,  and 
arm  a  force.  It  was  a  severe  task,  and  an  almost  hopeless  pros 
pect  ;  but  nothing  was  impossible  to  this  man  of  unbounded 
energy  and  iron  will ;  his  genius  could  not  remain  in  obscurity, 
and  his  reputation  was  soon  again  ascending. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1864,  Sherman  commenced  his  grand 


LIEUT. -GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST.  755 

raid  from  Vicksburg  through  the  State  of  Mississippi ;  and  a  corps 
of  7,000  cavalry  and  ten  pieces  of  artillery  marched  southward 
from  Memphis,  under  Grierson,  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  a  junc 
tion  with  Sherman.  This  junction  would  have  produced  the  most 
disastrous  consequences  to  the  South  ;  but  Forrest  threw  himself 
upon  Grierson's  path,  and  attacked  him  on  the  plains  of  Okolona 
with  1,700  men.  The  Federal  cavalry,  loaded  down  with  booty, 
were  unable  to  withstand  the  fierce  onset  which  Forrest,  at  the 
head  of  his  squadrons,  made  upon  them,  and  at  the  first  charge 
broke  and  fled  to  Memphis,  leaving  their  artillery,  their  dead  and 
wounded,  and  many  prisoners,  in  the  hands  of  the  victors. 

The  results  of  this  action  were  much  greater  than  the  mere 
defeat  of  Grierson,  and  the  capture  of  his  artillery.  It  not  only 
sent  Grierson  back  to  his  base,  but  it  forced  Sherman  to  retrace 
his  steps  very  hastily  to  Yicksburg;  for,  without  his  expected 
force  of  cavalry,  his  situation  was  becoming  precarious.  It  saved 
the  State  of  Mississippi  from  rapine  and  plunder,  and  in  all  prob 
ability  shielded  the  city  of  Mobile  from  the  threatened  attack. 

Shortly  after  this  victory,  in  his  successful  expedition  to  Padu- 
3ah,  Gen.  Forrest  appeared  before  Fort  Pillow,  on  the  Mississippi 
River,  garrisoned  with  negro  troops,  and  demanded  its  surrender. 
The  story  of  the  capture  of  this  place  is  a  contested  page  in  the 
aistory  of  the  war;  the  enemy  has  entitled  it  "the  Fort  Pillow 
Massacre,"  and  by  an  array  of  the  testimony  of  fugitive  negroes 
md  the  devices  of  popular  sensation,  has  sought  to  impose  upon 
he  world  a  picture  of  insensate  butchery  and  fiendish  destruction, 
br  what  was  indeed  a  legitimate  triumph  of  arms,  and  a  just  inci- 
lent  of  war.  It  has  been  said  that  negro  soldiers  were  shot  down, 
vvhen  they  screamed  for  "  quarter,"  that  many  were  buried  alive, 
Crucified,  tortured,  burned,  or  disposed  of  by  other  devilish  instru- 
nents  of  pain.  The  facts  are  these:  When  Gen.  Forrest  first 
lemanded  the  surrender  of  the  fort,  his  main  line  was  within  the 
iverage  distance  of  one  hundred  yards  of  it,  and  was  in  a  position 
hat  would  enable  him  to  take  the  fort  with  less  loss  than  to  have 
Vithdrawn  under  fire.  This  must  have  been  apparent  to  the  gar- 
ison,  and  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  their  surrender  would  have 
>een  conceded,  but  for  an  idea  that  if  the  fortifications  were  car- 
ied  they  might  gain  the  protection  of  the  Federal  gunboats  in  the 
iver.  It  was  this  delusion  that  cost  so  many  lives.  When  the 


756  LIEUT.  GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST. 

first  summons  to  surrender  was  made,  Gen.  Forrest  himself  rode 
up  to  where  the  notes  were  received  and  delivered.  An  answer 
was  handed  him,  written  in  pencil,  on  a  slip  of  paper  without 
envelope,  in  these  strange  words  :  "  Negotiations  will  not  attain 
the  desired  object."  As  the  officers  who  were  in  charge  of  the 
Federal  flag-of-truce  had  expressed  a  doubt  of  the  presence  of 
Gen.  Forrest,  and  had  pronounced  the  demand  for  surrender  a  trick, 
he  came  forward  and  said,  in  brief,  determined  words:  "I  am 
General  Forrest.  Go  back,  and  say  to  Major  Booth  that  I  demand, 
within  twenty  minutes,  an  answer,  in  plain  English  :  Will  he  fight 
or  surrender  ? "  As  the  twenty  minutes  were  passing,  the  foremost 
gunboat  on  the  river  rapidly  approached  the  fort.  Gen.  Forrest  sat 
on  his  horse,  steadily  regarding  what  was  taking  place,  waited  five 
minutes  beyond  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  for  surrender, 
and  then  ordered  the  bugles  to  sound  the  charge.  The  men  carried 
the  works  without  a  perceptible  halt  in  any  part  of  the  lines.  The 
enemy  retreated  towards  the  river,  arms  in  hand,  and  firing  back; 
the  garrison  flag  was  still  flying ;  it  was  evidently  the  expectation 
of  the  fugitives  that  the  gunboats  would  shell  the  Confederates 
away  from  the  bluff  and  protect  them  until  they  could  be  taken 
off  or  reinforced.  This  expectation  was  the  fatal  mistake.  As 
they  descended  the  bank,  an  enfilading  and  deadly  fire  was  poured 
into  them,  at  a  distance  varying  from  thirty  to  one  hundred  yards. 
Fortunately  for  those  who  survived  this  short  but  desperate  strug 
gle,  some  of  Forrest's  own  men  cut  off  the  halyards,  and  the  Fed 
eral  flag,  floating  from  a  tall  mast  in  the  centre  of  the  fort,  came 
down.  When  the  flag  descended  the  firing  ceased.  Another  vol 
ley  would  scarcely  have  left  a  survivor  unhurt  in  the  panic-stricken 
mass  of  fugitives.  As  it  was,  many  rushed  into  the  river  and 
were  drowned,  and  the  turbid  waters  of  the  Mississippi  showed 
stains  of  blood  for  more  than  a  hundred  yards.  In  less  than 
twenty  minutes  from  the  time  the  bugles  sounded  the  charge, 
firing  had  ceased,  and  the  work  was  done.  It  was  a  terrible  work 
of  slaughter ;  but  one  which  the  enemy  provoked,  which  was  exe 
cuted  upon  men  with  their  flag  flying  over  their  heads,  and  which 
they  had  had  plain  and  repeated  opportunity  to  avoid  by  the  usual 
and  honourable  methods  of  surrender.* 

*  Gen.  Forrest  prepared  a  full  history  of  the  whole  siege  and  capture  of  Fort 
Pillow,  in  reply  to  the  newspaper  charge  of  a  "massacre,"  and  sent  it  to  Gen.  C.  C. 


LIEUT.-GEN.    N.    B.   FORREST.  757 

After  this  expedition  was  ended,  Forrest  had  started  for  Middle 
Tennessee,  but  receiving  intelligence  at  luka  that  a  column  of 
7,000  infantry,  3,000  cavalry,  and  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  had 
set  out  from  Memphis,  under  the  command  of  Gens.  Sturgis  and 
Smith,  he  was  compelled  to  turn  back,  and  give  his  undivided 
attention  to  this  column.  lie  moved  directly  upon  the  enemy's 
line  of  march,  and  encountered  him  on  Tishamingo  Creek,  with 
not  quite  5,000  cavalry.  His  dispositions  for  battle  were  quickly 
made,  and  before  the  astonished  Federals  were  aware  of  their  dan 
ger,  they  were  vigorously  attacked,  both  in  front  and  in  rear,  and 
thrown  into  complete  disorder,  while  Forrest's  nine  pieces  of  artil 
lery  poured  rapid  and  murderous  charges  of  canister  into  their 
ranks,  at  the  short  distance  of  sixty  paces.  In  less  than  an  hour 
Sturgis  was  utterly  routed,  with  the  loss  of  all  his  artillery,  his 
entire  train,  and  more  than  5,000  of  his  men  killed,  wounded  and 
captured ;  the  remnant  scattered  over  the  woods,  and  made  their 
way  to  Memphis,  though  pursued  for  forty  miles. 

The  campaign  projected  after  the  fall  of  Atlanta  recalled  For 
rest  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  and  he  marked  his  path  of  return 
to  it  with  fire  and  sword.  At  Johnsonville,  on  the  Tennessee 
Eiver,  he  burned  gunboats  and  barges,  and  millions  of  stores 
which  had  been  collected  there  for  Sherman's  army,  and  immedi 
ately  joined  the  army  of  Gen.  Hood  at  Florence.  He  came  back 
to  it  with  a  greatly  enlarged  fame,  and  after  a  wondrous  sum  of 
exploits.  A  year  before  he  had  left  with  a  single  battalion  to  try 
his  fortune  in  Mississippi ;  he  had  raised,  and  armed,  and  equipped 
a  gallant  command,  without  a  mite  of  assistance  from  the  Govern 
ment  ;  he  had  kept  at  bay  a  force  of  30,000  Federal  troops,  who 
had  often  essayed  to  break  down  his  barrier  of  steel,  and  were  as 
lOften  baffled;  he  had  put  17,000  of  the  enemy  "hors  de  combat ;" 
he  had  captured  and  sent  to  the  rear  sixty  pieces  of  artillery ;  and 
had  destroyed  thirty  millions  of  Federal  property.  He  moved  in 
advance  of  Hood,  and  chased  the  enemy's  cavalry  to  their  infantry 
lines ;  and  after  the  disaster  at  Nashville,  his  enduring  courage  in 
'covering  the  retreat  of  the  broken  army,  after  the  retirement  of 
Gen.  S.  D.  Lee,  who  had  kept  the  enemy  at  bay  in  its  first  stages, 
probably  saved  it  from  destruction. 

"Washburne  at  Memphis ;  but  so  far  as  we  are  advised,  not  only  was  it  not  published, 
but  he  was  never  given  the  benefit  of  a  brave  soldier's  disclaimer. 


758  LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST. 

The  infantry  having  been  transported  by  rail  to  the  Carolinas, 
Forrest  was  left  to  guard  a  long  line  of  frontier,  reaching  from  De- 
catur,  Alabama,  to  the  Mississippi  Kiver;  an  almost  impossible 
task,  as  the  enemy  was  threatening  every  assailable  point.  In 
the  spring  of  1865,  a  heavy  force  of  cavalry  and  mounted  infantry, 
under  Wilson,  made  a  descent  into  Alabama,  and  marched  rap 
idly  in  the  direction  of  Selma.  Forrest  sent  orders  to  his  scat 
tered  commands,  requiring  them  to  concentrate  as  rapidly  as  pos 
sible  upon  Selma,  and  started  with  his  escort,  ahead  of  any  com 
mand.  His  orders  for  a  concentration  of  his  forces  were  delayed 
by  various,  causes,  and  the  enemy  attacking  Selma,  were  opposed 
by  a  small  force  of  less  than  TOO  men.  After  a  desperate  strug 
gle,  Forrest  was  driven  out  of  the  town  by  the  overwhelming  odds 
of  the  enemy,  and  forced  to  retire. 

This  ended  his  list  of  hard-fought  fields ;  for  soon  after  came  the 
melancholy  tidings  of  the  surrender  of  the  Armies  of  Virginia  and 
Tennessee ;  and  Lieut.-Gen.  Forrest  laid  down  his  arms  when,  as 
he  declared,  ll  further  resistance  would  have  been  madness  and 
folly."  He  has,  since  the  return  of  peace,  resided  in  Memphis, 
engaged  in  business  there  as  a  commission  merchant — "the  lion" 
of  a  city  that  has  in  its  population  at  the  present  time  more  curi 
osities  and  contrasts  than  any  other  of  equal  size  in  America. 

In  appearance  Gen.  Forrest  is  a  remarkable  man;  a  perfect 
model  of  human  symmetry  and  strength,  with  an  endurance,  it  was 
said,  that  could  wear  out  any  trooper  that  served  under  him. 
He  is  about  six  feet  high ;  his  dark,  piercing,  hazel-eyes  are  full 
of  expression,  scintillating  when  excited,  and  at  times  playing  with 
a  passionate  vengeance  terrible  to  behold.  The  iron-gray  hair 
covers  a  brain  of  wonderful  breadth ;  the  finely-cut  features 
betoken  native  cultivation ;  the  lithe  form  indicates  great  physical 
power  and  activity.  He  can  have,  too,  his  gentle  moods,  when 
the  clear  metallic  voice  that  so  often  rang  out  the  battle-charge 
sinks  to  tones  of  winning  tenderness,  xand  pleads  the  cause  of  the 
affections. 

His  military  career  was  a  succession  of  brilliant  victories,  the 
details  of  which  would  make  a  volume  of  romance.  By  no  manner 
of  means  a  favourite  of  commanding  Generals,  or  of  the  govern 
ment — for  he  was  jealous  and  sullen  under  authority,  and  some 
times  had  fierce  fits  of  obstinacy — he  extorted  their  applause,  and 


LIEUT.-GEN.   N.   B.   FORREST.  759 

wrenched  commission  after  commission  from  their  unwilling  hands, 
until  he  had  won  the  wreath  of  Lieutenant-General,  which  had 
never  been  bestowed  upon  any  other  than  regularly  educated  West 
Point  soldiers.  Without  the  advantages  of  learning,  he  exhib 
ited  a  remarkable  originality  in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  and  was 
the  practical  author  of  one  of  the  most  important  reforms  in  the 
service.  It  was  this  uneducated  man  who,  above  all  others, 
divined  the  true  uses  of  cavalry  in  the  war,  and  gave  it  a  new  and 
terrible  power.  The  improvements  in  modern  warfare  may  be  said 
to  have  annihilated  the  uses  of  cavalry  as  an  arm  of  attack  to  be 
employed  against  infantry  formations.  Six  hundred  Scots  Greys 
rode  against  the  Eussian  rifles  at  Balaklava,  and  of  that  gallant 
corps  only  one  hundred  and  sixty  returned  from  the  charge.  The 
infantry  line,  or  square,  engages  the  cavalry  column  of  attack  as 
far  as  it  can  be  distinctly  descried,  and  it  is  annihilated  before  it 
has  reached  the  point-blank  range  of  the  smooth-bore  musket. 
This  important  fact  was  fully  recognized  and  acted  upon  by  Forrest, 
and  he  aimed  to  make  his  mounted  troops  a  body  of  swift  infantry 
centaurs.  J  The  immemorial  sabre  was  almost  entirely  discarded, 
and  the  long-range  carbine,  or  rifle,  and  navy  revolver,  usurped  its 
place.  It  was  this  change  that  confounded  the  enemy,  converted 
the  operations  of  Forrest's  cavalry  from  mere  raids  to  more  impor 
tant  service,  and  made  it  a  practicable  and  formidable  arm  on  the 
regular  field  of  battle. 

Gen.  Forrest  had  none  of  that  polish  which  the  popular  imagi 
nation  usually  ascribes  to  the  chivalric  hero.  His  education  was 
wofully  deficient,  and  his  extreme  illiterate  condition  almost  sur 
passes  belief.  He  was  the  coarse  Western  man,  ungrammatical 
whenever  he  opened  his  mouth,  guilty  of  slang  and  solecism,  but 
full  of  the  generous  fire  of  conflict,  alive  with  every  instinct  of 
chivalry,  and  with  an  enthusiasm  as  simple  as  that  of  a  boy.  He 
had  an  immense  brain ;  he  was  named  by  a  distinguished  Confed 
erate  General  as  the  most  wonderful  man  of  the  war,  next  to 
Stonewall  Jackson ;  he  was  quite  as  peripatetic ;  he  fought  through 
four  States  in  the  war;  and  his  quickness  of  movement  and  strike 
in  battle  gained  for  him  the  title  of  "  War  Eagle  of  the  West." 
Forrest  never  refused  an  open  fight ;  he  disdained  ambuscades  and 
surprises;  his  orders  against  guerillas  who  might  stray  from  his 
command  to  such  dishonourable  service,  were  even  more  severe 


760  LIEUT.  GEN".   N.   B.   FOIiKEST. 

than  those  of  the  enemy.  He  once  offered  a  reward  for  the  appre 
hension  of  a  step-brother,  because  of  his  reported  unauthorized 
depredations  as  a  guerilla.  Fair-play  was  the  jewel  of  the  man. 
When  in  the  last  periods  of  the  war,  Wilson,  with  a  largely  supe- 
riour  force,  chose  to  harass  and  weaken  him  without  a  battle, 
Forrest,  tired  of  the  game  of  strategy,  sent  him  word :  "  If  you 
will  come  out,  I'll  give  you  a  fair  field,  and  a  square  fight,  the 
longest  pole  to  take  the  persimmon."  In  this  coarse  language  there 
is  yet  something  severely  and  undeniably  chivalric. 

His  prowess  in  the  war  was  almost  marvellous.  He  waa 
wounded  four  times  and  had  twenty-nine  horses  shot  under  him. 
He  is  reported  to  have  said — "I  have  with  my  own  hand  killed  a 
man  for  every  horse  I  lost  in  the  war,  and  I  was  a  horse  ahead  at 
its  close.  At  Selma,  I  killed  two  Yankees,  and  jumped  my  horse 
over  a  wagon,  and  got  away.  My  provost-marshal's  book  will 
show  that  I  have  taken  31,000  prisoners  during  the  war!  "  The 
Great  Cavalryman  "  fought  for  blood."  Simple  in  his  conversation, 
sometimes  as  full  of  boisterous  humour  as  a  school-boy  when  relat 
ing  his  exploits,  he  was  yet  volcanic  in  his  wrath,  and  in  the 
gloom  of  his  aroused  passions  his  dearest  friends  dared  not  ap 
proach  him.  There  is  something  terrible  in  such  a  character,  and 
yet  sublime,  when  the  passions  are  intelligent  and  not  merely 
exhibitions  of  temper.  Forrest  was  the  incarnation  of  vengeance 
in  the  war,  but  there  was  not  a  trait  of  personal  malice  in  his 
record.  He  was  the  fierce  combatant  for  the  cause  of  right,  the 
champion  with  the  vizor  up,  and  the  blazing  countenance  fighting 
to  the  point  of  death.  His  passions  were  the  inspirations  of  a  great 
contest,  not  the  fume  of  low  personal  animosities.  The  great 
events  of  1861  found  him  leading  an  obscure  and  amiable  life, 
called  out  an  unconscious  greatness,  touched  a  hidden  enthusiasm, 
and  suddenly  raised  from  this  simple  man  the  apparition  of  a 
new  glory  and  a  new  flame  in  the  war. 


LIEUT.-GEK  EDMOND  KIRBT  SMITH, 


CHAPTER  LXXL 

Sarly  military  life  of  E.  Kirby  Smith. — His  first  conspicuous  service  in  the  Con 
federate  States  army  at  Manassas.  His  campaign  with  Bragg  in  Kentucky. — 
Great  success  of  Gen.  Smith's  part  of  the  campaign. — Put  in  command  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Department. — Extraordinary  spirit  of  this  part  of  the  Confed 
eracy. — Peculiar  military  difficulties  of  the  department. — The  Bed  River  cam 
paign. — "Why  Gen  Smith  did  not  pursue  Banks. — Affairs  with  the  Federal  General 
Steele. — Judgment  and  prudence  of  Gen.  Smith  in  deciding  an  alternative  of 
campaigns. — Injustice  of  the  popular  censure  on  this  subject. — Results  and 
fruils  of  the  Red  River  campaign. — Prejudice  in  Richmond  against  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  States. — "What  they  accomplished  in  the  war. — Gen.  Smith's  resolu 
tion  to  hold  out  after  Lee's  surrender.  —  His  troops  demoralized,  clamourous, 
and  excited  against  their  commander — Terrible  scenes  of  disorder. — History  of 
the  surrender  of  the  Trans-Mississippi. — Review  of  Gen.  Smith's  military  charac 
ter. — Some  explanation  of  unjust  popular  accusations. 

EDMOND  KIRBY  SMITH  is  a  native  of  Florida.  His  father  was 
Connecticut  lawyer  of  repute,  and  shortly  after  the  war  of  1812, 
i  which  he  served  as  a  Major  and  Colonel,  was  appointed  United 
Itates  Judge  for  the  District  of  Florida,  and  removed  with  his 
amily  to  St.  Augustine.  Two  sons  were  educated  for  the  army. 
(?he  elder  graduated  at  West  Point,  was  a  Captain  in  the  regular 
rmy  during  the  Mexican  War,  and  was  killed  at  Molino  del  Eey. 
?he  younger,  Edmond.  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1845,  and  was 
Tdered  as  Brevet  Second- Lieutenant  to  the  5th  Infantry,  then 
pith  Gen.  Taylor  in  Mexico.  He  was  afterwards  with  Scott  at 
/"era  Cruz ;  and  such  was  his  activity  and  merit  in  this  war,  that 
ie  received  three  brevets  for  gallant  conduct  in  the  space  of  less 
han  a  year — a  brilliant  record,  where  all  were  so  brave  and  eager 
o  win  renown. 

In  1854,  he  was  Captain  in  the  same  cavalry  regiment  with 


762  LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

R.  E.  Lee,  aud  others  already  mentioned.  This  regiment  was 
assigned  to  the  duty  of  checking  the  incursions  of  the  Comanche 
Indians,  and  its  principal  field  of  operations  was  Texas.  In  the 
desperate  and  decisive  battle  with  these  savages,  which  occurred  in 
May,  1859,  Capt.  Smith  was  severely  wounded. 

When  the  State  of  Florida  seceded,  Capt.  Smith  promptly 
resigned  his  commission  in  the  United  States  army,  and  was  among 
the  first  of  its  old  officers  to  offer  his  services  to  President  Davis, 
by  whom  he  was  sent  to  Virginia,  to  serve  with  Gen.  Johnston, 
then  commanding  at  Harper's  Ferry.  His  first  conspicuous  ser 
vice  in  the  war  was  very  brilliant  and  popular,  as  he  reached  the 
field  of  Manassas  at  the  head  of  a  brigade,  in  the  heat  of  the 
battle,  when  the  Confederate  left  wing  was  being  hard  pressed,  and 
by  his  timely  arrival  made  such  an  extension  of  the  Confederate 
line,  as  to  enable  it  to  turn  the  enemy's  flanking  movement,  and 
save  the  day.  While  executing  this  movement  he  was  struck  by 
a  ball,  and  severely  wounded.  He  was  promoted  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  for  his  service  on  this  field  ;  but  medical  attention  to  his  wound 
detained  him  many  months,  and  it  was  not  until  the  second  year 
of  the  war  he  was  again  in  active  command. 

The  defeat  of  Gen.  Crittenden  and  the  death  of  Gen.  Zol- 
licoffer,  in  East  Tennessee,  was  the  forerunner  of  all  those  disas 
ters  which  followed  each  other  with  such  rapidity  in  that  quarter 
of  the  Confederacy.  To  repair  the  first-named  disaster  as  far  as 
possible,  Gen.  Smith  was  placed  in  command  in  East  Tennessee. 
How  completely  he  succeeded  was  not  known  until  he  had  an 
opportunity  to  march  into  Kentucky.  This  march  was  concerted 
with  Gen.  Bragg,  and  was  part  of  a  grand  strategic  operation, 
which  appeared  likely  to  result  in  the  liberation  of  Kentucky. 
Gen.  Smith  moved  directly  on  Lexington,  determined  to  strike  at 
the  very  heart  of  the  blue-grass  country.  At  Richmond  he 
encountered  10,000  men,  under  "  Bull "  Nelson,  drawn  up  to  dis 
pute  his  progress.  On  the  30th  August,  1862 — the  day  on  which 
the  second  battle  of  Manassas  was  fought  in  Virginia — he  attacked 
this  force.  An  utter  route  ensued.  3,000  men  threw  down  their 
arms  and  surrendered.  All  the  enemy's  stores,  all  his  cannon,  all 
his  baggage — everything  he  had — were  captured.  The  flight  and 
pursuit  were  continued  almost  to  the  gates  of  Lexington,  which,  a 
few  days  after,  surrendered,  as  did  also  Frankfort.  The  Legisla- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND  KIRBY  SMITH.  763 

:ure  fled  to  Louisville,  and  the  Confederate  flag  was  displayed  on 
;he  capitol  of  the  State.  Gen.  Smith  pushed  his  reconnoissances 
;o  within  a  few  miles  of  Cincinnati.  Great  expectations  were 
jxcited  by  these  successes,  and  at  one  time  Gen.  Smith  dispatched 
,o  Eichmond  that  he  had  the  prospect  of  obtaining  10,000  recruits 
n  the  State.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  columns  of  Gen.  Bragg, 
n  the  other  part  of  Kentucky,  did  not  balance  the  successes  of 
3-en.  Smith.  The  campaign,  as  has  been  elsewhere  related,  ter- 
ninated  with  the  withdrawal  of  Bragg  to  Tennessee,  and  Gen. 
smith  was  recalled  to  the  main  army,  in  time  to  join  in  its  retreat 
lirough  Cumberland  Gap,  and  sorrowful  abandonment  of  Ken- 
ucky. 

Gen.  Smith's  largest  figure  in  the  war  was  as  commander  of 
he  Trans-Mississippi  Department.  In  March,  1863,  having  been 
nade  a  Lieutenant-General,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of 
his  extensive  Department,  including  the  States  west  of  the  Missis- 
ippi  River.  This  vast  territory  had  been  seriously  affected  by  the 
all  of  New  Orleans,  and  at  one  time  it  was  feared  that  it  would 
>rove  delinquent  in  the  war,  under  the  pressure  of  Federal  armies, 
nd  with  but  little  hope  of  assistance  from  the  government  at 
Richmond.  But  it  should  be  recorded  to  the  credit  of  this  large 
ection  of  the  Confederacy,  that  despite  everything  done  to  conquer 
T  corrupt  its  arms,  and  the  little  support,  and  even  sinister  coun- 
snance,  it  had  from  Eichmond,  it  preserved  to  the  last  its  alle- 
;iance  to  the  Confederate  cause,  exhibited  undiminished  courage, 
,nd  never  lost  the  true  inspiration  of  the  war.  This  much  it  is 
•roper  to  say,  because  of  an  unjust  accusation  long  prevalent  in 
lichmond  of  a  languid  or  disloyal  sentiment  in  the  States  of  the 
?rans-Mississippi.  In  the  face  of  the  great  disaster  at  New  Orleans, 
nd  when  events  tended  to  the  isolation  from  the  central  govern- 
aent  of  the  States  of  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri,  and  a  large 
iortion  of  Louisiana,  and  demagogues  were  plying  schemes  of 
reconstruction,'7  and  attempting  a  return  to  the  Federal  rule,  the 
jovernors  of  these  States  assembled  and  issued  a  stirring  address, 
voking  every  patriotic  effort  to  sustain  the  Confederate  cause.  In 
his  appeal  these  high  officers  and  brave  men  declared:  "We 
iave  every  confidence  in  the  Confederate  authorities ;  we  believe 
hat  they  will  fully  sustain  the  credit  of  the  government  here,  and 
•rovide  amply  for  our  future  defence.  But  in  order  that  they  may 


764:  LIEUT. -GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

be  able  thus  to  defend  us,  it  behooves  us  all  to  be  at  work.  Let 
every  fire-arm  be  repaired,  and  every  gunsmith  and  every  worker 
in  iron,  and  every  mechanic  be  employed  in  fashioning  the  mate 
rial  for  war.  Let  beauty  sit  day  by  day  at  the  spinning-wheel,  the 
loom,  and  with  the  needle,  never  wearying  in  preparing  the  neces 
sary  articles  of  clothing  for  the  brave  soldiers  of  our  States,  who 
stand  between  her  and  infamy  and  misery,  as  an  impassable  bul 
wark.  Let  all  the  warlike  resources  of  these  great  States  be 
brought  to  light.  It  is  for  liberty  and  life  we  fight !  and  a  good 
God  has  given  us  in  this  fair  land  all  the  material  that  brave  men 
need  to  defend  their  homes  and  their  honour." 

In  April,  1863,  Gen.  Smith  crossed  the  Mississippi  River,  and 
assumed  his  new  command  through  a  general  order  which  named 
Alexandria,  Louisiana,  as  his  headquarters.  The  department  of 
which  he  now  found  himself  practically  the  almost  supreme  com 
mander,  considering  the  difficulties  of  communication  with  Rich- 
mond,  was  one  of  imperial  dimensions,  but  of  vast  and  peculiar 
difficulties.  It  was  so  desolated,  that,  in  order  to  subsist  the  troops 
it  was  necessary  to  scatter  them.  It  was  impossible  for  the  Com 
manding  General  to  conjecture  at  what  point  in  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 
or  Texas  the  enemy  would  enter  his  department.  There  was  no 
important  point  against  which,  with  his  forces  concentrated,  Gen. 
Smith  could  take  the  offensive,  and  by  compelling  the  enemy  to 
defend  it,  save  the  territory  he  commanded  from  invasion.  The 
hard  alternative  of  a  defensive  campaign  had  to  be  accepted.  The 
enemy,  with  superiour  numbers,  and  illimitable  means  of  transpor 
tation,  had  the  initiative,  making  it  almost  inevitable  that  he  would 
overpower  the  Confederate  forces  at  the  point  chosen  for  attack  on 
this  long  line.  In  the  fall  of  1863,  Gen.  Smith  had  his  forces  dis 
posed  as  follows :  Gen.  Taylor,  with  a  large  proportion  of  infantry 
and  Green's  division  of  cavalry,  was  on  the  lower  Bed  River  and 
Teche.  Gen.  Price  confronted  Steele,  who  was  at  Little  Rock, 
preparing  for  offensive  movements  towards  the  Red  River.  Gen. 
Magruder  guarded  the  Texas  coast.  Gen.  Maxey,  with  a  mixed 
force  of  Texans  and  Indians,  held  in  check  about  5,000  of  the  ene 
my  under  Gen.  Thayer  at  Fort  Smith.  Small  bodies  of  cavalry 
observed  the  lines  between  these  armies. 

It  was  at  first  supposed  that  Gen.  Banks  was  determined  to 
invade  Texas  about  the  mouth  of  the  Brazos.  It  soon  became 


LIEUT.-GEN".   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH.  765 

evident,  however,  after  the  return  of  Sherman  from  Meridian  to 
Yicksburg,  that  a  combined  movement  in  great  force  by  the  armies 
under  Banks  and  Steele,  with  large  detachments  from  that  of  Sher 
man,  was  to  be  made  against  the  Trans-Mississippi  Department. 
As  there  were  immense  naval  armaments  upon  the  Mississippi 
River,  with  nothing  else  to  do,  it  was  clear  that  the  line  of  the  Red 
River  would  be  the  line  of  advance  of  the  principal  column,  to  be 
supported  by  the  gunboats,  and  supplied  by  transports  convoyed 
by  them.  On  the  26th  February,  1864,  instructions  were  given  by 
telegraph  for  Green's  division  to  hold  itself  in  readiness,  and  on  the 
6th  March  it  was  ordered  to  move  with  dispatch  to  Gen.  Taylor, 
who  was  embarrassed  for  the  want  of  cavalry.  On  the  12th  March, 
a  force  consisting  of  portions  of  the  Sixteenth  and  Seventeenth 
United  States  Corps,  under  command  of  Gen.  A.  J.  Smith,  amount 
ing  probably  to  8,000  men,  dropped  down  from  Yicksburg  and 
disembarked  at  Simmsport,  on  the  Atchafalaya.  With  such 
secrecy  and  celerity  was  this  effected,  that  Gen.  Taylor  was  unable 
to  concentrate  his  force  in  time  to  prevent  Fort  De  Russy  from 
being  carried  by  assault.  This  was  the  only  work  capable  of  con 
trolling  the  navigation  of  Red  River.  Embarking  his  troops,  A. 
J.  Smith  pressed  on  and  occupied  Alexandria,  turning  the  flank  of 
Gen.  Taylor,  and  obliging  him  to  make  a  rapid  march  of  seventy 
miles  through  pine-barrens,  to  recover  his  communications  with 
Shreveport.  At  the  same  time,  Banks,  assembling  his  army  at 
Berwick's  Bay,  moved  up  the  Teche,  and  joining  A.  J.  Smith  at 
Alexandria,  assumed  command  of  a  force  of  at  least  30,000  men. 
Acting  in  conjunction  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  fleets  ever 
assembled  upon  a  river. 

The  situation  was  now  imposing  enough,  and  the  campaign  of 
the  Red  River  was  fairly  commenced.  While  Banks  advanced 
from  Alexandria,  Steele  moved  from  Little  Rock,  upon  a  line  lead 
ing  through  Arkadelphia,  Washington,  and  Fulton.  The  common 
objective  point  of  these  two  columns  was  either  Marshall  or  Shreve 
port.  The  plan  of  Gen.  Smith  was  to  effect  a  concentration  of 
every  available  man  near  Shreveport,  before  giving  battle  to  either 
column ;  and  to  endeavour  to  so  manoeuvre  as  to  fight  first  one, 
and  then  the  other,  with  the  mass  of  his  forces.  The  first  encoun 
ter  of  arms  was  at  Mansfield,  where  Gen.  Taylor,  although  he 
brought  on  the  battle  prematurely,  gained  a  signal  victory.  Banks 


766  LIEUT.-GEX.    EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

reversed  his  trains,  and  took  position  at  Pleasant  Hill,  to  cover  the 
retreat.  Here  Gen.  Taylor,  now  reinforced  by  the  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  troops,  found  him  on  the  evening  of  the  next  day, 
attacked  again,  and  although  the  battle  was  apparently  a  drawn 
one,  the  next  morning  found  the  demoralized  enemy  in  full  retreat 
to  Grand  Ecore,  and  the  Confederate  forces  reposing  on  the  laurels 
of  two  fields,  and  waiting  the  orders  of  the  Commanding  General 
for  a  prosecution  of  their  success. 

That  prosecution  did  not  take  place,  as  the  popular  imagination 
would  have  had  it.  There  was  long  a  passionate  complaint  in  the 
newspapers  that  Gen.  Smith  did  not  improve  his  victories  over 
Banks;  that  he  should  have  pursued  him,  and  attempted,  by  a 
decisive  action,  to  liberate  the  Department  of  the  Gulf.  But  this 
complaint  showed  little  regard  for  facts.  After  the  battle  of  Pleas 
ant  Hill,  Gen.  Smith,  surveying  his  extensive  department,  saw  that 
there  was  one  part  of  the  enemy's  combination  yet  intact,  which 
the  public  did  not  observe ;  that  Steele's  army  of  15,000  men  was 
advancing  from  Arkansas,  and  had  already  approached  Camden. 
The  choice  was  between  pursuing  Banks  and  moving  against 
Steele.  The  former  rested  on  his  gunboats ;  his  f etreat  was  com 
paratively  secure,  and  pursuit,  beyond  a  certain  point,  impossible 
Steele  was  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  Helena,  his  perma 
nent  base  of  operations  and  supplies ;  his  communications  were 
through  an  open  country,  where  his  trains  could  be  attacked  at 
any  point,  and  with  nothing  to  protect  him  from  being  wholly 
devoured  by  cavalry  could  they  once  break  his  lines.  With 
Steele's  army  would  fall  the  fortifications  of  Little  Eock,  Pine 
Bluff,  and  DuvalFs  Bluff,  giving  the  Confederates  control  of 
Northern  Arkansas,  where  it  was  known  they  could  obtain  10,000 
recruits.  The  political  organizations  which  the  enemy  were  indus 
triously  establishing  would  be  broken  up,  and  the  way  would  be 
opened  to  Missouri  for  infantry.  It  was  known  that  President 
Davis  had  almost  demanded  that  an  effort  to  reoccupy  the  Valley 
of  the  Arkansas  should  be  made.  Finally,  the  Arkansas  troops 
had  marched  without  hesitation  or  a  murmur  to  relieve  Louisiana, 
and  both  they  and  the  citizens  confidently  relied  on  the  Com 
manding  General  for  succour,  as  soon  as  it  was  in  his  power  to 
afford  it. 

Gen.  Smith— wisely  we  must  admit — decided  to  move  against 


LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH.  767 

Steele  in  preference  to  concentrating  his  forces  upon  the  pursuit 
of  Banks.  In  fact,  his  troops,  in  crossing  the  Ked  Eiver  and 
driving  Steele  from  Camden,  were  not  going  much  away  from 
Banks,  but  rather  marching  on  the  other  side  of  the  Red  River,  in 
such  a  direction  that,  after  accomplishing  their  object,  they  could 
wheel  and  flank  Banks,  cutting  him  off  from  the  road  to  Natchez, 
and  lessening  the  probability  of  his  ultimate  escape  from  "  Dick" 
Taylor,  who  had  followed  him. 

The  campaign  was  wisely  planned,  but  unfortunately  did  not 
realize  all  of  Gen.  Smith's  expectations.  He  failed  to  capture  or 
destroy  Steele's  army,  by  an  accident  which  could  not  be  foreseen — 
the  failure  of  one  of  his  divisions  to  get  on  the  enemy's  front 
between  the  Washita  and  the  Sabine.  But  he  captured  from  Steele 
ten  pieces  of  artillery,  compelling  him  to  throw  as  many  more  into 
the  river,  near  1,000  wagons,  and  killed  and  captured  4,000  of 
his  men.  He  ejected  him  from  the  valley  of  the  Ouachita,  and 
rendered  him  incapable  of  moving  again  for  weeks  or  months  to 
2ome.  He  was  now  free  to  use  his  whole  force  against  Banks. 
Ele  confidently  hoped  that  the  low  stage  of  water  in  Red  River 
would  not  admit  of  the  passage  of  the  fleet  over  the  falls  of  Alex 
andria,  and  that  he  would  have  time  to  reach  there  and  engage  him 
n  decisive  operations.  The  troops  were  moved  immediately  in  that 
lirection,  and  Walker's  division  reached  Alexandria  only  to  learn 
;hat  the  enemy  had  evacuated  the  place  and  escaped. 

In  popular  criticisms  of  a  military  campaign,  it  is  usual  to  say 
:hat  it  might  have  been  so  much  better  if  this  or  that  had  been 
3one  differently.  Does  it  ever  occur  to  these  hasty  calculators  that 
n  the  very  uncertainty  of  the  events  they  count  upon,  it  might 
aave  been  so  much  worse!  Gen.  Smith's  just  expectations  as 
Against  Steele,  were  in  a  measure  disappointed;  but  on  the  other 
land,  had  he  become  seriously  involved  with  Banks  on  Lower  Red 
River,  Steele  might  have  advanced  and  seized  Shreveport  and  Mar 
shall  before  he  could  extricate  himself  to  meet  him.  The  defeat  of 
ais  army  before  Natchitoches  would  have  lost  the  department. 

The  campaign  of  Gen.  Smith  was  justly  and  ingeniously 
Dlanned ;  and  although  it  fell  short  of  a  picture  drawn  by  the  pop- 
alar  imagination,  it  must  be  taken  as  one  of  the  most  successful 
ind  brilliant  of  the  war.  It  was  more  than  once  the  subject  of 
remark  in  newspaper  criticisms  in  the  war.  that  there  was  a  class 


768  LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

of  persons  never  content  with  the  successes  of  our  arms  who  invari 
ably  demanded  as  a  consequence  of  every  victory  that  the  enemy 
should  be  annihilated.  These  persons  appeared  incapable  of  un 
derstanding  that  an  enemy  might  sometimes  be  defeated,  while  the 
most  consummate  skill  could  not  insure  the  capture  of  his  whole 
force.  It  seems,  indeed,  that  the  Richmond  newspapers  rarely 
recorded  the  event  of  a  battle,  but  there  came  along  some  account 
of  the  Confederate  forces  having  the  enemy  hemmed  in,  cut  off,  or 
all  "  bagged."  Even  sensible  men  indulged  and  encouraged  this 
morbid  appetite  for  the  incredible.  But  what  was  most  mortify 
ing  to  the  pride  of  commanders,  it  frequently  happened,  after  a 
campaign  in  which  the  odds  had  been  greatly  against  the  Confed 
erates,  and  during  which  the  mass  of  the  people  exposed  had  been 
hopeless  of  the  result,  and  ready  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  enemy,  these  very  people,  whose  miserable  cowardice  and  want 
of  determination  were  a  disgrace  to  the  country,  found  it  unac 
countable,  perfectly  outrageous,  that  the  Federals  were  not  all 
destroyed,  and  that  the  utter  annihilation  of  the  enemy  was  not  the 
consequence  of  every  victory  won  in  the  open  field. 

Despite  those  criticisms  of  the  weak  and  selfish,  history  will 
record  the  campaign  of  the  Red  River  as  one  of  brilliant  glory  for 
Gen.  Smith,  a  renowned  achievement  and  an  example  of  general 
ship,  among  the  most  famous  and  honourable  of  the  war.  He  did 
not  annihilate  Banks,  but  he  defeated  and  disgraced  him,  and 
reduced  the  splendid  empire  he  had  projected  west  of  the  Mississippi 
to  the  tenure  of  New  Orleans,  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  a  strip 
of  the  sea-coast.  The  fruits  of  the  campaign  were  large  and  visi 
ble.  They  were  thus  enumerated  in  an  official  synopsis:  Enemy's 
losses— In  Louisiana,  5,000  killed  and  wounded,  4,000  prisoners, 
21  pieces  of  artillery,  200  wagons,  1  gunboat,  3  transports.  In 
Arkansas,  1,400  killed,  2,000  wounded,  1,500  prisoners,  13  pieces 
of  artillery,  900  wagons.  Confederate  losses,  3,000  killed, 
wounded  and  missing,  against  enemy's  losses,  14,000.  Confederate 
strength  15,000,  against  enemy's  strength  47,000. 

The  campaign  was  necessarily  defensive  in  its  character.  When 
the  conception  of  its  plan,  the  manner  in  which  each  part  of  it  was 
executed  by  those  to  whom  it  was  assigned,  the  vast  extent  of 
territory  upon  which  the  concentration  of  troops  had  to  be  effected, 
the  absence  of  railroad  or  water  transportation  for  either  the 


LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH.  769 

troops  or  supplies,  the  disparity  of  force,  the  complete  failure  of 
the  enemy  in  effecting  his  objects,  the  loss  inflicted  upon  him,  and 
the  moral  effect  upon  the  country  are  considered,  it  must  be  stamped 
as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  of  the  war. 

This  campaign  alone  should  have  been  sufficient  to  silence  the 
habitual  clamour  at  Richmond  that  the  general  condition  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Department  was  lassitude,  and  that  the  operations 
of  Gen.  Smith  were  languid  and  indecisive.  There  was  a  sectional 
jealousy  and  selfishness  in  this  clamour.  The  just  and  intelligent 
historian  of  the  war,  instead  of  adopting  the  stale  cry  that  the 
Dperations  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  extended  no  aid  to  the  common 
3ause,  will  admire  the  administration  which  showed  this  distant 
ind  abused  country  capable  of  sustaining  itself.  The  fact  is 
lerived  from  official  records,  that  the  Department  of  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  sent  east  of  the  river  largely  over  100,000  men  since 
;he  beginning  of  the  war,  and  yet  not  one  had  it  received  in  return 
except  officers.  For  two  years  this  Department  had  not  received 
my  aid  from  the  Cis-Mississippi  in  men,  supplies,  or  arms.  It  had 
lot  even  been  furnished  with  treasury-notes  to  pay  off  its  soldiers, 
vho  had  been  marching  and  fighting  all  the  while  without  pay. 
'n  that  time,  Gen.  Smith  had  succeeded  in  bringing  some  order 
>ut  of  the  chaos  which  he  found  existing  there.  He  had  powder- 
nills,  arsenals,  workshops,  where  before  there  were  none.  The 
hot  which  repelled  the  enemy  on  the  Red  River  was  made  of 
ron  extracted  from  its  ore,  although  no  mine  had  ever  before  been 
forked  within  the  limits  of  his  command.  The  army  had  been 
lad,  shod,  subsisted,  and  furnished  with  munitions  and  transpor- 
ation,  without  any  aid  or  direct  support  of  the  government. 
>urely  such  results  of  wise  and  ingenious  administration  are  of 
^finite  honour  to  Gen.  Smith,  and  deserve  a  page  of  wonder  and 
dmiration  in  the  history  of  the  war. 

When  the  surrender  of  Gens.  Lee,  Johnston  and  Taylor  gave 
:>  the  enemy  all  the  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  it  was 
xpected  by  President  Davis  and  the  few  who  adhered  to  his  for- 
anes,  to  find  a  refuge  in  the  Trans-Mississippi,  and  to  erect  there 
ae  last  hope  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  To  these  expectations 
ren.  Smith  responded  with  noble  spirit  and  the  most  desperate 
nd  exalted  courage;  and  it  was  not  his  fault  that  the  vision  of 
'resident  Davis  was  not  realized.  West  of  the  Mississippi,  after 

49 


770  LIEUT.-GEN.    EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

Lee's  surrender,  there  were  probably  100,000  men  under  arms,  in 
disorganized  commands,  to  be  sure,  and  dispirited  by  the  tidings 
from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas ;  but  who  can  doubt  that  if  they 
had  remained  uncorrupted  and  been  joined  by  as  many  more  from 
the  East,  there  would  have  been  force  and  resolution  enough  to 
have  erected  the  declining  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy !  It  was 
hoped  that  most  of  the  men  who  deserted  at  the  last  moment  before 
the  surrender  east  of  the  Mississippi,  would  try  to  get  across  the 
river.  It  was  said  that  all  the  "  exchanged  prisoners "  would 
come.  Men  of  high  official  distinction  hid  their  horses  in  the 
impenetrable  swamps  for  three  weeks  after  Lee's  surrender,  hoping 
to  hear  President  Davis  had  crossed  the  river.  Gen.  Smith,  at  the 
head  of  the  Department,  resolved  to  defend  it  still,  if  he  could.  He 
did  not  feel  justified  to  surrender  without  an  order  from  the  Presi 
dent.  He  resolved,  therefore,  to  fight  to  the  last  extremity — that 
to  yield  where  there  was,  as  yet,  no  foe  to  receive  the  surrender, 
was  too  disgraceful.  He  rejected  the  demand  for  the  surrender  of 
the  Department,  and  issued  an  appeal  to  the  soldiers  to  stand  by 
their  colours. 

The  spirit  of  this  resolution  was  that  of  a  brave  and  conscien 
tious  man.  In  a  circular  letter  addressed  to  the  Governors  of 
Louisiana,  Texas,  Arkansas,  and  Missouri,  and  dated  at  Shreve- 
port,  9th  May,  1865,  Gen.  Smith  wrote:  "Since  the  evacuation 
of  Kichmond,  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Confederate  States  has 
not  been  fixed,  and  ijb  may  be  transferred  to  the  western  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  It  is  impossible  to  confer  with  the  President  so  as  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  and  questions  of  grave  political 
importance  beyond  my  military  authority  may  arise,  and  require 
prompt  decision.  Intending  to  uphold  the  authority  of  the  Con 
federate  Government  by  arms,  to  the  utmost,  I  yet  feel  that  I 
should  carefully  avoid  any  appearance  of  usurping  functions  not 
intrusted  to  my  discretion."  He  besought  a  convention  of  the 
Governors  he  addressed  to  indicate  some  policy  to  maintain  with 
honour  and  success  the  Confederate  cause.  He  exhorted  the 
troops ;  he  prepared  an  eloquent  address  to  the  army ;  he  visited 
what  remained  of  the  Confederate  forces  at  Shreveport ;  and  he 
entreated  the  men  to  stand  by  their  colours  a  little  longer,  in 
prospect  of  aid  and  countenance  from  the  other  side  of  the  Mis- 
.sissippi. 


LIEUT. -GEN".   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH.  771 

But  these  appeals,  with  which  he  nobly  filled  the  last  measure 
of  duty,  and  exhausted  himself,  fell  upon  doubting  ears  and  despair 
ing  hearts.  A  frightful  demoralization  began  to  take  place  in  the 
army.  It  was  generally  felt  that  the  struggle  was  ended  with 
Lee's  surrender  at  Appomattox  Court-House.  Many  of  the  Texas 
soldiers  were  disbanding  and  returning  to  their  homes;  the  army 
was  melting  away  ;  the  Missouri  officers,  believing  they  would  be 
expatriated  by  the  enemy,  had  determined  to  withdraw  with  their 
troops,  in  a  body,  across  the  Eio  Grande,.  Governor  Allen,  of 
Louisiana,  strongly  advised  a  surrender,  and  proposed  acting  for 
the  Governors  of  the  other  States  of  the  Trans-Mississippi,  to  go  to 
Gen.  Grant's  headquarters,  or  to  "Washington  City,  to  surrender 
the  Department,  since  Gen.  Smith  refused  to  do  so  in  his  military 
capacity.  By  such  different  counsels  the  army  was  demoralized, 
and  at  last  the  disorder  and  turmoil  were  frightful.  A  recent  nar 
rator  of  these  events  says :  "  The  wildest  rumours  prevailed 
throughout  the  country.  Conflicting  reports  of  Smith's  resolution 
to  fight  on,  and  Allen's  to  surrender,  produced  great  confusion  of 
thoughts  and  tongues.  The  soldiers  took  the  alarm,  and  began  to 
disband  by  hundreds  in  open  daylight.  Their  officers  lost  all 
power  to  control  the  men.  The  soldiers  were  infuriated  with  rage 
and  disappointment.  They  had  not  been  paid  for  a  long  time, 
owing,  they  believed,  to  the  carelessness,  negligence,  cupidity,  or 
rascality  of  the  quartermasters.  They  now  robbed  all  the  govern 
ment  stores  and  depots,  distributing  the  contents  as  fairly  and 
equitably  as  they  could  among  themselves.  The  fierce,  strong 
women,  too,  in  some  counties  in  Texas,  gathered  together  in  bands, 
broke  into  depots  of  sugar  and  army  stores,  with  weapons  in  their 
hands,  helping  themselves  to  cloth,  coffee,  sugar,  and  luxuries,  to 
which  they  had  long  been  strangers.  The  soldiers  were  much 
exasperated  against  Gen.  Smith.  They  would  almost  have  killed 
him,  if  they  had  been  able,  as  innocent  as  he  was  of  any  crime 
against  them  or  his  country.  He  had  done  all  he  could,  in  such  a 
rough  state  of  affairs.  Smith  was  sent  for  to  go  to  Houston,  to 
try  and  hold  the  army  together  there.  He  left  Buckner  in  com 
mand  at  Shreveport.  The  army  in  Louisiana  took  the  infection  of 
disbanding.  Buckner  sent  for  Allen  to  come  to  Natchitoches  to 
address  Hay's  troops,  who  were  demoralized.  Allen  went  imme 
diately  ;  he  met  the  last  division  near  Mansfield,  marching  home- 


772  LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND   KIRBY  SMITH. 

wards.  He  stopped  them,  addressed  them,  making  a  most  pathetic 
appeal  to  them.  *  *  *  At  Hempstead,  a  party  of 

twenty-five  young  men  volunteered  to  escort  and  protect  Gen. 
Smith  to  Houston.  They  did  not  consider  his  life  safe  on  the 
high-roads.  The  Missouri  troops  remained  faithful.  They  sent 
a  deputation  to  Buckner  and  other  officers,  to  inform  them  '  that 
they  would  not  go  either  to  Texas  or  Mexico;  that  they  had 
fought  for  the  Confederacy,  were  still  ready  to  fight  for  it,  so  long 
as  a  man  remained,  but  if  the  country  was  to  be  given  up,  they 
intended  to  surrender  like  soldiers,  and  their  officers  should  stay 
with  them!'" 

It  was  in  circumstances  and  scenes  like  these  that  Gen.  Smith 
despaired  of  a  prolongation  of  the  war,  and  on  the  26th  May,  1865, 
concluded,  through  commissioners,  the  surrender  of  his  army  to 
Gen.  'Canby.  This  conclusion  had  become  irresistible,  even  with 
out  the  force  of  the  enemy's  arms.  At  Houston  he  issued  a  fare 
well  address  to  his  troops,  in  which  he  declared:  "Your  present 
duty  is  plain.  Keturn  to  your  families.  Eesume  the  occupations 
of  peace.  Yield  obedience  to  the  laws.  Labour  to  restore  order. 
Strive  both  by  counsel  and  example  to  give  security  to  life  and 
property.  And  may  God  in  his  mercy  direct  you  aright,  and  heal 
the  wounds  of  our  distracted  country." 

The  military  character  of  Gen.  Smith  has  scarcely  been  treated 
with  justice  in  the  popular  and  cotemporary  records  of  the  war. 
He  was  the  victim  of  many  rumours,  growing  out  of  the  obscurity 
and  comparative  isolation  of  his  department,  and,  at  one  time,  he 
was  absurdly  and  brutally  accused  in  the  newspapers  of  an  attempt 
to  negotiate  a  transfer  of  his  forces  to  the  Emperor  of  Mexico.  He 
was  also  accused  of  speculations  in  cotton,  etc.,  in  which,  doubtless, 
some  Confederate  officers  did  grow  rich  at  the  expense  of  the 
reputation  of  the  Commanding  General.  No  more  faithful  patriot 
existed  in  the  armies  of  the  Confederacy,  and  no  purer  man  was 
in  any  of  its  public  stations.  Although  Gen.  Smith  may  not  have 
had  the  highest  genius  of  a  commander,  he  achieved  a  most  hon 
ourable  sum  of  success  in  the  war,  and  had  many  excellent  quali 
ties.  He  was  a  dashing  soldier  in  the  field ;  he  was  a  man  of 
personal  courage  and  high  probity ;  and  if  he  had  a  fault,  it  was 
that  he  was  too  facile  and  yielding  to  the  impudent  and  importu 
nate  demands  of  often  unworthy  subordinates.  His  character  was 


LIEUT.-GEN.   EDMOND  KIKBY  SMITH.  773 

very  amiable,  and  in  his  appearance  and  manners  there  was  noth 
ing  of  the  swollen  port  or  harsh  precision  of  the  military  com 
mander.*  He  was  remarkable  for  his  piety,  and  it  was  said  that 
a  few  years  before  the  war,  he  entertained  serious  thoughts  of 
abandoning  the  profession  of  arms  and  studying  for  the  ministry. 
His  command  in  the  Trans-Mississippi  was  a  very  difficult  one, 
beset  with  many  conflicting  interests  and  private  speculations,  and 
constantly  assailed  by  intrigue;  and  perhaps  he  was  too  gentle  and 
retiring  for  a  position  so  peculiar. 

*  A  pleasant  anecdote,  related  in  the  newspapers,  illustrates  the  manners  of  the 
General.  When  he  first  arrived  in  his  department  he  made  his  way  to  Gen.  Magru- 
der's  office.  But  one  staff-officer  happened  to  be  in,  and,  as  young  men  sometimes 
will  do,  he  was  occupying  a  position  more  comfortable  than  elegant,  with  his  back 
to  the  door,  singing  "Dixie."  Gen.  Smith  interrupted  him  with:  "Is  this  Gen. 
Magruder's  office  ?  "  The  young  officer  broke  off  his  song  only  long  enough  to  reply : 
"Yes,  sir."  Gen.  S.— " Is  the  General  in ?"  Officer— "No,  sir."  Gen.  S.— " Will 
he  be  in  soon?"  Officer — "Don't  know,  sir."  Gen.  S. — " How  long  has  he  been 
gone?"  Officer— "Don't  know,  sir."  Gen.  S.— "  Where  is  he ?"  Officer— "Don't 
know,  sir.  It  is  not  my  work  to  keep  him."  Gen.  S. — "Ahem!  My  name  is 
Smith."  Officer — "  Yes.  Good  many  Smiths  about — several  been  to  see  the  General." 
Gen.  S. — "They  sometimes  call  me  Lieutenant-General  Smith."  Officer — "The 
deuce  you  say  1 "  The  officer  turned  a  very  rapid  somersault,  and  disappeared  in  a 
twinkling. 


LIEUT.-GEN.  SIMON  B.  BUCKNER. 


CHAPTEK  LXXII. 

Services  and  promotions  in  the  United  States  Army. — His  connection  with  the 
"State  Guard"  of  Kentucky. — Memorandum  of  a  conference  with  George  B. 
McClellan,  concerning  Kentucky's  neutrality. — He  refuses  military  service  with 
either  of  the  belligerents. — His  conversion  to  the  service  of  the  Confederate 
States. — Commissioned  a  Brigadier-General. — Captured  at  Fort  Donelson. — Run 
ning  the  gauntlet  of  Northern  mobs. — A  cutting  remark  to  a  Federal  officer. — 
Released,  and  takes  command  in  Hardee's  corps. — His  disagreement  with  Gen. 
Bragg  concerning  the  field  of  Perry  ville. — In  command  at  Mobile. — Transferred 
to  East  Tennessee. — Important  assistance  in  the  Chickamauga  campaign. — An 
other  disagreement  between  Bragg  and  his  officers. — Gen.  Buckner  transferred  io 
the  Trans- Mississippi,  and  commands  the  district  of  Louisiana. — Included  hi  Gen. 
E.  Kirby  Smith's  surrender. — A  peculiarity  of  Gen.  Buckner's  character.— His 
high  moral  courage. 

SIMON  BOLIVAR  BUCKNER  was  born  April  1,  1823,  in  Hart 
county,  Kentucky.  He  entered  West  Point  in  1840,  and  having 
completed  his  term  of  education  there,  was  assigned  as  brevet  sec 
ond-lieutenant  to  the  2d  regiment  of  infantry,  joining  his  regiment 
at  Sackett's  Harbour,  New  York.  In  1845,  he  was  ordered  to 
duty  as  assistant  instructor  of  ethics  at  West  Point,  whence  he  was 
relieved  on  his  own  application,  in  May,  1846,  and  ordered  to  the 
Kio  Grande.  He  took  part  in  the  most  important  incidents  of  the 
Mexican  War,  and  was  brevetted  a  first  lieutenant  for  gallant  con 
duct  at  Cherubusco,  and  a  captain  for  gallant  conduct  at  Molino 
del  Rey.  He  was  detached  from  his  regiment  on  its  return  from 
Mexico,  and  remained  on  duty  at  West  Point  until  1850,  as  assist 
ant  instructor  of  infantry  tactics.  He  then  rejoined  his  regiment 
in  Minnesota,  and  was  subsequently  ordered  to  duty  on  the 
Plains,  being  assigned  to  command  a  military  post,  Fort  Atkinson, 
on  the  Santa  Fe  route,  360  miles  from  the  nearest  settlement.  He 
gave  protection  to  that  route  with  only  sixty  men,  although  at 


LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER.  775 

that  time  the  neighbouring  Indian  tribes — the  Northern  Coman- 
ohes,  the  Kiowas,  the  Cheyennes  and  Arrapahoes — were  uncertain 
in  their  disposition,  if  not  positively  hostile.  In  1852,  he  was 
promoted  captain  in  the  subsistence  department,  and  was  stationed 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  resigned  his  commission  in  the 
army  in  1855,  and  subsequently  settled  in  Louisville,  Kentucky. 

In  1860,  he  framed  the  bill  reorganizing  the  militia  of  Ken 
tucky,  and  erecting  it  into  a  State  Guard,  and  was  subsequently 
appointed  by  Governor  Magoffin  its  commander,  with  the  rank  of 
Major-General,  Gen.  Helm  being  second  in  command.  It  may  be 
said  here,  that  to  the  labours  and  energy  of  these  officers,  was  due  the 
marked  efficiency  afterwards  shown  by  the  Kentucky  troops  in  the 
Confederate  States  armies,  the  foundation  of  their  discipline  and 
3xpertness  inarms  having  been  laid  in  the  camps  of  instruction 
of  the  State  Guard.  It  was  while  performing  the  duties  of  this 
office  that  Gen.  Buckner  had  a  notable  interview  with  Gen.  McClel- 
lan,  in  which  the  Federal  General  agreed  to  respect  the  assumed 
neutral  position  of  Kentucky,  as  long  as  the  State  enforced  it 
against  the  Confederates.  By  the  suggestion  of  the  latter,  Gen. 
Buckner  visited  him  at  his  residence  in  Cincinnati,  in  June,  1861, 
and  in  the  presence  of  a  citizen  of  Kentucky,  they  held  a  confer- 
3nce  as  to  her  position  and  wishes.  The  result  was  a  distinct 
verbal  arrangement  that  Federal  troops  should  not  occupy  the  soil 
of  Kentucky  unless  she  was  first  invaded  by  Confederates ;  that  if 
so  invaded,  Gen.  Buckner  should  use  his  forces  to  drive  back  the 
invaders,  and  if  he  failed,  or  was  unable  to  do  so,  then  Federal 
troops  should  be  sent  to  aid  him,  but  should  be  immediately  with 
drawn  when  the  invaders  were  repelled.  Such  was  the  agreement 
made  by  McClellan,  and  afterwards  acknowledged  and  confirmed 
,by  him  in  an  interview  with  Gen.  Buckner,  Judge  Bigger  and  Col. 
Bullock,  held  on  the  13th  June,  at  Cairo,  in  Illinois.  This  arrange 
ment,  if  faithfully  observed,  would  have  secured  Kentucky's  neu 
trality,  at  least  for  a  time ;  but  it  was  soon  repudiated  by  the  Fed 
erals,  and  Gen.  McClellan  himself  had  the  hardihood  to  write,  "  I  re 
garded  Gen.  Buckner's  promise  to  drive  out  the  Confederate  troops 
as  the  only  result  of  the  interview ;  his  letter  gives  his  own  views, 
not  mine," — as  if  it  was  possible  that  Gen.  Buckner  could  have 
consented  to  such  a  unilateral  and  absurd  arrangement ! 

Thinking  the  neutral  position  of  Kentucky  well  taken,  Gen. 


776  LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER. 

Buckner,  in  July,  1861,  resigned  his  command  of  the  State  Guard 
and  determined  to  take  no  part  in  the  war  on  either  side.  From 
the  uncouth  assurance  of  President  Lincoln,  that  he  would  not 
molest  the  neutrality  of  Kentucky  "  as  long  as  there  were  any 
rounds  around  the  State,  by  which  the  rebellion  would  be  reached," 
Gen.  Buckner  was  induced  to  believe  this  neutrality  might  be 
respected.  He  repeatedly  declined  high  military  positions  ten 
dered  him  in  the  United  States  army;  he  equally  declined  the 
Confederate  service ;  and  averse  to  any  employment  in  a  war  he 
deplored,  he  maintained  a  neutral,  but  attentive  attitude,  and 
waited  the  progress  of  events. 

When,  after  the  August  elections  of  1861,  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  seconded  by  a  party  in  the  State,  proceeded  to  violate  the 
neutrality  of  Kentucky,  Gen.  Buckner  hesitated  no  longer  to  make 
his  choice  and  to  turn  his  face  against  the  rapid  advances  of  Federal 
oppression.  Whatever  criticism  may  now  be  bestowed  upon  his 
choice,  he  acted  from  severe  and  noble  motives.  With  a  large 
estate  in  the  north,  and  valuable  property  on  the  borders  of  Ken 
tucky,  and  the  offer  of  high  position  in  the  Federal  army,  every 
temporal  interest  would  have  tended  to  induce  him  to  join  the 
North.  But  throwing  these  considerations  aside,  he  for  the  first 
time,  after  the  Federal  forces  had  occupied  Paducah,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Tennessee  River,  and  after  the  legislature  of  the  State  had 
declined  to  enforce  its  neutrality  declarations,  tendered  his  services 
unconditionally  to  the  Confederate  States.  He  received  the  ap 
pointment  of  Brigadier-General  on  the  16th  September ;  and  under 
instructions  from  Gen.  A.  Sidney  Johnston,  occupied  Bowling- 
Green,  Kentucky,  on  the  following  day,  with  a  force  of  between 
4,000  and  5,000  men,  without  a  wagon  or  other  means  of  trans 
portation  in  the  little  army.  Two  weeks  afterwards  Gen.  Johnston 
himself  assumed  command,  having  brought  with  him  an  additional 
force. 

Shortly  thereafter  followed  the  disaster  of  Fort  Donelson— a 
sorrowful,  and  familiar  story,  but  one  gilded  with  extraordinary 
spirit  and  generosity  on  the  part  of  Gen.  Buckner.  He  had  re 
inforced  the  garrison,  and  shared  in  the  battles  of  three  days. 
He  was  third  in  command ;  and  yet  when  it  was  decided  in  council 
of  war  that  further  resistance  was  useless,  he  refused  to  escape  with 
his  seniors,  and  saying  briefly  that  he  "  would  share  the  fate  of  his 


LIEUT.-GEN.  SIMON  B.   BUCKNER.  7TT 

men/'  he  chose  captivity  with  them,  whose  dangers  and  privations 
he  had  shared  on  the  field.  Having  surrendered  and  become  a 
prisoner  of  war,  he  was  conducted  under  close  guard  to  Indianapolis, 
and  thence  to  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  Harbour.  In  this  painful 
travel,  he  was  exposed  to  curious  and  insulting  mobs,  and  at  every 
stage  of  the  journey  a  brutal  show  was  enforced  of  the  distin 
guished  prisoner.*  On  one  of  these  occasions,  he  displayed  an  - 
admirable  dignity  and  presence  of  mind.  The  exceptionally  cour 
teous  officer  who  accompanied  him,  was  himself  so  disgusted  by 
the  scenes  which  were  enacted  by  the  populace,  that  on  reaching 
one  of  the  large  cities  on  the  route  where  it  was  necessary  to  change 
conveyances,  he  requested  Gen.  Buckner  to  throw  a  citizen's  cloak 
around  him  in  order  to  conceal  his  uniform,  and  thus  escape  obser 
vation  from  the  mob.  "  I  thank  you,  Colonel, "  replied  Gen*. 
Buckner,  "  but,  I  think  it  unkind  that  you  should  ask  a  Confed 
erate  officer  to  disguise  himself  to  prevent  your  people  from  dis 
gracing  themselves." 

For  four  months  and  a  half  Gen.  Buckner  endured  the  pangs 
of  solitary  confinement — such  being  the  cruel  penalty  inflicted 
upon  him  by  orders  from  Washington.  In  August,  1862,  he 
was  exchanged,  and  the  Confederate  Government  at  once  showed 
appreciation  of  the  spirit  that  had  prompted  his  self-sacrifice  at 
Donelson,  and  sustained  him  in  the  lonely  hours  of  prison,  by 

*  A  Boston  journal  had  the  following  account  of  the  popular  reception  in  that 
polite  city  of  Gen.  Buckner,  and  fellow-prisoner,  Gen.  Tilghman : — "  The  rebel  Gen 
erals  Simon  Bolivar  Buckner  and  Lloyd  Tilghman,  were  immediatly  sent  to  Fort 
Warren,  in  the  harbour.  It  was  not  generally  known  that  they  were  to  arrive,  but  there 
was  a  crowd  present  large  enough,  and  noisy  enough,  to  make  it  decidedly  unpleasant, 
both  to  the  prisoners  and  the  officers  who  had  them  in  charge.  They  occupied  a  car 
situated  in  the  middle  of  the  long  train.  The  crowd  pressed  round  this  car  as  soon 
,  as  the  Generals  were  discovered,  and  commenced  hissing,  groaning  and  howling  in  a 
manner  calculated  to  give  the  occupants  an  impression  not  altogether  favourable  to 
the  citizens  of  the  '  Yankee  capital.'  Policemen  appeared  with  the  two  Generals,  and 
conducted  them  to  the  front  of  the  depot,  followed  by  the  crowd,  which  was  rapidly 
swelling  in  numbers.  The  prisoners  jumped  into  a  hack  in  waiting  there.  As  they 
drove  off,  the  crowd  amused  itself  by  groaning  vehemently  for  Jeff.  Davis.  The 
guard  of  soldiers  did  not  leave  the  car  in  which  they  arrived  at  the  depot  until  the 
prisoners  had  been  driven  off  in  the  hack.  When  they  marched  out  into  the  street, 
some  persons  in  the  crowd  which  still  lingered  about  the  place  were  belligerently  in 
clined.  One  fellow  appealed  to  his  comrade  to  know  if  they  were  going  to  let  '  rebels ' 
run  loose  about  the  streets ;  to  which  appeal  one  of  said  comrades  made  bold  to  reply 
that  they  '  warn't  goin'  ter  du  nuthin'  er  that  sort.' " 


778  LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON   B.   BUCKNER. 

promoting  him  to  a  Major-Generalship.  He  assumed  command 
of  a  division  in  Hardee's  Corps,  then  at  Chattanooga,  and  ree'n- 
tered  the  Western  theatre  of  the  war  just  in  time  to  take  part 
in  Gen.  Bragg's  Kentucky  campaign. 

His  services  in  this  campaign  were  remarkable,  and  especially 
his  clear  perceptions  of  the  field  of  Perryville  showed  general 
ship  of  the  highest  order,  and  might  have  accomplished  a  deci 
sive  result  but  for  the  obstinate  dissent  of  the  Commanding 
General  from  all  his  officers.  When  Gen.  Bragg  declined  to 
give  Buell  battle  on  his  march  to  Louisville,  and  retired  to  Bards- 
town,  Gen.  Buckner  was  detached  temporarily  from  his  division 
to  superintend  the  organization  of  new  regiments  in  Kentucky. 
He  had  scarcely  entered  upon  this  duty  at  Lexington  when 
Buell's  advance  recalled  him  to  his  gallant  command.  He 
reported  to  Gen.  Bragg  at  Harrodsburg,  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
7th  October,  1862.  At  that  time  Gen.  Hardee,  with  two  divi 
sions,  was  in  front  of  the  enemy  at  Perryville.  The  rest  of 
the  army — including  Gen.  Smith's  army,  and  Gen.  Humphrey 
Marshall's  division — was  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Harrods 
burg.  The  enemy  were  pressing  Hardee  heavily  at  Perry 
ville,  ten  miles  southward  from  Harrodsburg.  They  were  also 
moving  on  Salvisa,  about  fifteen  miles  northwest  of  the  same  place. 
On  reporting  to  Gen.  Bragg,  Gen.  Buckner  imparted  to  him  the 
information  which  he  had  learned,  through  his  secret  agents, 
that  the  Federal  Gen.  McCook,  with  from  20,000  to  30,000  men, 
was  at  Macksville,  ten  miles  west  of  Harrodsburg,  moving  to 
reinforce  the  enemy  at  Perryville,  and  urged  an  immediate  con 
centration  of  the  army  at  Perryville,  to  meet  this  movement. 
Gen.  Bragg  replied  that  he  had  reason  to  think  the  enemy  were 
in  heavy  force  in  the  direction  of  Salvisa.  Gen.  Buckner  urged 
again  that  it  would  be  the  most  natural  movement  for  the 
enemy  to  press  with  his  greatest  force  at  Perryville,  thus  endanger 
ing  our  communications  while  covering  his  own ;  that  Gen.  Hardee 
was  already  heavily  pressed  at  that  point ;  that  to  meet  this  danger 
it  was  necessary  to  concentrate  the  entire  available  force ;  and 
that  even  if  the  enemy  should  have  committed  the  error  of  send 
ing  the  mass  of  his  army  towards  Salvisa,  it  was  still  advisable 
to  concentrate  the  army  at  Perryville,  to  overwhelm  the  sup 
posed  inferiour  force  at  that  point,  to  free  our  own  comrnunica- 


LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER.  779 

ions,  and  to  move  upon  those  of  the  enemy,  intercepting  him 
Tom  Louisville,  and  thus  fighting  him  in  detail.  These  views 
lid  not  seem  to  impress  Gen.  Bragg.  When  similar  views  were 
irged  by  Gen.  Polk,  Gen.  Bragg  enunciated  the  novel  proposi- 
ion  that,  "  as  the  enemy  are  divided,  we  can  afford  to  divide, 
;oo."  To  the  written  communications  of  Gen.  Hardee,  supported 
3y  the  opinion  of  Gen.  Cheatham,  subsequently  received,  no 
nore  attention  was  paid  ;  but  Gen.  Bragg  made  the  singular 
lisposition  of  sending  Cheatham's  division  only  of  Folk's  wing 
;o  reinforce  Hardee,  of  ordering  Wither's  division  of  the  same 
ving  in  the  direction  of  Salvisa,  and  of  sending  Kirby  Smith 
,vith  his  army,  and  Marshall  with  his  division,  back  respectively 
;owards  Versailles  and  Lexington.  Thus  an  army  which  had 
)een  concentrated  for  action  had,  on  the  eve  of  battle,  been  scat- 
;ered  to  the  four  points  of  the  compass,  in  spite  of  the  respect- 
*ul  remonstrances  of  every  general  officer  who  came  in  contact 
*vith  the  Commanding  General. 

The  battle  of  Perry  ville  was  a  Confederate  success,  without 
lecisive  results.  After  the  retreat  from  Kentucky,  which  followed, 
3-en.  Buckner  relinquished  the  command  of  his  division  in  the 
A^rmy  of  the  Mississippi,  thenceforth  known  as  the  Army  of  Ten- 
lessee,  to  Cleburne,  on  whom  it  subsequently  conferred  imperish- 
ible  renown ;  and  having  received  orders  to  repair  to  Mobile,  he 
issumed  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  then  threatened 
frith  an  attack.  In  December,  1862,  he  found  Mobile  almost  an 
)pen  town,  with  a  garrison  of  about  four  thousand  men.  He  pro 
jected  the  system  of  defensive  works  which  made  it  so  formidable; 
ae  strengthened  the  river  works,  and  was  rapidly  urging  to  com 
pletion  the  land  defences,  when,  in  May,  1863,  he  received  orders 
to  repair  to  Knoxville,  and  take  command  of  the  Department  of 
East  Tennessee.  This  department  was  then  in  a  very  disorganized 
2ondition,  and  the  division  of  political  sentiment  of  its  people 
made  the  position  of  Gen.  Buckner  one  of  peculiar  embarrassment 
and  trouble.  He  gave  a  rare  and  valuable  example  of  modera 
tion  ;  he  established  a  complete  toleration  of  opinion ;  and  whatever 
might  be  the  view  of  any  citizen  on  political  questions,  he  was 
free  from  molestation,  as  long  as  he  did  not  actively  oppose  the 
existing  government.  It  was  a  wise  and  salutary  practice,  and 
characteristic  of  Gen.  Buckner,  whose  even  and  just  temper 


780  LIEUT.-GEN".   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER. 

always  deplored  the  passions  of  party,  and  was  indisposed  to  any 
thing  like  the  revenge  or  rancour  of  a  victorious  faction. 

From  East  Tennessee  he  joined  Gen.  Bragg's  army  near  Chat 
tanooga,  and  having,  in  a  great  measure,  neutralized  Burnside's 
forces,  contributed  a  most  important  element  of  success  to  the  cam 
paign  which  culminated  at  Chickamauga.  But  here  again  a  great 
opportunity  was  spoiled  by  diverse  counsels.  The  victory  obtained 
over  the  enemy  was  considered  so  complete  that  Longstreet,  Polk, 
Hill,  Buckner,  and  others,  counselled  an  immediate  advance  across 
the  Tennessee  Eiver,  by  a  ford  six  miles  above  Chattanooga.  This 
was  at  one  time  determined  on  ;  but  to  the  surprise  of  the  whole 
army,  the  different  columns  were  directed  upon  Chattanooga,  and 
the  army  sat  down  before  that  place,  to  invest  a  fortress  on  the  only 
side  from  which  supplies  could  not  be  drawn,  even  though  the 
garrison  might  have  had  free  access  to  the  surrounding  country. 
The  delay  before  Chattanooga  threatened  to  be  so  fatal  to  the  Con 
federate  cause,  that  the  principal  officers  of  the  army  could  not 
refrain  from  respectful  protests  against  the  inaction  of  the  Com 
manding  General.  These  differences  induced  a  visit  of  President 
Davis  to  Chattanooga.  He  maintained  Gen.  Bragg  in  command. 
The  latter  continued  the  partial  investment  of  Chattanooga,  and 
reorganized  the  army  in  the  presence  of  a  superiour  enemy.  This 
reorganization,  as  was  predicted,  resulted  disastrously.  The  prin 
ciple  which  seemed  the  basis  of  the  new  organization  was  to  assign 
troops  to  commanders  whom  they  did  not  know,  and  by  whom 
they  were  not  known ;  thus  destroying  the  confidence  between 
commanders  and  troops  so  essential  to  efficiency.  During  this 
partial  investment,  the  Confederate  army,  already  inferiour  in 
strength  to  that  of  the  enemy,  was  further  weakened  by  detailing 
Longstreet  against  Knoxville.  It  was  popularly  thought  that 
Longstreet  favoured  this  movement.  He  was,  in  fact,  opposed  to 
it,  as  were  Buckner  and  most  of  the  senior  officers  of  the  army. 
In  a  letter  to  Gen.  Buckner,  written  at  the  beginning  of  this 
movement,  Gen.  Longstreet  sufficiently  gave  his  views  when  he 
stated  that  he  was  leaving  with  a  force  not  strong  enough  to 
accomplish  success,  yet  large  enough  to  imperil  the  main  body  of 
the  army  before  Chattanooga.  The  result  at  Missionary  Eidge 
justified  the  criticism. 

Gen.  Buckner  was  detained  by  sickness  from  the  command  of 


LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER.  781 

his  division  in  Longstreet's  expedition.  On  rejoining  the  army 
in  East  Tennessee,  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  Hood's 
old  division ;  but  when  the  campaign  of  1861  opened,  and  Long- 
street  was  ordered  to  Virginia,  Gen.  Buckner  was  ordered  to 
report  to  Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith,  on  the  application  of  that  com 
mander,  supported  by  the  wishes  of  the  Congressional  delegates 
from  the  Trans-Mississippi.  On  his  arrival  at  Shreveport,  he  was 
assigned  to  the  command  of  the  District  of  Louisiana,  to  succeed 
Lieut.-Gen.  Taylor,  who  was  ordered  to  command  in  Alabama 
ind  Mississippi.  He  was  soon  afterwards  promoted  to  the  grade 
)f  Lieutenant-General.  As  such,  in  addition  to  his  geographical 
3ommand,  he  commanded  a  corps  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  army, 
composed  of  one  Louisiana  division  of  infantry,  one  from  Arkan 
sas,  and  one  from  Missouri,  and  a  cavalry  command  composed 
)f  Missouri,  Texas,  Arkansas  and  Louisiana  troops. 

There  were  but  few  active  operations  in  the  Trans-Mississippi 
ifter  the  spring  campaign  of  1864.  Gen.  Price's  invasion  of 
Missouri  had  some  design  as  an  aid  to  Hood's  movements  in 
jeorgia,  but  fell  below  expectation,  and  accomplished  no  impor- 
ant  results.  The  surrender  of  Gens.  Lee  and  Johnston  left  the 
Crans-Mississippi  Department  without  any  steady  prospect  of 
n'olongatiori  of  the  struggle,  and  the  convention  for  a  surrender 
vas  negotiated  by  Lieut.-Gen.  Buckner  and  Maj.-Gen.  Price,  with 
fcfaj.-Gen.  Canby,  of  the  United  States  Army.  By  the  terms  of 
urrender,  Gen.  Buckner  wras  not  permitted  to  return  at  once  to 
iis  home  in  Kentucky.  He  accordingly  remained  in  New 
)rleans,  where  accident  had  thrown  him.  Having  saved  noth- 
ng  from  the  wreck  of  his  fortune,  he  sought,  without  repining 
»ver  the  past,  to  earn  a  support  by  applying  himself  at  once  to 
he  changed  condition  of  the  country.  The  sword  having  failed 
dm  he  took  up  the  pen,  and  is  a  constant  contributor  to  one  of 
he  daily  newspapers  in  E~ew  Orleans. '  His  attention  to  commer- 
ial  pursuits  had  secured  the  confidence  of  the  business  men  of 
Tew  Orleans  to  such  an  extent  that  he  was  selected,  in  1866,  as 
he  President  of  an  insurance  company,  made  up  by  many  of  the 
>rincipal  merchants  of  the  city.  This  position  he  now  holds. 

In  the  character  of  Gen.  Buckner  there  is  a  peculiar  trait, 
•esides  his  good  qualities  as  a  commander.  It  is  a  severe  con- 
cientiousness,  a  high  moral  courage,  that  never  would  bend 


782  LIEUT.-GEN.   SIMON  B.   BUCKNER. 

either  to  a  consideration  of  expediency  or  a  command  of  authority. 
We  have  noticed  an  evidence  of  this  disposition  when  he  declined 
to  take  up  arms  on  the  hypothesis  of  Kentucky's  neutrality.  It 
was  strongly  illustrated  by  an  incident  of  the  campaign  in  Ken 
tucky.  Previous  to  that  period  several  summary  executions  had 
taken  place  in  the  Army  of  the  Mississippi,  under  colour  of  the 
sentence  of  what  were  called  "  military  commissions."  Gen. 
Buckner  received,  at  Sparta,  an  order  to  execute  two  soldiers  of 
his  command,  who  had  been  condemned  by  such  an  illegal  tri 
bunal.  He  declined  compliance  with  the  order,  for  the  reasons, 
that  no  such  tribunal  was  known  to  our  laws ;  that  the  mock 
trial  of  the  parties,  therefore,  had  no  legal  effect ;  that  the  order 
of  the  commander  was  consequently  arbitrary  and  unlawful; 
that  to  obey  it  would  be  to  commit  murder ;  and  that  as  he  had 
taken  up  arms  in  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  exercise  of  usurped 
authority,  he  could  not  consistently  sustain  such  an  usurpation 
over  constitutional  rights.  Upon  this  remonstrance,  the  Com 
manding  General  reconsidered  his  action,  reprieved  the  soldiers, 
and  ceased  the  practice  of  summary  executions,  except  when 
adjudged  by  courts-martial — the  only  legal  tribunals  established 
for  the  trial  of  military  offenders. 


MAJ.-GEK  JOHN  B.  FLOYD, 


CHAPTER  LXXIII. 

Family  record  of  the  Floyds.— Adventures  of  George  Rogers  Clarke. — John  Floyd,  the 
elder. — His  services  as  Governor  of  Virginia. — Early  life  of  young  Floyd. — A 
planter  in  Arkansas. — His  political  career  in  Virginia. — A  member  of  President 
Buchanan's  Cabinet. — His  political  views  and  services  in  the  Cabinet. — PRIVATE 
DIARY  OP  SECRETARY  FLOYD. — Extraordinary  statement  of  President  Buchanan, 
justifying  the  secession  of  the  Southern  States,  in  a  certain  event. — Private  views 
of  Washington  politicians. — How  Secretary  Floyd  came  to  resign  his  position  in 
the  Cabinet. — Clamour  and  recriminations  of  the  Republican  party. — Floyd  ap 
pointed  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  Confederate  States  service. — His  campaign  in 
Western  Virginia. — Battles  of  Fort  Donelson. — He  is  relieved  from  command. — 
Appointed  by  Virginia  a  Major-General  of  State  troops. — Operations  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Big  Sandy. — His  death. — A  great  and  generous  character  assailed 
by  partisan  influences. 

THE  subject  of  this  sketch  had  but  a  slight  military  record  in 
the  war.  But  he  was  one  of  the  most  important  politicians  of 
the  South,  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  characters  of  Virginia. 

His  family  record  is  closely  interwoven  with  the  public  his 
tory  of  the  country,  and  is  intensely  interesting.  The  Floyds 
were  of  Welsh  extraction.  The  ancestor  of  the  name  in  America 
settled  on  the  eastern  shore  in  Virginia.  The  family  soon  di 
vided  into  three  branches:  one  of  them  remaining  in  Virginia; 
mother  established  himself  in  New  York  ;  and  the  third  emigrat- 
ng  to  Georgia.  The  Virginia  stirps  moved  up  into  the  interiour 
country,  now  Amherst  county  of  that  State.  There  the  head  of 
;he  family  intermarried  with  a  half-breed  Indian  girl.  Shortly 
aefore  the  era  of  the  Revolution,  a  young  and  enterprising  de 
scendant  of  this  union,  John  Floyd,  proceeded  still  further  west 
ward,  and  became  the  assistant  of  a  notable  surveyor,  William 
Preston,  in  what  is  now  Montgomery  county,  Virginia.  This  lat- 


784  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

ter  was  the  nephew  of  James  Patton,  an  emigrant  from  the  north 
of  Ireland,  a  retired  captain  of  the  British  navy,  after  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht,  who  had  come  to  America,  bearing  as  a  reward  for 
approved  services,  grants  or  patents  from  the  crown  for  indefinite 
acres  of  the  royal  lands.  These  the  nephew,  William  Preston, 
assisted  by  young  Floyd,  found  abundant  occupation  in  locating 
upon  the  richest  soils  of  Southwest  Virginia;  and  it  was  proba 
bly  the  same  object  that  soon  took  the  latter  to  a  more  distant 
field  of  labour. 

The  search  for  good  lands  and  a  taste  for  adventure,  after  a 
few  years,  had  identified  young  Floyd  with  Kentucky ;  where, 
Washington-like,  he  surveyed  and  located  lands,  industriously, 
for  several  years.  We  soon  find  him  in  intimate  companionship 
there  with  Daniel  Boone,  the  pioneer.  The  histories  of  that 
young  State,  and  the  records  of  the  family,  make  him  one  of  the 
party  that  rescued  Boone's  daughters  from  the  Indians,  who  had 
kidnapped  them  while  fishing  alone  and  unprotected.  We  find 
John  Floyd's  name  among  those  of  the  first  bench  of  justices  of 
the  peace  that  were  commissioned  for  the  county  of  Kentucky 
by  the  Virginia  Executive.  John  Floyd  also  became  intimately 
associated  with  Gen.  George  Kogers  Clarke,  who  commanded 
troops  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  on  the  Ohio  waters ;  and  who, 
at  the  head  of  these  troops,  subsequently  conquered  for  the  Com 
monwealth  of  Virginia,  from  the  British  crown,  the  territory 
between  the  Ohio  River  and  the  great  lakes,  called  the  North 
western  Territory ;  a  splendid  domain,  which  Virginia  ceded  to  the 
Union.  What  command  Floyd  held  under  Clarke  is  not  known; 
but  he  was  with  that  patriot  when  he  rejected  the  title  of  nobility 
proffered  him  in  the  name  of  the  British  king,  to  secure  his 
fidelity  to  the  crown  at  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution.* 

*  Gen.  Clarke  spent  a  large  private  fortune  in  maintaining  his  Virginia  army  on 
the  waters  of  the  Ohio,  during,  and  subsequently  to  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  Ho 
was  never  reimbursed,  and  lived  and  died  in  straitened  circumstances.  After 
many  years,  Virginia  ceded  the  territory,  thus  cheaply  acquired,  to  the  Union,  and 
voted  Clarke  a  sword;  which,  when  taken  to  him,  he  ran  into  the  ground  and  broke; 
remarking  that  she  should  first  pay  her  debts,  and  bestow  compliments  afterwards 
When  the  grandson  of  his  companion  in  arms,  John  B.  Floyd,  became  Secretary  of 
"War  at  "Washington,  he  caused  a  portrait  of  Gen.  Geo.  Rogers  Clarke  to  be  accu 
rately  copied  from  one  in  his  family  possession,  and  placed  in  the  "War  Office  at 
"Washington. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  785 

The  war  of  1775,  and  a  tender  attraction,  brought  Floyd  back 
rom  Kentucky  to  Smithfield,  the  Patton  homestead,  in  Mont- 
;omery  county,  Southwest  Virginia.  The  attraction  was  a  young 
ady,  a  cousin  of  William  Preston,  and  a  niece  of  James  Patton, 
amed  Buchanan.  About  the  time  of  his  return,  a  messenger 
ame  to  him  from  Mr.  Cabell,  in  the  lowlands,  who  owned  ship- 
•ing.  He  was  invited  to  join  William  Radford,  of  Richmond, 
nd  others  more  competent  than  either  to  manage  sea-craft,  in  a 
laritime  expedition  which  the  Tories  denounced  as  piratical,  but 
/Inch  the  Whigs  called  privateering ;  and  he  obeyed  the  sum- 
ions.  The  adventure  was  both  brief  and  luckless;  for  the  two 
aptured  young  rebels  soon  found  themselves  inclosed  in  an  Eng- 
sh  prison — tradition  says,  in  the  tower  of  London — as  prisoners 
f  war.  After  a  tedious  incarceration,  they  made  their  escape, 
lirough  the  favour  of  a  young  girl,  who  was  a  domestic  in  the 
'ower,  and  managed  to  reach  Paris,  where,  through  the  solicita- 
tons  of  Dr.  Franklin,  the  colonial  agent,  they  obtained  money 
:-om  Marie  Antoinette,  with  which  to  return  to  America,  where 
loyd  arrived  in  time  to  prevent  the  marriage  of  the  Buchanan 
laiden  to  another  lover  and  to  secure  the  prize  for  himself.  He 
Don  went  back  to  Kentucky,  where  he  engaged  actively  in  the  wars 
gainst  the  Indians  which  were  incident  to  the  Revolution,  and 
ras  finally  killed  by  the  Indians  near  Louisville,  leaving  two  sons, 
reorge  Rogers  Clarke  Floyd,  who  remained  in  Kentucky,  and 
ohn  Floyd,  who  came  to  Virginia.  The  mother  of  the  two  boys 
fterwards  married  James  Breckenridge  of  Kentucky  ;  and  from 
iris  latter  union  a  portion  of  the  Breckenridges  of  that  State,  and 
ther  familiar  names  in  Kentuckian  history,  have  descended. 

The  second  John  Floyd,  having  returned  permanently  to  Vir- 
•inia,  married  Letitia  Preston,  daughter  of  William  Preston,  the 
urveyor,  a  lady  widely  noted  for  extraordinary  intellectual  gifts 
nd  attainments.  He  was  by  profession  a  physician,  and  was 
ighly  and  widely  esteemed  in  that  character.  But  he  soon  be- 
ame  prominent  in  politics,  and  was  for  a  long  time  a  represent- 
tive  in  Congress  from  Southwestern  Virginia.  He  signalized 
imself  by  his  zeal  for  the  occupation  of  our  possessions  beyond 
he  Rocky  Mountains,  where  the.  title  of  the  United  States  was  not 
ret  indisputably  settled.  He  was  regarded  as  an  enthusiast  upon 
he  subject,  and  it  was  owing  to  his  personal  popularity  with 

50 


786  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   FLOYD. 

members,  and  not  to  their  appreciation  of  his  apparently  extrava 
gant  views,  that  Congress  sanctioned  the  measures  taken  at  his 
instigation  in  Monroe's  administration  looking  to  the  establish 
ment  of  our  title  to  what  is  now  Oregon  and  Washi ngton  Territo 
ries  • — measures  which  secured,  in  a  modern  controversy  with 
Great  Britain,  our  claim  to  that  valuable  domain.  Dr.  Floyd  was 
a  zealous  advocate  of  Jackson's  election  to  the  Presidency  ;  who, 
after  his  inauguration,  tendered  him  the  office  of  Governor  of  the 
Territory  on  the  Pacific  in  acknowledgment  of  the  services  he 
had  rendered  in  that  behalf.  The  appointment  was  declined; 
and  soon  after  Dr.,  or  rather  Gen.,  Floyd  became  Governor  of 
Virginia,  in  1829,  and  was  the  last  Governor  of  that  State  under 
its  first  constitution.  He  was  also,  in  1831,  unanimously  elected 
the  first  Governor  under  the  constitution  formed  by  the  State 
Convention  which  met  in  1829.  During  the  latter  term  of  ser 
vice  the  nullification  movement  had  its  career  in  South  Carolina ; 
and  Governor  Floyd  so  far  sympathized  with  it,  that  he  gave 
public  notice  of  his  determination  not  to  permit  the  employment 
of  Federal  forces  against  the  refractory  State  without  resistance 
from  Virginia.  He  received  the  compliment  of  the  electoral  vote 
of  South  Carolina  for  the  Presidency  in  1833,  and  died  in  private 
life  a  few  years  afterwards. 

John  Buchanan  Floyd,  the  subject  of  the  present  memoir,  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Gen.  John  Floyd  and  of  Letitia  Preston,  and  the 
grandson  of  John  Floyd,  the  companion  of  Daniel  Boone  and 
George  Rogers  Clarke  in  Kentucky,  and  of  Jane  Buchanan,  the 
Scotch-Irish  maiden,  who  was  of  the  same  family  of  the  Buchan 
ans  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  at  Smithfield,  the  Patton  and 
Preston  seat  in  Montgomery  county,  Virginia,  on  the  1st  day 
of  June,  1806.  He  spent  much  of  his  youth  in  handling  the 
axe,  the  plough,  and  the  rifle,  in  a  country  then  thinly  populated 
and  abounding  in  forest  and  game.  He  grew  up  an  athlete  and 
a  model  of  manly  comeliness.  Though  his  early  education  was 
not  thorough,  he  was  reared  in  companionship  with  intelligence 
and  literary  cultivation,  and  enjoyed  throughout  youth  the  then, 
in  that  country,  rare  advantages  of  an  ample  and  well-selected 
library.  The  society  of  his  remarkably  intellectual  mother,  and 
of  so  bold-thinking,  experienced  and  practical  a  statesman  as 
Oen.  Floyd,  gave  grasp  and  elevation  to  his  mind,  and  direction 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  787 

to  his  life.  He  finally  went  to  Columbia  College,  South  Caro 
lina,  where  he  graduated  in  1829  with  high  reputation  for  intel 
lectual  powers.  He  was  a  great  admirer  and  a  favoured  pupil  of 
the  learned  and  scientific  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  who  was  then 
President  of  Columbia  College.  In  1830  he  was  married  to  his 
cousin,  Sally  Buchanan  Preston,  granddaughter  of  the  William 
Preston  before  mentioned,  and  sister  of  Win.  C.  Preston,  the 
orator  and  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  who  had  emigrated  to 
that  State  from  South-western  Virginia.  The  mother  of  Miss 
Floyd  was  a  niece  of  Patrick  Henry  and  daughter  of  Gen.  Wm. 
Campbell,  of  King's  Mountain  fame. 

Young  John  B.  Floyd  settled  in  the  part  of  Virginia  in  which 
he  had  been  born  and  reared,  and  engaged  in  the  profession  of 
law.  He  soon  moved,  however,  to  Arkansas,  with  the  double 
purpose  of  pursuing  his  profession  and  embarking  extensively  in 
the  business  of  cotton-planting.  The  adventure  proved  disas 
trous.  After  losing  forty  slaves  by  a  malignant  fever,  he  was 
himself  taken  down  with  the  disease,  and  was  prostrate  for  many 
months.  In  the  progress  of  the  fever  he  was  once  thought  for 
several  hours  to  be  dead.  His  wife  alone  refused  to  acknowledge 
the  trance  to  be  death;  and  under  the  impulse  of  despairing 
affection,  poured  a  teaspoonful  of  brandy  into  his  throat,  which 
elicited  faint  signs  of  life.  He  recovered  from  the  fever,  but 
with  a  permanently  shattered  constitution  and  enfeebled  frame. 
These  events  occurred  in  1 837 ;  and  they,  with  the  financial  cri 
sis  which  swept  over  the  country  in  that  year,  made  a  wreck  of 
his  fortune,  and  changed  the  course  of  his  life. 

He  returned  to  Virginia,  commenced  life  anew  at  Abingdon, 
Washington  county,  and  resumed  the  profession  of  law,  which 
he  practised  with  diligence  and  success  until  he  was  elected  a 
delegate  from  his  county  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia 
in  the  year  1847.  He  immediately  took  a  foremost  rank  in  the 
House  of  Delegates,  and  was  conspicuous  as  a  leader  of  what 
was  known  as  the  internal  improvement  party  of  the  Legislature, 
which  demanded  appropriations  from  the  State  treasury  in  behalf 
of  railroads  and  other  public  works. 

After  serving  a  single  session  in  the  Legislature,  he  had  won  so 
high  a  reputation  for  ability,  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the  next, 
he  was  elected  by  the  General  Assembly  to  be  Governor  of  the 


788  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

Commonwealth  for  the  term  of  three  years,  which  was  to  com 
mence  on  the  1st  of  January,  1849.  As  Governor,  he  was  ex 
officio  President  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works  of  the  State ;  his 
services  in  which  latter  capacity  were  conspicuous,  and  had  a 
marked  influence  upon  the  industrial  fortunes  of  Yirginia.  His 
messages  as  Governor,  and  reports  as  President  of  the  Board  of 
Public  Works,  were  distinguished  by  extraordinary  ability,  and 
gave  him  high  intellectual  rank  in  the  State. 

In  politics  he  was  a  State-Rights  Democrat,  and  he  was  placed 
on  the  Electoral  ticket  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Virginia  in 
each  of  the  three  Presidential  campaigns  which  occurred  before 
the  election  of  Mr.  Buchanan  in  1856.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  in  1855,  after  a  vigorous  contest  with  the  Know-Nothing 
party,  and  established  a  reputation  for  unsurpassed  ability  as  a 
debater  at  the  session  of  the  ensuing  winter.  Though  a  subscriber 
to  the  State-Rights  doctrines  of  1789,  he  had  not  a  cordial  sym 
pathy  with  the  men,  in  or  out  of  Yirginia,  who  were  conspicuous 
for  extreme  secession  views.  He  was  generally  found  in  oppo 
sition  to  these  men  in  the  frequent  debates  and  contests  which 
occurred  within  the  organization  of  the  Democratic  party  in 
Yirginia. 

Space  is  not  afforded  here  for  any  extensive  display  of 
the  political  career  of  Gov.  Floyd.  It  was  important,  well 
known  to  the  country,  and,  at  last,  brought  him  prominently  into 
the  crisis  that  was  pregnant  with  war.  The  conspicuous  and 
efficient  services  which  he  had  rendered  to  the  Democratic  cause 
in  1856,  and  the  great  popularity  which  he  everywhere  enjoyed, 
marked  him  as  a  fit  selection  from  Yirginia  for  the  cabinet  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  ;  and  the  post  of  Secretary  of  War  was  accord 
ingly  tendered  him,  which  he  accepted.  In  the  letter  of  Mr. 
Buchanan,  inviting  Gov.  Floyd  into  his  cabinet,  he  says : 
"  I  need  not  specify  the  principles  on  which  the  Administration 
shall  be  conducted,  as  these  may  be  found  in  the  resolutions  of 
the  Cincinnati  Convention,  so  ably  enforced  by  yourself  through? 
out  the  late  Presidential  canvass." 

The  Administration  of  Mr.  Buchanan  closed  an  epoch  in 
the  career  of  the  American  Union.  During  that  period  the 
Abolition  party  consummated  the  efforts  which  they  had  indus 
triously  persisted  in  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  by  carrying  the 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  789 

national  elections  on  sectional  issues,  and  in  securing  a  sectional 
ascendancy  in  the  Government  of  the  Union.  The  Administra 
tion  of  Mr.  Buchanan  was  too  conservative  to  obtain  the  support 
of  the  Southern  party  ;  while  it  encountered  at  every  step  of  its 
career  the  fierce  and  bitter  hostility  of  the  Northern.  Unfortu 
nately  the  constitutional  timidity  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  no  less  than 
his  moderation  as  a  statesman,  repelled  from  his  support  the 
men  of  ardent  temperament  whom  the  hot  temper  of  the  times 
had  thrust  into  Congress  ;  most  of  them  from  the  South,  but 
many  from  the  North.  The  result  was,  that  while  his  Admin 
istration  was  constantly  assaulted,  it  found  no  organization  of 
defenders  in  Congress  ;  and  the  members  of  his  Cabinet  were 
dependant  each  upon  his  personal  influence,  for  such  vindication 
as  the  violence  of  party  rancour  rendered  constantly  necessary. 

It  is  not  within  the  design  of  the  writer  to  detail  the  services 
of  Gov.  Floyd  in  Mr.  Buchanan's  Cabinet,  except  with  reference 
to  the  question  of  secession  and  war.  The  routine  of  his  Admin 
istration  drew  upon  him  censures,  which  it  is  not  necessary  now 
to  discuss,  as  it  is  his  political  attitude  before  the  war  which 
claims  our  attention.  It  may  be  said  generally  that  he  was  one 
of  the  most  influential  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and  was  confes 
sedly  one  of  the  most  popular.  He  possessed  the  personal  good 
will  of  all  who  came  into  personal  relation  with  him ;  and  his 
conceded  talents  and  prominence  had  constituted  him  a  target 
for  the  shafts  of  the  Opposition.  While  known  to  be  one  of  the 
staunchest  supporters  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  measures,  he  was  yet 
on  terms  of  friendship  with  Mr.  Douglas  and  his  leading  adhe 
rents.  While  one  of  the  most  decided  and  pronounced  repre 
sentatives  of  Southern  opinion,  he  was  justly  believed  by  the 
Abolition  party  to  be  attached  to  the  Union,  and  incapable, 
without  compulsion,  of  entertaining  sentiments  sinister  to  its 
integrity. 

There  could  be  no  better  index  of  the  real  sentiments  of  Secre 
tary  Floyd  on  the  subject  of  the  Union  than  is  afforded  at  as  late  a 
date  as  November,  1860,  by  a  private  diary  which  he  kept  for  a 
few  days  at  that  period,  and  which  was  never  seen  or  read  by 
other  person  than  himself  for  several  years  after  it  was  written. 
It  was  probably  forgotten  by  himself.  Among  his  private  papers 
examined  after  his  death,  the  fragment  of  a  diary  was  found, 


790  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   FLOYD. 

written  in  his  own  hand,  which  is  now  extant,  and  which  is  here 
copied  entire : 


"  WASHINGTON  CITY,  Nov.  7, 1860. 

"I  have  scarcely  taken  a  memorandum  of  any  event  which 
has  occurred  since  the  commencement  of  the  Administration  of 
Mr.  Buchanan  and  my  entry  upon  the  duties  of  Secretary  of 
"War,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1857.  Many  transactions  worthy  of 
note  have  transpired  during  that  time ;  but  such  as  particularly 
interested  me  I  have  carefully  laid  up  in  my  memory,  for  my 
own  reflection,  and  with  that  I  think  the  usefulness  of  annals 
ceases. 

"  But  recent  and  daily-occurring  events  are  of  so  much  im 
portance,  and  bid  fair  to  be  attended  with  such  momentous  con 
sequences  to  the  country,  that  I  have  determined  to  make  notes 
of  some  incidents  likely  hereafter  to  prove  of  special  interest. 

"  Yesterday,  the  6th  November,  was  election-day  for  Presi 
dent  and  Yice-President  of  the  United  States.  The  candidates 
elected  are  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  Illinois,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin, 
of  Maine.  These  men  were  nominated  and  elected  by  the  peo 
ple  of  the  non-slave-holding  States,  without  consultation  or 
reference,  in  any  shape,  to  the  slave-holding  parts  of  the  Con 
federacy.  Such  are  the  facilities  of  intercommunication  and  the 
transmission  of  intelligence,  that  we  are  already  apprised  at  the 
seat  of  government  of  the  result  of  the  election  within  four  and 
twenty  hours  after  it  was  over. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  purely  sectional  character  of  the  elec 
tion,  and  above  all  from  the  avowed  principles  of  uncompromis 
ing  hostility  proclaimed  by  the  successful  party  to  Slavery  as  it 
now  exists  in  the  South — the  result  of  this  election  has  produced, 
even  in  anticipation,  a  profound  sensation.  Information  has 
already  reached  here  that  a  deep  feeling  of  excitement  has  been 
created  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

"The  President  wrote  me  a  note  this  evening,  alluding  to  a 
rumour  which  reached  the  city,  to  the  effect  that  an  armed  force 
had  attacked  and  carried  the  forts  in  Charleston  harbour.  He 
desired  me  to  visit  him,  which  I  did,  and  assured  him  that  the 
rumour  was  altogether  without  foundation,  and  gave  it  as  my 
opinion  that  there  was  no  danger  of  such  an  attempt  being  made. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  791 

"  WQ  entered  upon  a  general  conversation  upon  the  subject 
>f  disunion,  and  discussed  the  probabilities  of  it  pretty  fully. 
>Ve  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  all  indications  from  the  South 
ooked  as  if  disunion  was  inevitable.  He  said  that  whilst  his 
•eason  told  him  there  was  great  danger,  yet  his  feelings  repelled 
he  conviction  of  his  mind. 

"  Judge  Beach,  the  Attorney-General,  was  present  during  a 
>art  of  the  conversation,  and  indicated  an  opinion,  that  any 
tttempt  at  disunion  by  a  State  should  be  put  down  by  all  the 
>ower  of  the  government. 

"  .November  8. — The  majorities  for  Lincoln  ascertained  to-day 
eem  to  be  far  beyond  any  calculations,  and  indicate  that  thesen- 
iment  of  the  North  is  overwhelming  in  favor  of  the  principles  of 
inti-slavery,  upon  which  Lincoln's  party  is  organized. 

"  I  had  a  long  conversation  to-day  with  Gen.  Lane,  the  candi- 
late  for  Yice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Breckenridge. 
le  was  grave  and  extremely  earnest ;  said  that  resistance  to 
he  anti-slavery  feeling  of  the  North  was  hopeless,  and  that 
lothing  was  left  to  the  South  but  "  resistance  or  dishonour  ;"  that 
f  the  South  failed  to  act  with  promptness  and  decision  in  vindi 
cation  of  her  rights  she  would  have  to  make  up  her  mind  to  give 
ip  first  her  honour  and  then  her  slaves.  He  thought  disunion 
nevitable,  and  said  when  the  hour  came  that  his  services 
could  be  useful,  he  would  offer  them  unhesitatingly  to  the  South. 
I  called  to  see  the  President  this  evening,  but  found  him  at  the 
State  Department  engaged  upon  his  message,  and  did  not  see 
rim.  Miss  Lane  returned  last  evening  from  Philadelphia,  where 
>he  had  been  for  some  time  on  a  visit. 

"  Mr.  W.  H.  Trescott,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  called  to 
5ee  me  this  evening,  and  conversed  at  length  upon  the  condition 
)f  things  in  South  Carolina,  of  which  State  he  is  a  native.  He 
3xpressed  no  sort  of  doubt  whatever  of  his  State  separating  from 
:he  Union.  He  brought  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Dray  ton,  the  agent 
)f  the  State,  proposing  to  buy  ten  thousand  muskets  for  the  use 
}f  the  State. 

"November  9. — This  has  been  a  busy  and  very  important  day. 
[  had  visits  from  some  of  the  army  officers,  chiefly  about  the  busi 
ness  of  the  Department.  I  cut  down  some  of  the  estimates  for 
the  ensuing  year,  and  looked  carefully  over  them  all.  A  Cabi- 


792  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   FLOYD. 

net  meeting  was  held  as  usual  at  one  o'clock ;  all  the  members 
were  present,  and  the  President  said  the  business  of  the  meeting 
was  the  most  important  ever  before  the  Cabinet  since  his  induc 
tion  into  office.  The  question,  he  said,  to  be  considered  and  dis 
cussed,  was  as  to  the  course  the  Administration  should  advise 
him  to  pursue  in  relation  to  the  threatening  aspect  of  affairs  in 
the  South,  and  most  particularly  in  South  Carolina.  After  a  con 
siderable  amount  of  desultory  conversation,  he  asked  the  opinions 
of  each  member  of  the  Cabinet  as  to  what  should  be  done  or  said 
relative  to  a  suggestion  which  he  threw  out.  His  suggestion  was 
that  a  proposition  should  be  made  for  a  general  convention  of 
the  States,  as  provided  for  under  the  constitution,  and  to  propose 
some  plan  of  compromising  the  angry  disputes  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  He  said  IF  THIS  WERE  DONE,  AND  THE  NORTH  OR 

NON-SLAVEHOLDING  STATES  SHOULD  'REFUSE  IT,  THE  SOUTH  WOULD 
STAND  JUSTIFIED  BEFORE  THE  WHOLE  WORLD  FOR  REFUSING  LONGER 
TO  REMAIN  IN  A  CONFEDERACY  WHERE  HER  RIGHTS  WERE  SO  SHAME 
FULLY  VIOLATED.  He  said  he  was  compelled  to  notice  at  length 
the  alarming  condition  of  the  country,  and  that  he  would  not 
shrink  from  the  duty. 

"  Gen.  Cass  spoke  with  earnestness  and  much  feeling  about 
the  impending  crisis — admitted  fully  all  the  great  wrongs  and 
outrages  which  had  been  committed  against  the  South  by  North 
ern  fanaticism,  and  deplored  it.  But  he  was  emphatic  in  his 
condemnation  of  the  doctrine  of  secession  by  any  State  from  the 
Union.  He  doubted  the  efficacy  of  the  appeal  for  a  convention, 
but  seemed  to  think  it  might  do  well  enough  to  try  it.  He  spoke 
warmly  in  favour  of  using  force  to  coerce  a  State  that  attempted 
to  secede. 

"Judge  Beach,  the  Attorney -General,  was  emphatic  in  his 
advocacy  of  coercion,  and  advocated  earnestly  the  propriety  of 
sending  at  once  a  strong  force  into  the  forts  in  Charleston  Har 
bour,  enough  to  deter  if  possible  the  people  from  any  attempt  at 
disunion.  He  seemed  to  favour  the  idea  of  an  appeal  for  a  general 
convention  of  all  the  States. 

"  Gov.  Cobb,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  declared  his  very 
decided  approbation  of  the  proposition,  for  two  reasons — first, 
that  it  afforded  the  President  a  great  opportunity  for  a  high  and 
statesmanlike  treatment  of  the  whole  subject  of  agitation,  and  the 


MAJ.-GEN".   JOHN"  B.    FLOYD.  793 

proper  remedies  to  prevent  it ;  secondly,  because,  in  his  judg 
ment,  the  failure  to  procure  that  redress  which  the  South  would 
be  entitled  to  and  would  demand  (and  that  failure  he  thought 
certain),  would  tend  to  unite  the  entire  South  in  a  decided 
disunion  movement.  He  thought  disunion  inevitable,  and  under 
present  circumstances,  most  desirable. 

"  Mr.  Holt,  the  Postmaster-General,  thought  the  proposition 
for  the  convention  dangerous,  for  the  reason,  that  if  the  call  should 
be  made,  and  it  should  fail  to  procure  redress,  those  States  which 
now  are  opposed  to  secession,  might  find  themselves  inclined, 
from  a  feeling  of  honour,  to  back  the  States  resolving  on  dis 
union.  Without  this  common  demand  and  common  failure, 
he  thought  there  would  be  no  such  danger  of  united  action, 
and  therefore  a  stronger  prospect  of  some  future  plan  of  recon 
ciliation. 

"  Mr.  Thompson,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  thought  well 
of  the  plan  of  calling  for  a  general  convention — thought  his  State 
(Mississippi)  about  equally  divided  between  the  Union  and  Dis 
union  men.  He  deprecated  the  idea  of  force,  and  said  any  show 
of  it  by  the  Government  would  instantly  make  Mississippi  a 
unit  in  favour  of  disunion. 

"  Mr.  Toucey,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  thought  well  of  the  ap 
peal  for  the  convention — coincided  in  an  opinion  I  had  expressed, 
that  retaliatory  State  measures  would  prove  most  availing  for 
bringing  the  Northern  fanatics  to  their  senses.  I  expressed  my 
self  decidedly  opposed  to  any  rash  movement,  and  against  the 
idea  of  secession  at  this  time.  I  did  so  because  I  think  that  Lin 
coln's  administration  will  fail,  and  be  regarded  as  impotent  for 
good  or  evil,  within  four  months  after  his  inauguration.  "We 
are  to  meet  to-morrow  at  one  o'clock. 

"November  10th. — The  day  has  been  gloomy  and  lowering, 
with  a  cold  north-east  rain.  I  dispatched  the  business  of  the 
War-Office.  Gen.  James,  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Capt.  Mayna- 
dier,  of  the  ordnance,  were  with  me  for  some  time  to-day,  talking 
of  the  projectile  for  cannon  invented  by  Gen.  James.  Recent 
experiments  have  been  made  with  them  in  rifled  cannon,  and  the 
success  seems  to  have  been  complete.  The  shooting  surpasses 
anything  ever  known  before. 

"  We  had  a  Cabinet  meeting  to-day,  at  which  the  President 


794:  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

read  a  very  elaborate  document,  prepared  either  as  a  part  of  his 
Message,  or  as  a  proclamation.  It  was  well  written  in  the  main, 
and  met  with  extravagant  commendation  from  Gen.  Cass,  Gov. 
Toucey,  Judge  Beach,  and  Mr.  Holt.  Cobb,  Thompson,  and 
myself  found  much  to  differ  from  in  it.  Cobb,  because  it  incul 
cated  submission  to  Lincoln's  election,  and  intimated  the  use  of 
force  to  coerce  a  submission  to  his  rule ;  and  because  it  repre 
hended  the  policy  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  Thompson, 
because  of  the  doctrine  of  acquiescence,  and  the  hostility  to  the 
secession  doctrine.  I  objected  to  it  because  I  think  it  misses 
entirely  the  temper  of  the  Southern  people,  and  attacks  the  true 
State  rights  doctrine  on  the  subject  of  secession.  I  do  not  see 
what  good  can  come  of  the  paper,  as  prepared,  and  I  do  see  how 
much  mischief  may  flow  from  it. 

"  Beach,  Thompson,  and  Cobb  came  over  with  me  from 
Cabinet  and  stayed,  taking  informally  a  family  dinner.  The 
party  was  free  and  communicative ;  Toucey  would  not  stay  for 
dinner.  Mr.  Pickens,  late  Minister  to  Russia,  came  in  after  din 
ner,  with  Mr.  Trescott,  Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  and  sat  an 
hour,  talking  about  the  distracted  state  of  public  feeling  at 
the  South.  He  seemed  to  think  the  time  had  come  for  decisive 
measures  to  be  taken  by  the  South. 

"  November  llth. — I  spent  an  hour  at  the  President's,  where 
I  met  Thompson,  Robert  McGraw,  and  some  others ;  we  sat 
around  the  tea-table,  and  discussed  the  disunion  movements  of 
the  South.  This  seems  to  be  the  absorbing  topic  everywhere. 

"November  12th. — Dispatched  the  ordinary  business  of  the 
Department ;  dined  at  five  o'clock  ;  Mr.  Pickens,  late  Minister 
to  Russia,  Mr.  Trescott,  Mr.  Secretary  Thompson,  Mr.  McGraw, 
Mr.  Browne,  editor  of  the  Constitution,  wTere  of  the  party.  The 
chief  topic  of  discussion  was,  as  usual,  the  excitement  in  the 
South.  The  belief  seemed  to  be  that  disunion  was  inevitable ; 
Pickens,  usually  very  cool  and  conservative,  was  excited  and 
warm.  My  own  conservatism  seems  in  these  discussions  to  be 
unusual  and  almost  misplaced. 

"November  13th. — We  had  a  long  session  of  the  Cabinet 
to-day.  The  President  read  a  good  paper,  suggesting  a  conven 
tion  of  the  States  for  an  amicable  adjustment  of  pending  diffi 
culties.  He  is  uncertain  as  to  whether  he  shall  make  it  a  pro- 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  795 

clamation,  or  part  of  his  Message.  Stocks  of  every  kind  are 
rapidly  depreciating,  and  fears  are  now  entertained  that  the  banks 
will  suspend  specie  payments."* 

These  minutes  are  too  explicit  to  leave  any  doubt  of  the  senti 
ments  of  Secretary  Floyd  on  the  question  of  secession.  In  more 
than  one  public  letter  his  position  was  so  intelligibly  made  known 
that  none  could  misunderstand  it.  He  desired  the  preservation 

*  This  Private  Diary  of  Secretary  Floyd  brings  up  the  question  of  the  objects  of 
the  war.  It  is  a  question  which  has  since  been  enlightened ;  and  the  benefit  of  these 
new  lights  may  as  well  be  given  here  to  the  reader. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  although  Mr.  Floyd  had  a  singularly  acute  mind,  and 
was  a  head  and  shoulders  above  the  Southern  politicians  of  his  day,  he  even  fell 
below  a  just  and  full  conception  of  the  issue  of  the  war  involved,  and  the  object  it 
should  have  distinctly  declared.  Indeed,  none  of  the  Southern  leaders  comprehended 
the  vital  and  dominant  idea  of  the  war,  and  obtained  its  proper  inspiration — and,  per 
haps,  least  of  all  Jefferson  Davis  himself.  With  them  it  appears  to  have  been  simply 
a  desire  to  separate  from  the  Washington  Administration — a  blind  instinct  to  get 
away  from  the  existing  government.  This  view  was  imperfect  and  paltry  enough  ; 
according  to  it,  the  war  was  simply  to  determine  a  choice  between  two  governments, 
both  after  the  same  model  (rather  one  a  servile  and  weak  copy  of  the  other),  and 
these  might  be  logically  reduced  to  a  declaration  of  preference  between  two  rival 
administrations,  one  at  Richmond  and  one  at  Washington.  Indeed,  such  an  interpre 
tation  of  the  object  of  the  war  is  ultimately  resolved  into  the  mere  personal  ambition 
of  leaders ;  and  in  view  of  it  the  charge  would  be  perfectly  just  that  it  had  been 
brought  on  by  men  who,  no  longer  able  to  rule  in  the  established  routine,  had  sought 
a  new  sphere  of  authority  and  a  new  theatre  of  political  aspiration. 

Not  less  paltry,  and  quite  as  popular,  was  another  idea  of  the  war — that  the  South 
fought  for  its  property  interest  in  so-called  slavery.  If  this  were  true,  then  the  war 
was  for  the  marked  benefit  of  a  class,  and  might  be  truly  stigmatized  by  the  phrase 
somtimes  applied  by  the  tongue  of  the  demagogue — "the  rich  man's  quarrel  and  the 
poor  man's  fight."  Indeed,  the  just  and  philosophical  historian  will  be  compelled  to 
declare  that  the  Southern  people  fought  for  four  years  one  of  the  most  sanguinary 
wars  of  modern  times,  without  a  clear  and  just  idea  of  the  object  of  the  struggle,  and 
that  in  proportion  to  the  uncertainty,  the  proper  inspiration  of  the  war  was  lost  or 
diminished.  It  is  the  distinct  idea  and  definite  purpose  which  obtain  success  in  the 
civil  convulsion  ;  and  it  was  thus  that  the  Abolition  party  in  the  North,  obtaining  a 
clear  premise  in  the  argument,  and  advancing  with  irrefragable  logic  on  a  series  of 
measures,  ultimately  obtained  control  at  Washington,  and  ascended  to  power  through 
the  commotions  of  the  war. 

It  has  remained  for  the  sequel  of  the  war  to  reveal  clearly  its  object,  and  to 
explain  the  cause  for  which  the  South  fought.  That  cause  now  appears  to  be  plainly 
enough  the  great  cause  of  the  white  man's  civilization  on  this  continent,  "the 
white  man's  government  "  in  America,  against  Mongrelism  and  all  its  attendant  curses 
and  consequent  evils,  involving  our  whole  destiny  as  a  people.  This  is  the  great 
American  question  now  rising  above  all  other  disputes,  and  suspending  every  con 
sideration  of  national  welfare  until  it  is  decided ;  which  seems  to  have  been  uncom- 


796  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

of  the  Union.  He  was  opposed  to  secession.  He  thought  the 
latter  almost  inevitable  ;  but  he  was  in  favour  of  employing  every 
possible  expedient  for  averting  or  postponing  it. 

It  was  known  to  those  who  were  intimate  with  him,  that  it 
was  by  reluctant  steps  he  arrived  at  the  opinion  that  it  might  be 
well,  if  bloodshed  could  be  avoided,  to  let  secession  actually  take 

prehended  by  the  South  when  she  first  appealed  to  arras,  and  to  have  been  but  a 
most  imperfect  apparition  in  the  early  political  history  of  the  country.  We  can  now 
see  that  the  discussion  of  the  so-called  slavery  question  in  the  South  which  preceded 
the  war,  was  a  dim  and  partial  one,  and  that  the  great  mistake  was  committed  in 
allowing  the  Abolition  party  to  assume  too  freely — what  was  then  regarded  as  a 
mere  dogma  of  curious  philosophy — the  natural  equality  of  racts.  Instead  of  this 
being,  as  many  former  politicians  of  the  South  supposed,  a  mere  speculative  refine 
ment,  which  they  might  indulge  without  endangering  the  main  argument  for 
"  slavery,"  it  stands  to-day,  the  one  clear  assumption  from  which  the  Abolitionists 
have  drawn,  by  legitimate  consequences  and  unimpeachable  logic,  step  by  step,  every 
article  of  their  creed  and  every  measure  of  their  policy.  The  South  is  coming  to 
understand  this  now,  and  to  see  the  mistake  it  committed  in  not  fighting  Abolition 
on  its  first  premise ;  in  giving  that  up,  and  then  trying  to  avoid  its  logical  conclu 
sions.  The  fault  on  the  part  of  the  South,  running  through  the  whole  "  slavery " 
discussion,  was  that  it  invariably  made  the  controversy  on  subordinate  grounds, 
instead  of  standing  at  the  threshold  of  the  argument,  on  the  firm  first  principle  that 
so-called  "  slavery  "  was  simply  the  law  of  the  negro's  inferiority  in  race,  and,  there 
fore,  his  natural  and  best  condition,  and  therefore  a  proper  adjustment  of  the  social 
order,  to  destroy  which  would  be  impious  and  revolutionary. 

It  is  easy  enough  now  to  see  the  logical  sequitur  on  the  other  side.  Once  admit 
that  the  negro  is  only  the  coloured  man,  that  is,  the  equivalent  of  the  white  man 
wrapped  in  a  black  skin,  and  it  foUows  that  "  slavery  "  was  an  outrage  on  his  order 
of  humanity ;  it  follows  that  Abolition  was  a  duty  to  accomplish,  at  all  events ;  it 
follows  that,  translated  to  freedom,  the  negro  is  to  be  fully  endowed  with  every  right 
and  privilege  of  citizenship ;  it  follows  that  having  been  a  victim  of  outrage  in  his 
former  condition,  he  is  even  to  be  rewarded  beyond  the  white  citizen,  and  to  become 
an  object  of  peculiar  sympathy  and  solicitude ;  in  fine,  it  follows  that  his  distinction 
as  a  "  slave "  having  ceased,  all  other  distinctions  are  unjust  and  impossible,  and 
that  once  out  of  bonds,  he  is  entitled  to  the  full  panoply  of  citizenship.  We  may 
deplore  these  conclusions,  but  we  cannot  resist  them,  as  long  as  they  are  logically 
derived  from  the  premise  we  admit.  The  Abolition  party  is  not  one  whose  mere 
reasoning  can  be  attacked ;  it  is  in  its  position  to-day  at  Washington,  one  of  the  most 
faultlessly  logical  parties  in  the  political  history  of  America ;  and  the  only  means  to 
combat  it  is  to  go  back  to  first  principles  and  make  the  fight  at  its  premises. 

And  here  we  observe  a  recurrence  of  that  partial  and  imperfect  entertainment  of 
the  question  at  issue,  apparent  before  the  war  in  the  discussion  of  "  negro  slavery," 
by  the  leading  minds  of  the  South.  It  is  the  same  disposition  to  run  into  secondary 
controversies.  There  are  men,  otherwise  intelligent,  in  the  South,  who,  since  the 
war,  have  consoled  themselves  with  the  vague  idea  that  although  "  slavery  "  is  abol 
ished,  the  negro  may  be  left  in  some  nondescript  middle  condition,  short  of  full  citi- 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  797 

place ;  for  then,  affairs  having  come  to  a  crisis,  and  both  parties 
to  the  quarrel  having  realized  the  solemnity  of  the  case,  an  hon 
ourable  and  permanent  adjustment  of  the  matters  of  difference 
between  them  would  be  rendered  more  practicable.  He  did  not 
then  contemplate  the  contingency  that  the  Abolition  party  might 
make  coercive  war  the  means  of  securing  a  party  triumph. 

About  the  middle  of  December,  the  Cabinet  of  Mr.  Buchanan 
had  already  undergone  changes.     Gen.  Cass  had  resigned;  so 


zenship  and  complete  social  equality.  But  there  is  nothing  short  of  this ;  the  logic 
of  the  party  that  has  made  the  negro  free,  forbids  any  third  condition  for  him ;  and 
it  is  good  logic,  inexorable  in  its  demands  and  impossible  to  dispute.  '  Either  the 
negro  must  be  restored  to  his  former  condition,  or  take  his  place  in  the  political  and 
social  circle  of  the  free  and  equal  citizens  of  Republican  America. 

And  this  is  the  great  single  question,  involving  every  interest  of  civilization  in 
America,  embracing  the  whole  society,  and  suspending  as  it  were  the  future  life  of 
the  nation — Shall  the  negro  (either  by  the  slow  return  of  the  sense  of  the  community, 
or  possibly  by  a  reaction  of  political  parties)  be  returned  to  the  former  natural  normal 
condition  for  which  the  Creator  designed  him,  and  in  which  he  has  been  placed  by  a 
course  of  Divine  Providence  running  through  several  centuries,  that  of  servitude  to 
the  white  man  (not  slavery) ;  or  shall  we  take  him  into  full  partnership  and  society 
with  us,  accept  the  conclusion  of  Mongrelism,  and  give  over  the  country  to  inter 
minable  disorder  and  inevitable  ruin?  A  great  question  which  the  war  did  not 
decide — a  question  which,  indeed,  so  far  from  deciding,  it  has  simply  eviscerated  and 
exposed — a  question  which,  in  some  senses,  we  may  hope  it  has  better  developed  for 
the  understanding  of  the  people. 

If  so,  it  has  served  a  great  and  good  purpose.  There  is  this  consolation  for  the 
Southern  leaders :  that  although  they  may  have  acted  from  a  blind  instinct,  or  from 
imperfect  conceptions  in  going  to  war,  yet  it  was  a  movement  in  the  right  direction, 
to  which  it  is  not  too  late,  even  now,  to  give  the  interpretation  of  the  defence  of 
white  government  and  white  civilization  on  this  continent.  That  defence  is  not  yet 
terminated ;  the  combat  yet  continues ;  and  so  far  from  the  nation  having  washed 
its  hands  of  the  negro  question  in  the  blood  of  the  last  war,  it  is  only  coming  to  the 
full  entertainment  of  it.  The  question  remains ;  it  may  occupy  years ;  it  involves 
every  interest  and  care  of  society ;  it  invites  to  new  exercise  the  strong  and  ingenious 
mind  of  the  South ;  and  the  time  may  yet  come  when  the  sense  of  the  nation,  recoil 
ing  from  the  negro,  reacting  from  the  violent  experiments  of  the  party  in  power,  and 
finding  no  possible  recourse  but  the  return  of  the  negro  to  his  former  condition,  may 
realize  for  the  South  that  she  has  not  made  all  the  sublime  sacrifices  of  the  war  in 
vain,  but  has  actually  obtained  through  it  a  real  and  substantial  triumph  at  the  last, 
which  will  be  more  enduring  in  proportion  as  it  may  be  the  ultimate  end  of  a  con 
troversy,  rather  than  the  unsteady  conclusion  of  a  four  years'  combat  of  arms.  The 
history  of  that  combat  was  hastily  entitled  by  this  writer  "  The  Lost  Cause."  If  he 
cannot  recall  a  designation  too  readily  taken  for  convenience,  he  may  put  on  another 
political  work,  the  frame  of  which  is  already  in  his  mind,  the  just  and  happy  title  of 
'  The  Lost  Cause  Regained." 


798  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

had  Mr.  Cobb.  It  had  begun  to  be  irksome  either  for  a  man  of 
decided  Northern  or  of  decided  Southern  politics  to  adhere  to  it. 
The  Southern  Senators  and  Representatives  had  drawn  off  from 
its  support  and  defence.  The  Northern  were  nearly  all  in  oppo 
sition.  A  few  Northern  Democrats  were  the  only  adherents  that 
it  could  boast.  But  Governor  Floyd  felt  it  his  duty  to  remain  in 
the  Cabinet,  being  satisfied  that  Mr.  Buchanan  was  honestly 
intent  upon  preventing  a  state  of  war  between  his  government 
and  the  Southern  States.  He  addressed  himself  with  great 
assiduity  to  the  task  of  repressing  the  disposition  manifested  to 
take  forcible  possession  of  the  forts  and  arsenals  within  their 
limits.  There  were  no  troops  available  for  the  protection  of  this 
species  of  property;  and  if  small  detachments  had  been  distri 
buted  in  these  places,  the  unusual  proceeding  would  have  been 
regarded  as  a  menace,  and  would  have  provoked  an  immediate 
capture.  The  administration,  about  this  time,  had  come  to  an 
understanding  with  the  Southern  Congressmen  and  Governors  that 
the  status  quo  should  be  preserved,  and  that  acts  giving  either 
party  a  military  advantage  should  be  mutually  abstained  from 
with  scrupulous  care.  The  leading  object  on  either  side  was  to 
prevent  collision.  The  administration  was  not  only  justifiable  in 
entering  into  such  an  engagement,  but  it  was  bound  to  do  some 
thing  equivalent.  Both  houses  of  Congress  had  then  raised  com 
mittees,  charged,  as  similar  ones  had  been  in  1820  and  1850,  with 
the  duty  of  devising  some  measure  of  settlement ;  and  it  would 
have  been  highly  improper  in  the  administration  to  send  troops 
into  the  forts,  or  to  commit  any  other  act  of  war.  Such  an  act 
would  have  been  resisted,  and  war  would  thus  have  been  com 
menced  ;  a  civil  war,  for  avoiding  which  any  act  of  abstinence 
was  excusable. 

A  most  explict  understanding  was  had  between  Governor 
Pickens  and  the  Congressmen  from  South  Carolina  on  one  side, 
and  Secretary  Floyd  and  Mr.  Buchanan  on  the  other,  that  no  act 
of  war  should  be  committed  by  either  party  with  reference  to  the 
forts  in  Charleston  harbour,  while  negotiations  for  a  settlement 
were  going  on.  This  stipulation  was  felt  to  be  the  more  sacred 
by  Secretary  Floyd,  because  of  his  personal  relations  of  friendship 
with  Governor  Pickens  and  other  gentlemen  of  South  Carolina, 
whom  he  had  known  from  youth ;  representing  as  they  did  a  State 


MAJ.  GEN.   JOHN   B.   FLOYD.  799 

to  which  he  was  fondly  attached, notwithstanding  his  disinclination 
to  the  step  she  had  taken.  What,  therefore,  was  his  surprise  and 
distress  to  hear,  during  the  pendency  of  this  agreement,  on  the 
26th  of  December,  that  Major  Anderson,  commanding  at  Fort 
Moultrie,  had  in  the  night-time  transferred  his  command  from 
that  fortress  to  Fort  Sumter!  Fort  Moultrie  was  accessible  from 
the  main-land,  and  could  have  been  captured  long  before,  but 
for  the  agreement  that  had  been  mentioned ;  Fort  Sumter  was 
distant  from  the  main-land,  and  situated  at  a  commanding  point 
in  the  midst  of  the  harbour,  from  which  it  commanded  the  city 
of  Charleston,  and  much  of  the  surrounding  country.  It  was  a 
stolen  march,  a  military  movement ;  a  step  taken  for  the  delib 
erate  purpose  of  gaining  a  fort  incapable  of  being  captured,  and 
commanding  the  city  which  for  weeks  had  held  Fort  Moultrie  in 
its  power. 

The  breach  of  faith  had  been  palpable;  and  Secretary  Floyd 
believed  that  it  had  been  inspired  from  Washington.  It  only 
remained  to  be  seen  whether  the  Administration  would  make 
itself  a  party  to  the  dereliction.  Some  expression  used  by  him 
self  in  an  order  sent  to  Major  Anderson,  was  vouched  as  having 
authorized  the  step  taken  by  that  officer.  It  was  therefore  more 
necessary  that  the  disavowal  should  be  explicit,  and  reparation 
complete.  The  South  Carolina  commissioners  insisted  upon 
the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  altogether  from  Charleston  har 
bour.  The  ordeal  was  too  severe  for  Mr.  Buchanan.  He 
feared  the  clamour  of  the  North.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Cabinet 
held  on  the  27th  of  December,  Secretary  Floyd  read  the  follow 
ing  paper : 

"COUNCIL  CHAMBER,  EXECUTIVE  MANSION. 

"It  is  evident  now,  from  the  action  of  the  commander  at  Fort 
Moultrie,  that  the  solemn  pledges  of  this  government  have  been 
violated  by  the  action  of  Major  Anderson.  In  my  judgment,  but 
one  remedy  is  now  left  us  by  which  to  vindicate  our  honour  and 
prevent  civil  war.  It  is  in  vain  now  to  hope  for  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  in  any  farther  pledges 
as  to  the  action  of  the  military.  One  remedy  only  is  left,  and 
that  is  to  withdraw  the  garrison  from  the  harbour  of  Charleston 
altogether.  I  hope  the  President  will  allow  me  to  make  that 


800  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

order  at  once.     This  order  in  my  judgment  can  alone  prevent 
bloodshed  and  civil  war. 

"  JOHN  B.  FLOYD,  Secretary  of  War. 
"  December  27,  1860." 

Mr.  Buchanan's  courage  was  not  equal  to  the  occasion.  He 
had  pledged  his  faith  ;  and  to  make  good  the  engagement  of  a 
President  of  the  United  States,  he  should  have  been  willing  to 
tear  down  the  forts,  if  necessary.*  A  great  government  can 
afford  to  make  any  material  sacrifice  for  its  reputation. 

Mr.  Buchanan  declined.  He  declined  in  a  petulant  manner. 
There  was  left  but  one  thing  further  for  Secretary  Floyd  to  do  ; 
and  that  was  to  resign.  On  the  31st  December,  he  was  notified 
by  Mr.  Buchanan  that  his  resignation  was  accepted. 

Mr.  Floyd's  resignation  upon  a  demand  for  the  evacuation  of 
the  Charleston  harbours,  coupled  with  the  popular  idea  that  he 
had  distributed  public  arms  in  large  numbers  through  the  South, 
for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  secession  movement,  excited  a  fierce 
popular  clamour  against  him  throughout  the  North.  The  Repub 
lican  party  turned  upon  him  with  intense  viridictiveness,  and  it 
was  under  the  influence  of  this  hue  and  cry  that  a  committee 
raised  in  Congress  to  investigate  the  disposition  of  some  Indian 
Trust  Bonds,  made  assaults  upon  his  personal  character  which 
were  refuted  as  far  as  the  evidence  could  go.  It  is  not  to  be 
denied  that  he  deeply  resented  this  treatment,  and  that  he  was  thus 
led  to  study  more  thoroughly  than  others  the  real  purposes  and 
temper  of  the  party  which  had  secured  the  control  of  government. 
Accordingly,  always  afterwards,  until  the  day  of  his  death,  he 
ceased  not  to  warn  the  South  against  the  fatal  errour  of  believing 
that  the  war  which  was  wantonly  forced  upon  the  country  by 
the  Lincoln  government  would  be  a  short  one  ;  and  he  published 
it  to  all  who  could  be  made  to  hear,  that  secession  could  not  be 

*  Mr.  Buchanan  denies  in  his  book  that  he  was  a  party  to  this  pledge.  The  denial 
comes  after  the  medium  of  it  is  dead.  But  the  circumstances  are  against  him.  What 
but  such  a  pledge,  believed  by  the  other  side  to  have  been  given,  could  have  with 
held  the  South  Carolinians  from  capturing  Fort  Moultrie  and  its  garrison  ?  Tacitly 
to  accept  the  benefit  of  a  pledge  given  by  another,  is  an  implication  in  the  pledge. 
His  denial  ought  to  have  been  made  public  at  the  time  of  the  publication  of  Secretary 
Floyd's  resignation.  Mr.  Buchanan's  letter  accepting  the  resignation  neither  makes 
nor  suggests  a  denial. 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  801 

imsummated  except  after  a  long,  doubtful,  sanguinary,  and 
•  diausting  contest. 

After  leaving  Washington  and  returning  to  his  residence  in 
irginia,  he  had  no  connection,  direct  or  indirect,  with  the  polit- 
;al  action  of  the  South,  by  which  the  measure  of  secession  was 
^augurated,  and  a  Southern  Confederacy  organized.  He 
i  mairied  in  private  life  until  after  the  various  steps  in  the  pro- 
ramrne  had  been  fully  and  finally  taken. 

He  was  appointed  a  Brigadier-General  by  President  Davis,  in 
~ay,  1861,  and  received  instructions  to  recruit  and  organize  a 
I'igade  for  the  Confederate  Army  in  Southwestern  Virginia. 
'.iis  service  he  performed  by  July  ;  and  then,  in  pursuance  of 
(ders,  he  proceeded  to  the  region  of  the  Kanawha  river.  The 
Jsderal  authorities  had  sent  a  considerable  army  under  Gen. 
Ox  into  the  Kanaka  valley,  which  had  proceeded  up  the  river 
V  a  column  on  each  bank,  each  column  outnumbering  the  small 
bdy  of  Confederate  troops  which  opposed  them,  under  the  com- 
land  of  Gen.  Wise.  Gen.  Floyd  marched  his  brigade  across  the 
(auley,  a  considerable  northern  tributary  to  the  Kanawha  river ; 
£id,  in  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  August,  surprised  and  attacked 
£  Federal  force  at  Cross  Lanes,  which  was  endeavouring  to  get 
ifco  the  Confederate  rear  by  a  circuit.  He  defeated  and  utterly 
tspersed  the  enemy  with  a  heavy  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  ; 
Is  own  loss  being  nothing.  He  remained  beyond  the  Gauley, 
!id  took  a  strong  position  in  the  bend  of  the  river  at  Carnifax 
Lrry.  Here  Gen.  Rosecrans — suddenly  quitting  the  front  of 
Cm.  Lee  near  Cheat  Mountain,  and  reinforced  from  the  direction 
c  Weston — fell  upon  him,  by  a  forced  march,  on  the  10th  of 
fcptember.  The  force  of  Gen.  Floyd  consisted  of  about  2,500 
i/antry,  and  a  company  of  artillery.  The  engagement  was  a 
Try  hot  one,  and  the  loss  of  the  enemy  fearful.  Floyd's  position 
vis  strong,  and  his  troops  were  protected  by  barricades  ;  so  that 
In  own  loss  was  small.  He  had  but  one  man  killed.  His  own 
r;ht  arm  was  shattered  by  a  ball,  while  elevated,  giving  orders 
t  his  men.  The  assault  of  Gen.  Rosecrans  failed.  His  rapid 
mrch  was  checked.  Floyd  fought  from  3  o'clock  until  after 
drk;  and  drew  oif  across  the  Gauley,  in  the  course  of  the 
n^ht,  in  order  to  put  himself  within  supporting  distance  of  Gen. 
"\ise.  Rosecrans  did  not  move  forward  for  several  days,  and 

51 


802  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

Gen.  Lee  had  time  to  place  himself  in  his  front  on  Sewell  Moun 
tain.  The  two  Confederate  Generals,  Floyd  and  Wise,  fell  back 
leisurely  before  the  two  armies  of  Rosecrans  and  Cox ;  Wise 
halting  at  a  strong  position  on  the  top  of  Sewell ;  Floyd  proceed 
ing  twelve  miles  farther,  to  Meadow  Bluff,  in  the  hope  of 
enticing  the  enemy  to  a  battle,  with  the  difficult  mountain  in  their 
rear. 

At  Sewell,  Gen.  Lee  joined  Generals  Floyd  and  Wise  with 
the  bulk  of  his  army  from  Cheat  Mountain ;  and  Eosecrans  not 
only  relinquished  his  purpose  of  attacking,  but  finally  withdrew 
towards  the  mouth  of  the  Gauley.  Gen.  Lee  thereupon  sent  his 
own  forces  to  their  original  theatre  of  action,  and  went  himself 
to  Richmond  ;  whither  Gen.  Wise  soon  followed  him  with  a  part 
of  his  command.  Gen.  Floyd,  after  that,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
check  an  advance  of  Rosecrans,  on  the  Ijpe  on  which  he  was 
posted,  crossed  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Kanawha,  and  took 
position  on  Cotton  Hill,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Gauley,  whence  his 
guns  commanded  the  road  by  which  Rosecrans  obtained  his  sup 
plies.  Here  he  maintained  his  position  until  about  the  first  of 
December,  completely  succeeding  in  his  object  of  preventing  the 
advance  of  an  army  12,000  to  14,000  strong,  with  a  force  of  less 
than  4,000,  until  the  winter  had  set  in.  By  December,  the  con 
dition  of  the  mountain  roads  compelled  his  withdrawal  to  some 
position  nearer  to  his  base  of  supplies,  which  was  Dublin,  in 
Pulaski  County. 

While  on  his  march  in  this  direction,  he  received  an  order  to 
transfer  his  command  to  Bowling  Green,  in  Kentucky,  where  he 
was  to  report  to  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston.  He  reached  Bowling 
Green  early  in  January,  with  about  2,500  troops,  having  left  a 
portion  of  his  command  for  the  defence  of  Southwestern  Vir 
ginia.  At  Bowling  Green  he  found  Gen.  Johnston,  with  an 
army  of  about  30,000  men,  successfully  engaged  in  impressing 
Gen.  Buell,  his  adversary,  with  the  belief  that  the  Confederate 
force  exceeded  his  own.  Gen.  Floyd  wrote  from  Bowling  Green 
to  a  friend  in  the  Congress  at  Richmond,  a  letter  which  was  pub 
lished,  in  which  he  declared  that  the  war  was  about  to  become  a 
fearful  one  in  its  proportions,  and  in  the  determination  actuating 
both  parties  to  it;  that  the  Confederacy  should  immediately 
take  the  most  stringent  measures  for  increasing  its  armies ;  that 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  803 

i-en.  A.  S.  Johnston  ought  to  be  reinforced  by  75,000  men  ;  and 
hat  the  European  plan  of  conscription  ought  to  be  at  once  put 
n  force  in  the  Confederacy.  Mr.  Seward,  at  Washington,  and  Mr. 
benjamin,  at  Richmond,  were  both  about  the  same  time  assev- 
rating  that  the  war  would  be  over  in  ninety  days. 

Early  in  February,  1862,  Gen.  Johnston  found  it  no  longer 
racticable  to  conceal  the  weakness  of  his  force  from  his  adver- 
ary.  Moreover,  Gen.  Grant  began  to  bring  forward  a  new  Fed- 
ral  army  from  the  direction  of  Cairo.  It  was  therefore  neces- 
ary  for  Gen.  Johnston  to  retire  from  his  exposed  and  advanced 
osition  in  Kentucky.  In  order  to  make  good  his  retreat,  it  was 
ecessary  to  hold  Grant  in  check  at  Fort  Donelson,  on  the 
'ennessee  River,  as  long  as  possible.  Gen.  Buckner  was 
ccordingly  sent  there  with  a  considerable  body  of  Kentucky 
•oops.  The  movement  of  Grant  making  the  case  exigent,  he 
fterwards  ordered  Gen.  Floyd,  who  had  then  reached  Clarks- 
ille,  on  the  Tennessee,  to  go  down  to  Fort  Donelson  and  to  give 
id  in  holding  that  position  as  long  as  practicable.  Gen.  Buck- 
er  had  found  Gen.  Pillow  at  the  fort,  with  a  few  hundred  Ten- 
essee  troops.  Gen.  Floyd's  command,  which  arrived  after  the 
nemy  had  appeared  before  the  place,  swelled  the  aggregate 
>rce  assembled  for  the  defence  of  the  fort  to  about  10,000 
ffective  men,  exclusive  of  a  regiment  of  cavalry  posted  near 
y,  under  Col.  Forest.  There  were  badly  located  earthworks  at 
le  so-called  "fort,"  mounted  with  heavy  cannon,  only  a  few  of 
rhich  proved  effective  upon  trial. 

The  object  of  the  Confederates  in  holding  the  place  was  to 
;ay  the  advance  of  Grant  as  long  as  possible.  Gen.  Floyd  had 
ret  been  ordered  to  observe  the  course  of  the  Cumberland  River 
,bove,  towards  Nashville,  with  a  view  of  planting  batteries  at 
>me  point  less  exposed  than  Donelson,  which  might  serve  to 
heck  the  progress  of  gunboats.  While  engaged  in  this  recon- 
oissance,  Grant  arrived  at  Donelson.  Gen.  Floyd  reached  the 
eleaguered  fort  at  daybreak,  on  the  13th,  just  as  the  enemy 
ommenced  his  attack.  As  ranking  officer,  coming  into  the 
ction  after  it  had  virtually  commenced,  he  naturally  and  neces- 
arily  deferred  much  to  those  who  had  been  for  some  days  on  the 
:>ot.  The  object  of  the  Confederates  was  to  cover  the  retreat 
f  Johnston  from  Bowling  Green,  and  then  make  good  their  own 


80-i  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD. 

escape  ;  that  of  Grant  was  to  envelop  the  place  with  his  superiour 
force,  and  capture  the  whole  of  the  inadequate  little  army 
defending  it,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible.  Fort  Donelson  was 
only  a  fort  in  name.  It  was  simply  a  place  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Cumberland  Kiver,  at  which  earthworks  had  been  erected 
and  cannon  planted  with  the  single  view  of  resisting  the  upward 
passage  of  gunboats.  The  troops  supporting  these  batteries  were  in 
the  open  field,  protected  during  the  fight  only  by  such  rifle-pits  as 
they  could  form  after  the  fighting  commenced,  in  the  intervals 
between  the  assaults.  Grant  assailed  these  troops  with  an  army 
at  least  four  times  their  number,  at  the  same  time  that  he  sent 
his  gunboats  up  the  river  against  the  batteries.  The  fighting 
lasted  through  four  days  and  nights  in  severe  winter  weather; 
the  Confederate  troops  having  no  time  for  rest  or  sleep.  The 
conflict  was  one  of  the  most  sanguinary  and  stubborn  that 
occurred  during  the  war.  The  loss  on  each  side  was  very  heavy, 
both  in  killed  and  wounded.  Gen.  Grant  was  heavily  reinforced 
during  each  day  of  the  action.  No  reinforcements  were  within 
reach  of  the  Confederates,  and  none  expected  or  hoped  for.  At 
the  arrival  of  Gen.  Floyd,  it  had  been  plain  that  the  assailing 
force  was  so  large  as  to  forbid  the  hope  of  doing  more  than  to 
extricate  the  Confederate  army  from  the  trap  in  which  it  found 
itself;  and  all  the  fighting  that  ensued  was  simply  an  effort  on 
its  part  to  cut  its  way  out.  The  battle  began  early  on  the  13th. 
By  the  night  of  the  16th,  it  was  decided  that  the  army  could 
not  be  extricated.  Saving  the  whole  being  impossible,  the 
next  question  was  as  to  saving  a  part.  Gen.  Floyd's  com 
mand  occupied  the  ground  highest  up  the  river,  and  nearest  the 
point  of  possible  exit ;  that  command  could  be  got  out;  none  of 
the  rest  could.  It  had  been  taken  from  another  duty  and  sent 
there  to  assist  those  specially  assigned  to  the  task,  in  holding  the 
place.  A  council  of  the  principal  officers  was  held  on  the  night 
of  the  16th,  when  it  was  determined  that  the  destruction  of  life 
attendant  upon  further  effort  at  extrication  would  be  too  great 
to  be  thought  of.  Gen.  Buckner,  commanding  the  Kentucky 
troops,  who  constituted  the  bulk  of  the  force,  and  who  were  in 
deep  despondency  at  the  recent  evacuation  of  their  State,  put 
the  case  so  strongly  that  no  one  could  gainsay  his  proposition : 
it  was  to  sacrifice  three-fourths,  in  order  to  save  one-fourth.  As 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  805 

o  Gen.  Floyd,  lie  says  of  the  affair  :  "  I  felt  that  in  this  contin- 
;ency,  whilst  it  might  be  questioned  whether  I  should,  as  com- 
lander  of  the  array,  lead  it  to  certain  destruction  in  an  unavail- 
ig  fight,  yet  I  had  a  right  individually  to  determine  that  I  would 
ot  survive  a  surrender  there.  To  satisfy  both  propositions,  I 
greed  to  hand  over  the  command  to  Gen.  Buckner,  through 
ren.  Pillow,  and  to  make  an  effort  for  my  own  extrication  by 
ny  and  every  means  that  might  present  themselves  to  me."  He 
iicceeded  in  getting  away,  during  the  night,  a  large  part  of 
is  own  command,  before  the  terms  of  capitulation  had  been 
lade  between  Gen.  Buckner  and  Gen.  Grant. 

He  reached  Nashville  on  the  18th,  where  Gen.  A.  S.  John- 
ton  placed  him  in  command  of  the  city  during  its  evacuation.* 
Ie  then  proceeded  to  Murfreesboro,  where  Gen.  Johnston's 
etreating  army  had  its  first  rendezvous.  Thence  he  went  to  Chat- 
inooga,  where  he  received  an  order  from  Richmond,  relieving 
im  of  command. 

The  rapid  and  unexpected  success  of  the  Federal  armies  in 
[entucky  and  Tennessee,  threw  the  South  into  alarm  and  despond- 
ncy.  When  it  became  known  that  Gen.  A.  S.  Johnston  had  for 
lonths  been  in  command  of  less  than  30,000  men,  great  censure 

*  An  officer  of  the  army,  who  assisted  in  the  evacuation  of  Nashville,  thus 
sscribes  the  admirable  conduct  and  manner  of  Gen.  Floyd  on  that  occasion,  with  an 
itelligent  glance  at  the  character  of  the  man  : 

"  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  Gen.  Floyd  while  he  was  commanding  in  Nashville,  and  I 
•as  remarkably  impressed  by  him.  I  was  required  to  report  to  him  almost  every 
our  in  the  twenty-four,  and  he  was  always  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  applicants  for 
1  sorts  of  favours,  and  couriers  bringing  all  sorts  of  news.  It  was  impossible  in  the 
sate  of  confusion  which  prevailed  to  prohibit  or  regulate  this  pressing  and  noisy 
ttendance,  or  to  judge,  without  examination,  of  what  was  important  to  be  consid- 
,red.  Many  matters  which  ordinarily  a  general  officer  would  not  permit  himself  to 
|e  troubled  with,  might  need  attention  and  action  from  him  at  such  a  time.  Irasci- 
le  and  impetuous  as  Gen.  Floyd  seemed  to  be  by  nature — his  nerves  unstrung,  too, 
y  the  fatigues  of  so  many  busy  days  and  sleepless  nights — and  galled  as  he  must 
ave  been  by  the  constant  annoyances,  he  yet  showed  no  sign  of  impatience.  I  saw 
im  give  way  once  to  anger,  which  was  then  provoked  by  the  most  stupid  and  inso- 
mt  pertinacity  It  was  interesting  to  watch  the  struggle  which  would  sometimes 
ccur  between  his  naturally  violent  temper  and  the  restraint  he  imposed  upon  it. 
[is  eye  would  glow,  his  face  and  his  lips  turn  pale,  and  his  frame  shake  with  pas- 
ion;  he  would  be  silent  for  minutes,  as  if  not  daring  to  trust  himself  to  speak,  look- 
ig  all  the  while  upon  the  ground,  and  he  would  then  address  the  man,  whose  brusque- 
ess  or  obstinacy  had  provoked  him,  in  the  mildest  tone  and  manner.  He  was  evi- 
ently  endowed  with  no  common  nerve,  will,  and  judgment." 


806  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   FLOYD. 

was  cast  upon  the  Richmond  government.  It  became  necessary 
to  divert  public  attention  to  some  minor  issue ;  and  those  who  felt 
the  popular  censure  most  severely  had  the  address  to  divert  the 
discussion  from  the  question  who  was  responsible  for  not  rein 
forcing  Gen.  Albert  Johnston  with  50,000  or  75,000  men,  to  the 
question  whether  Gen.  Floyd  was  justifiable  in  bringing  away 
from  Fort  Donelson  a  part  of  his  command  after  it  had  become 
impracticable  to  bring  the  whole.  The  great  question  of  states 
manship  and  military  policy  was  forgotten,  for  the  pitiful  quib 
ble  raised  by  a  few  martinets. 

On  being  relieved  from  command,  Gen.  Floyd  retired  to 
Virginia,  where  he  remained  inactive  but  a  short  time.  The 
Legislature  of  that  Commonwealth,  indignant  at  the  treatment 
he  had  received,  conferred  upon  him  the  commission  of  Major- 
General,  and  directed  him  to  recruit  and  organize  a  division  of 
troops  from  among  the  classes  not  embraced  in  the  Confederate 
conscription.  These  classes  were  so  restricted  that  the  task  was 
not  easily  performed.  By  the  fall,  however,  he  had  succeeded 
in  getting  together  a  force  of  nearly  2,000  men,  which  he  moved 
into  the  country  embracing  the  head-waters  of  the  Big  Sandy 
Hiyer,  where  he  several  times  surprised  the  troops  of  the  enemy 
posted  in  that  quarter,  capturing  and  destroying  their  depots  of 
supplies.  His  exposure  in  this  service,  however,  soon  threw  him 
into  ill  health,  and  he  was  ultimately  obliged  to  return  home,  to 
occupy  for  many  months  what  was  destined  to  be  a  death-bed. 
His  disorder  finally  took  the  form  of  cancer,  or  rather  scirrhus 
of  the  stomach,  of  which  he  died,  on  the  26th  August,  1863. 

Such  is  a  brief  memoir  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men 
of  the  South,  or  of  his  day.  His  intellect  was  clear,  strong,  and 
practical.  His  forecast  of  political  events  was  unerring.  His 
power  over  the  minds  of  men  when  present  before  him,  whether 
singly  or  collectively,  was  magical.  He  was  always  successful 
with  the  people  when  he  went  before  or  among  them  ;  he  paid 
no  court  to  politicians,  who  were  for  the  most  part  his  bitter 
assailants.  He  was  ever  loyal  in  his  personal  attachments ;  he 
was  fearless  and  defiant  of  his  enemies.  He  had  the  faculty  of 
enlisting  the  devoted  affection  of  those  who  knew  him  ;  he  was 
much  misunderstood  by  those  who  did  not.  He  was  often 
assailed  by  good  men  who  were  strangers  to  his  real  character ; 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   FLOYD.  807 

nit  from  among  those  who  knew  him  well,  none  ever  turned 
ipon  him  but  the  mean  and  false.  He  was  peculiarly  the  friend 
)f  young  men,  encouragin  gthem  to  manly  exertion  and  in  hon- 
mrable  ambition.  He  sympathized  with  the  worthy  poor,  was 
bnd  of  conversing  with  them,  and  gave  to  hundreds  a  help,  of 
vhich  the  world  knew  nothing.  His  heart  was  full  of  kindly 
iffections  ;  he  sought  out  children  wherever  he  came,  and  these 
nstinctively  hung  upon  and  loved  him.  His  habits  were  frugal, 
md  free  from  all  extravagance.  Throughout  the  last  twenty- 
ive  years  of  his  life,  his  circumstances  were  straitened  ;  and, 
ifter  passing  through  many  public  trusts,  he  died  as  he  had  lived, 
i  poor  man.  His  temperance,  both  in  meat  and  drink,  bordered 
ipon  abstemiousness ;  he  eschewed  betting  and  gambling,  which 
le  held  in  repugnance  ;  he  was  a  regular  attendant  upon  religious 
worship  ;  and  he  died  a  respected  member  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  enjoying,  in  extremis,  the  affectionate  minis- 
;rations  and  devoted  attachment  of  his  minister,  who  left  the 
irmy  and  came  far  to  render  these  grateful  offices.  This  is  the 
rreat  and  generous  character  which  partisan  rancour  and  sec- 
ional  misconceptions  have  pictured  as  a  monster  in  treason  and 
various  criminality. 


LIEUT.-GEN,  WILLIAM  J.  HARDER 


CHAPTER  LXXIY. 

His  military  life  before  the  War  of  1861. — His  command  in  the  Trans-Mississippi.— 
Ordered  to  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky. — At  Shiloh. — His  views  and  advice  in 
the  Kentucky  Campaign. — Promoted  to  a  Lieutenant-General. — The  first  day  of 
Murfreesboro. — Reinforcements  wanting  at  a  critical  time. — Gen.  Hardee  as  an 
organizer  of  troops. — Religious  incidents  of  his  camp. — He  joins  Johnston's  army 
in  Mississippi. — Return  to  the  Army  of  Tennessee. — The  battle  of  Missionary 
Ridge. — Fought  against  the  advice  of  Gen.  Hardee. — He  takes  charge  of  Bragg's 
army  at  Dalton. — Why  he  declined  permanent  command  of  it. — The  Atlanta 
campaign. — Protest  against  the  appointment  of  Gen.  Hood  as  Commander-in- 
Chief. — Hardee's  desperate  fight  at  Jonesboro. — He  is  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Department  of  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida.— Condition  of  this 
Department  at  the  time  of  Sherman's  "  march  to  the  sea.'1— The  evacuation  of 
Savannah. — Campaign  of  the  Carolinas.— Hardee's  fight  at  A  verysboro.—  Battle  of 
Bentonville. — The  General  loses  a  young  son  in  the  last  affair  of  arms. — A  tribute 
from  Arkansas  troops  to  Gen.  Hardee. — Estimate  of  his  military  record. — His 
virtues  as  a  soldier  and  a  citizen. 

WILLIAM  JOSEPH  HARDEE  was  born  in  Caniden  county,  Geor 
gia,  in  1815.  He  obtained  his  military  education  both  at  "West 
Point  and  at  the  celebrated  cavalry  school  of  Saumaur,  in  France. 
He  was  the  author  of  one  of  the  best  works  on  military  tactics 
that  had  ever  been  published ;  and,  up  to  the  period  of  the  war 
between  the  North  and  the  South,  his  military  services  had 
extended  over  more  than  twenty  years.  He  had  served  in  Florida ; 
he  had  been  stationed  on  the  Western  frontier  ;  he  had  accompa 
nied  Taylor  across  the  Kio  Grande  in  the  Mexican  campaign,  taken 
part  in  the  siege  of  Monterey,  and  in  various  actions  distin 
guished  himself  to  the  gates  of  Mexico.  He  was  twice  brevetted 
"  for  gallant  and  meritorious  service  "  during  this  war,  and  came 
out  of  it  Lieutenant-Colonel  by  brevet.  Thereafter,  he  was  on 
duty  on  the  Texan  frontier  until  1853  ;  in  1855,  he  was  appointed 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  809 

Major  of  the  2d  Cavalry  ;  and  the  following  year  he  was 
appointed  Commandant  of  the  Corps  of  Cadets  at  West  Point, 
and  filled  that  office  until  1860.  Upon  being  relieved,  he 
obtained  ]eave  of  absence,  and  was  in  Georgia  at  the  time  of 
the  secession  of  that  State. 

He  brought  to  the  service  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  a 
fruitful  experience,  and  a  name  generally  known  in  military 
circles.  He  was  offered  by  President  Davis  the  position  of  Adju 
tant-General  of  the  Army.  This  he  promptly  declined  in  favour 
of  more  active  service.  The  Provisional  Congress  authorized 
the  appointment  of  five  general  officers,  and  Hardee  was  one  of 
the  five  upon  whom  it  was  intended  this  rank  should  be  con 
ferred  ;  but  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Cooper,  about  this  time,  filled  out 
the  number  to  whom  the  appointments  were  eventually  given. 

Hardee  was  first  assigned  to  the  command  of  Fort  Morgan, 
at  the  entrance  of  Mobile  Bay  ;  but  in  June,  1861,  he  was  sent, 
with  the  rank  of  Brigadier-General,  to  take  command  in  Arkan 
sas.  He  commenced  his  military  career  with  a  most  brilliant 
design.  When  Gen.  Price  was  in  the  heat  of  his  first  famous 
campaign  in  Missouri,  and  pursuing  the  victory  he  had  obtained 
at  Oak  Hills,  Gen.  Hardee  was  also  intent  upon  a  movement 
in  that  State,  which  promised  the  most  important  results.  It 
was  to  advance  through  Southeastern  Missouri  from  the  Arkansas 
border,  having  his  base  at  Pocahontas  ;  to  unite  at  Frederickton 
with  a  column  under  Pillow,  of  some  6,000  or  8,000  men,  moving 
from  New  Madrid;  to  take-Ironton,  and  then,  by  flanking  and 
threatening  to  get  between  that  place  and  St.  Louis,  to  compel 
the  evacuation  of  the  latter  city,  or  to  defeat  its  garrison  in  the 
open  field.  This  movement  would  have  cut  off  and  destroyed 
the  defeated  and  routed  army  of  Lyon,  then  in  full  flight  for 
St.  Louis,  and  made  the  Confederates  masters  of  the  situation  in 
Missouri.  But  the  campaign  was  overruled  by  other  necessities — 
the  first  instance  of  that  frequent  disappointment  of  decisive 
operations  in  the  West,  due  to  the  lack  of  uniformity  and  con 
cert  in  the  plans  and  actions  of  the  various  commanders.  It 
was  considered  at  Richmond  most  important,  at  that  time,  to 
occupy  and  fortify  Columbus,  in  Kentucky,  situated  on  the  Mis 
sissippi  River,  some  twenty-two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.  This  measure,  it  was  thought,  would  protect  the  States 


810  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

lying  along  the  Mississippi  from  invasion,  by  enabling  the  Con 
federates  to  hold  the  river,  as  it  was  by  the  river  only  that  those 
States  could  be  conveniently  reached.  Gen.  Pillow's  forces 
were  consequently  ordered  to  that  point.  Finding  that  his 
plans  were  rendered  impossible  of  execution,  on  account  of' 
the  want  of  Gen.  Pillow's  cooperation,  Hardee  returned  to 
Pocahontas,  and  was  shortly  afterwards  transferred,  with  the 
greater  portion  of  the  troops  under  his  command,  to  the  eastern 
side  of  the  river,  and  was  ordered  to  Bowling  Green,  as  soon  as 
that  place  was  -occupied. 

From  this  time  the  name  of  Hardee  is  so  constantly  associated 
with  the  Army  of  the  West,  known  at  various  times  as  the  Army 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  that  to  detail  his 
career  would  be  to  write  the  almost  entire  history  of  that  army, 
and  consequently  to  repeat  much  that  has  been  narrated  in  other 
parts  of  this  work.  A  mere  enumeration  of  his  services  on  the 
different  fields  of  the  West  is  all  that  the  design  of  our  work  will 
admit  here,  or  our  space  afford.  The  story  of  the  two  days  of 
Shiloh  has  already  been  told.  Here  Gen.  Hardee,  as  division 
commander,  commanded  the  first  line  of  attack ;  and  at  the 
moment  of  the  untimely  recall  by  Gen.  Beauregard  of  the  pur 
suit  of  the  enemy,  the  advance  of  Hardee's  line  was  within  400 
yards  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  where  the  fugitives,  huddled  under 
the  banks,  were  crowding  on  a  steamer  which  was  conveying 
them  across  the  river.  Gen.  Hardee,  necessarily  much  exposed 
in  the  fight,  was  wounded  in  the  arm,  had  his  coat-skirt  torn 
away  by  a  cannon-ball,  and  his  horse  wounded.  In  the  second 
day's  unequal  struggle  against  Buell's  reinforcements,  the  ground 
was  stubbornly  contested  for  some  hours,  and  Hardee  drew  off 
his  command  in  the  evening  to  follow  up  the  army,  as  it  retired 
unpursued  to  Corinth. 

At  Tupelo  Gen.  Beauregard  was  succeeded  by  Bragg,  who, 
being  in  charge  of  a  territorial  department,  assigned  Hardee  to 
the  command  of  the  army.  This  he  retained  until  the  army 
moved  from  Chattanooga  into  Kentucky,  in  August,  1862.  There 
were  no  active  military  operations  at  this  period,  and  the  duties 
of  Commanding  General  were  restricted  to  those  administrative 
offices  which  are  scarcely  less  important  to  the  efficiency  of  our 
army  than  skilful  handling  in  the  field.  For  these  Hardee's 


LIEUT.-GEN.    WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  811 

thorough  acquaintance  with  the  practical  workings  of  all  depart 
ments  of  military  administration  qualified  him  to  a  peculiar 
degree. 

In  the  Kentucky  campaign,  the  two  wings  of  Bragg's  army 
were  commanded  by  Polk  and  Hardee.  A  cooperative  force 
under  Kirby  Smith  had  marched  from  Knoxville,  Tennessee, 
through  Cumberland  Gap.  After  the  capture  of  Mumfordsville, 
Kentucky,  Buell  advanced  from  Nashville  to  within  a  few  miles 
of  Bragg.  Hardee  was  opposed  to  moving  against  Buell,  believ 
ing  that  he  would  retire  to  Bowling  Green,  only  a  few  miles  in 
his  rear,  where  the  works,  whose  strength  Hardee  knew,  from 
having  constructed  them  himself,  would  secure  his  position. 
But  Hardee,  whose  quick  military  apprehension  estimated  at  its 
first  value  the  advantage  of  fighting  the  enemy  cut  off  from  his 
base  of  supplies,  and  with  the  prestige  of  the  late  success  on 
the  side  of  the  Confederate  arms,  and  who  foresaw  the  injurious, 
moral  and  material  effect  of  allowing  Buell  to  march  unmolested 
to  the  supplies  and  reinforcements  awaiting  him  at  Louisville, 
was  in  favour  of  giving  him  battle  at  some  point  between  Mum 
fordsville  and  Louisville.  Other  reasons  overbalanced  these  in 
the  opinion  of  the  Commanding  General,  and  the  army  moved 
aside  and  gave  Buell  undisputed  passage  to  Louisville.  Gen. 
Hardee  was  accustomed  to  say  that  the  retreat  from  Kentucky 
dated  from  this  time. 

It  is  true  that  the  battle  of  Perry  ville,  which  followed,  was  a 
Confederate  success,  so  far  as  beating  one  corps  of  the  enemy 
(McCook's)  was  concerned.  But  the  want  of  forces  to  follow  up 
the  success — forces  that  could  have  been  supplied  from  Harrods- 
burg,  as  Hardee  had  strongly  advised  in  a  communication  to 
Gen.  Bragg — made  it  a  failure  as  respects  the  general  campaign. 
But  one  of  the  four  divisions  at  Harrodsburg  was  sent  to  the 
field,  and  the  battle  was  the  partial  adoption  of  Hardee's  plan, 
when  nothing  but  its  full  adoption  could  assure  the  expected 
results.  It  was  paying  the  price  of  victory  with  no  hope  of  reap 
ing  its  rewards. 

The  only  question  that  remained  after  this  battle  for  the  Con 
federate  army  was  how  to  get  out  of  Kentucky.  It  was  solved 
successfully ;  and  the  month  of  December  found  Bragg's  army, 
after  having  described  a  circle  of  1,500  miles  in  a  little  over  70 


812  LIEUT-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

days,  assembled  at  Murfreesboro,  Tennessee,  \o  oppose  Eose- 
crans,  who  had  succeeded  Buell,  and  arrived  with  his  army  at 
Nashville.  On  reaching  Knoxville,  in  coming  out  of  Kentucky, 
Hardee  had  been  notified  of  his  promotion  to  the  grade  of  Lieu- 
teriant-General,  along  with  Jackson,  Longstreet,  Polk,  Kirby 
Smith,  Holmes,  and  Pemberton. 

The  advance  of  Kosecrans  brought  on  the  battle  of  Murfrees 
boro.  Here  Hardee  began  the  attack  with  Cleburne's  and 
McCown's  divisions,  surprising  McCook's  corps,  running  over  it, 
driving  the  Federal  right  several  miles,  and  doubling  it  back  on 
the  centre.  At  this  critical  time  he  called  for  reinforcements. 
None  were  sent  him.  Polk's  forces  had  suffered  severely  in  the 
attack  upon  the  enemy's  centre,  and  Breckinridge  was  still  held 
in  reserve  on  the  extreme  right.  Later  in  the  day  the  division  of 
the  latter  was  sent,  brigade  at  a  time,  to  attack  the  enemy  in 
front  of  Polk.  The  only  result  of  their  gallant  attack  was  heavy 
loss  and  utter  repulse.  If  the  division  had  been  sent  to  Hardee, 
who  was  completely  in  rear  of  the  Federal  army,  the  victory  must 
have  been  signal.  As  it  was,  Hardee's  troops  had  lost  heavily  and 
were  physically  exhausted.  Cleburne's  division,  in  single  line  of 
battle,  had  encountered  and  overpowered  five  successive  forma 
tions  of  the  enemy.  McCown's  division  had  done  equal  service. 
They  were  now  confronted  by  fresh  troops  of  the  enemy,  formed 
in  a  railroad  cut,  which  served  as  a  formidable  entrenchment,  and 
were  protected  by  a  park  of  artillery,  which  commanded  their 
open  front.  It  would  have  been  folly  to  attack  this  position 
without  fresh  troops,  and  none  were  to  be  had. 

Thus  ended  the  battle.  Hardee  had  beaten  odds  of  at  least 
three  to  one,  had  captured  over  twenty  pieces  of  artillery,  several 
thousand  prisoners,  and  arms  and  munitions  in  proportion. 
Nothing  but  the  want  of  support  prevented  the  completion  of  a 
victory  which  would  have  been  conclusive  in  its  results  upon 
the  campaign.  At  the  close  of  the  fight,  Hardee  was  in  short 
cannon  range  of  the  Nashville  pike,  leading  to  the  rear  of  the 
Federal  army. 

Kosecrans  now  sent  his  trains  and  wounded' to  the  rear,  and 
seemed  preparing  to  retreat.  A  disaster,  resulting  from  the 
attack  of  a  division  of  Bragg's  army,  two  days  later,  changed 
the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  determined  Gen.  Bragg  to  draw  off  his 


LIEUT.  GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  813 

army.  This  was  done  on  the  3d  January.  The  enemy  were  too 
much  crippled  to  attempt  pursuit. 

The  Confederate  army  halted  in  its  march  from  Murfreesboro  : 
Folk's  corps  at  Shelbyville,  and  Hardee's  at  Tullahoma,  and 
remained  here  during  the  months  of  January,  February,  and 
March,  1863.  While  here,  Hardee,  whose  industry  halted  at  no 
amount  of  labour,  drilled  and  inspected  every  regiment  of  his 
command.  He  was  probably  the  only  Lieutenant-General  in  the 
service  who  personally  inspected  the  arms  and  accoutrements  of 
every  soldier  of  his  corps.  This  he  did,  with  commendation  for 
the  good  soldier  and  reproof  for  the  careless ;  and  the  knowledge 
that  the  commander  was  acquainted  with  the  merits  and 
demerits  of  every  soldier  was  a  great  spur  to  soldierly  emulation. 

On  field-days,  ladies  were  frequently  present  in  numbers, 
and  one  of  the  means  taken  by  Hardee  to  reward  good  conduct 
on  the  field,  was  to  call  out  from  each  regiment  the  officers  and 
soldiers  who  had  been  specially  distinguished  for  gallantry. 
These  were  introduced,  by  name,  to  the  ladies,  with  an  account 
of  the  services  which  had  won  them  distinction. 

About  the  last  of  March,  Hardee's  corps,  to  secure  better 
forage  and  encampments,  was  advanced  to  Wartrace  and  Bell 
Buckle,  in  the  direction  of  Murfreesboro.  While  encamped  in 
that  beautiful  region,  the  lamented  Bishop  Elliott,  of  Georgia, 
made  a  missionary  visit  to  the  army.  He  camped  and  messed 
with  Hardee,  and  here  began  that  strong  friendship  between  the 
soldier  and  the  churchman,  which  grew  with  each  year  until  the 
death  of  the  latter.  There  was  always  a  strong  religious  senti 
ment  pervading  the  army,  and  large  numbers  of  soldiers  were 
daily  assembled  under  the  ministration  of  the  Bishop.  The 
place  of  worship  was  usually  in  one  of  those  stately  beech  groves 
that  cover  the  face  of  that  part  of  Tennessee,  and  the  pulpit  and 
seats  were  rude  and  rustic  enough  to  be  in  keeping  with  the 
surroundings.  The  Bishop  was  of  singularly  commanding  stat 
ure  and  presence ;  his  thoughts  were  clothed  in  grand,  pure  old 
English,  and  his  words  fell  heedful  on  the  ears  of  the  veterans, 
who  extended  rank  after  rank,  as  far  as  the  voice  of  the  speaker 
could  reach.  Among  the  audience  were  such  men  as  Bishop 
Polk,  Bragg,  Hardee,  Breckinridge,  Cheatham,  and  Cleburne. 

The  retreat  of  Gen.  Bragg  towards  Chattanooga,  and   the 


814  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

events  that  led  to  the  battle  of  Chickarnauga,  have  been  suffi 
ciently  related  on  other  pages  of  this  work.  In  this  battle  Gen. 
Hardee  did  not  participate.  Shortly  after  the  fall  of  Yicksburg, 
he  received  an  order  from  President  Davis  to  proceed  to  Missis 
sippi,  and  report  to  Gen.  Johnston.  D.  H.  Hill  was  promoted 
to  Lieutenant-General,  and  assigned  to  his  corps.  No  military 
movements  of  importance  in  Mississippi  followed  the  capture  of 
Yicksburg,  and  Johnston's  army  being  too  small  for  organization 
into  army  corps,  Hardee  was  without  command.  Until  more 
active  service  should  offer,  he  volunteered  to  assemble  and  organ 
ize  the  Yicksburg  prisoners,  who  had  been  paroled  and  fur- 
loughed,  and  who,  subsequently  exchanged,  were  at  their  various 
homes,  distributed  over  several  States. 

After  the  battle  of  Cbickamauga,  certain  matters  growing  out 
of  the  conduct  of  the  battle  caused  injurious  dissensions  between 
the  Commanding  General  and  some  of  his  subordinates,  one  of 
the  results  of  which  was  the  relief  from  duty  with  that  army  of 
Lieut.-Gens.  Polk  and  Hill,  and  an  order  for  the  return  of  Har 
dee.  Accompanying  the  order  was  an  autograph  letter  from  the 
President  commissioning  Hardee  as  peace-maker  to  the  army, 
and  appealing  to  him  to  exert  himself  to  heal  the  dissensions 
existing  in  it. 

Bra^g's  army  had  occupied  Missionary  Ridge,  with  its  left 
resting  on  Lookout  Mountain,  with  the  object  of  partially  invest 
ing  Chattanooga  arid  cutting  off  Rosecrans'  supplies,  by  com 
manding  with  artillery  the  river  and  road  communications  to  his 
depots  in  Tennessee.  On  the  24th  November,  1863,  Grant 
attacked  and  carried  Bragg's  left  on  Lookout  Mountain.  With 
the  loss  of  Lookout  Mountain,  there  was  no  longer  an  object  in 
holding  Missionary  Ridge.  If  this  position  could  be  held,  which 
the  loss  of  Lookout  Mountain  had  made  more  than  doubtful,  it 
was  no  longer  practicable  to  curtail  the  supplies  of  the  enemy; 
and  the  most  that  could  now  be  hoped  for  was  to  hold  the  posi 
tion  until  the  enemy,  safe  within  his  lines,  and  no  longer  suffer 
ing  for  provisions,  could  receive  reinforcements  enough  to  take 
it.  But  this  was  by  no  means  the  situation.  Sherman's  army  had 
crossed  the  Tennessee  above  Chattanooga,  and  was  now  threat 
ening  the  right.  The  force  which  had  captured  Lookout  Moun 
tain  threatened  the  left. 


LIEUT.-GElSi.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  815 

Thus,  on  the  evening  of  the  24rth  November,  the  Confederate 
army,  weakened  by  the  detachment  of  Longstreet,  who  had  been 
sent  against  Knoxville,  confronting  an  enemy  reinforced  by 
Sherman's  army,  discouraged  by  the  loss  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
with  both  flanks  exposed  and  liable  to  be  turned,  had  everything 
to  lose  and  nothing  to  win  by  risking  a  battle  next  day. 

Gen.  Hardee,  impressed  with  the  dangers  of  the  position 
arising  from  this  state  of  things,  urged  Gen.  Bragg  to  withdraw 
his  army  that  night,  and  remained  at  army  headquarters  until  one 
o'clock  A.M.,  up  to  which  hour  the  question  was  being  discussed. 
Gen.  Bragg,  influenced  somewhat  by  the  difficulty  of  withdraw 
ing  troops  and  trains  in  the  few  hours  then  remaining  before  day 
light,  and  sustained  by  Gen.  Breckinridge,  the  other  corps  com 
mander,  decided  to  remain. 

The  next  day  followed  the  great  disaster  of  Missionary  Ridge. 
In  this  action  the  Confederate  right,  under  Hardee,  was  success 
ful,  repulsing  with  great  slaughter  the  attack  of  Sherman  ;  but 
meanwhile  the  left  had  been  carried  by  assault  at  several  points, 
and  the  enemy  directing  a  flank  attack  upon  Hardee,  he  found 
his  position  untenable,  but  yet  maintained  his  ground  long  enough 
to  cover  the  line  of  retreat  of  the  army. 

On  arriving  at  Dalton,  Gen.  Bragg  was  relieved,  at  his  own 
request,  and  ordered  to  turn  over  the  command  of  the  army  to 
Hardee.  The  latter  took  charge  of  the  army,  but  declined  its 
permanent  command,  partly  from  an  unjust  diffidence  of  his  own 
abilities,  but  chiefly  from  a  higher  motive.  He  argued  that  the 
army,  disheartened  from  its  late  reverses,  needed  some  new  inspi 
ration  to  restore  its  tone — that  the  country  was  gloomy,  and 
required  the  prestige  of  some  well-established  reputation  to  renew 
its  confidence.  Johnston  and  Beauregard  were  both  of  higher 
rank  than  himself,  and  both  now  had  less  important  commands. 
Either  of  them  could  probably  command  more  of  the  confidence 
of  the  army  and  the  country  than  himself,  and  could  therefore 
accomplish  more  for  the  cause.  Actuated  by  this  high  motive, 
he  made  a  representation  to  the  government  which  resulted  in 
the  assignment  of  Gen.  J.  E.  Johnston  to  the  command  of  the 
army. 

In  the  campaign  which  culminated  at  Atlanta,  Hardee,  as 
corps  commander,  did  constant  and  conspicuous  service,  and  it 


816  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HABDEE. 

was  in  its  hard  and  perilous  progress  that  he  earned  his  nomme 
de  guerre  of  "  Old  Reliable."  It  was  a  peculiar  campaign.  It 
began  with  odds  of  more  than  two  to  one  on  the  Federal  side, 
and  the  reinforcements  received  by  Johnston,  during  the  cam 
paign,  were  less  than  half  those  received  by  Sherman.  It 
extended  over  100  miles  of  territory,  no  mile  of  which  but  was 
contested ;  and  through  a  period  of  seventy  days,  no  hour  of 
which,  day  or  night,  was  any  part  of  either  army  out  of  the  sound 
of  firing.  The  Federal  Commander,  admonished  by  the  lesson 
at  Resaca  and  subsequent  similar  ones  at  New  Hope  Church  and 
Kennesaw,  learned  to  advance  very  cautiously.  The  spade  came 
into  habitual  use,  and  either  side  could  throw  up  a  formidable 
field-work  in  half  an  hour. 

On  the  18th  July,  Gen.  Johnston  was  relieved  from  the  com 
mand  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  and  Lieut-Gen.  Hood  was 
assigned  to  its  command,  with  the  temporary  rank  of  General. 

The  three  Lieutenant-Generals  of  the  army,  including  Hardee, 
at  once  united  in  a  telegram  to  the  government  (which  Gen. 
Hood  sent),  urging  a  suspension  of  the  change  until  the  existing 
emergency  should  have  passed,  but  the  recommendation  was  not 
adopted. 

There  is  a  current  belief  that  Hardee  was  a  second  time 
offered  the  command  of  the  army,  and  declined  it.  Such  was 
not  the  case.  He  would  now  have  felt  it  a  duty  to  accept  the 
command  if  it  had  been  offered  him.  None  of  the  reasons  which 
influenced  his  declining  the  command  at  Dalton  now  existed. 
He  could  but  know  that  his  name,  as  commander,  would  now 
have  inspired  more  confidence  in  the  Army  of  Tennessee  than 
any  other,  except  Lee  and  Johnston.  Lee  could  not  be  spared 
from  Virginia,  and  Johnston  had  just  been  removed.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  could  but  recognize,  in  common  with  almost  every 
soldier  in  the  army,  that  Gen.  Hood's  experience  and  ability 
were  not  equal  to  the  command  of  an  independent  army. 

Again,  the  removal  of  Johnston  and  the  promotion  of  Hood, 
assumed  that  the  latter  had  not  endorsed  the  policy  of  the  pre 
vious  campaign  ;  whereas  Hardee,  as  one  of  the  corps  commanders 
present  at  all  the  councils  of  war,  had  means  of  knowing  that  no 
position  occupied  by  Johnston,  from  Dalton  to  Atlanta,  had  been 
given  up  without  Gen.  Hood's  approval ;  and  that,  in  several 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  817 

instances,  as  at  New  Hope  Church  and  Kennesaw,  he  had  persist 
ently  and  earnestly  urged  withdrawal  some  days  before  the  move 
ment  was  made. 

The  experience  of  Lee's  army  in  Virginia,  and  Johnston's  in 
Georgia,  had  demonstrated  that  troops  behind  ordinary  field- 
works  could  successfully  resist  two  or  three  times  their  numbers, 
and  that  such  works  could  be  thrown  up  on  occasion  in  half  an 
hour.  Sherman,  in  the  campaign  just  ended,  had  habitually 
intrenched  at  every  step,  and  it  was  very  unlikely  now  that  he 
could  be  attacked  without  encountering  intrenchments.  The 
troops  had  been  educated  for  the  past  seventy  days,  in  the  belief 
that  these  wrorks  could  be  held  against  any  odds,  and  they  them 
selves  had  proven,  on  repeated  occasions,  that  the  belief  was  well 
founded.  It  was  unreasonable  now  to  expect  to  un teach  them  all 
they  had  been  taught,  and  to  convince  them  that  they  could  take 
the  works  when  occupied  by  odds,  which  they  had  so  often  held 
against  the  same  odds.  It  was  clear,  therefore,  that  any  success 
resulting  from  a  change  to  active  offensive  operations,  must  be  due 
to  the  superiority  of  Southern  troops  over  their  opponents,  and 
would  be  at  a  cost  of  life  which  the  Confederacy  could  not  afford. 

Such  were  the  reflections  which  would  have  induced  Hardee 
to  accept  a  command,  the  supposed  declension  of  which  has  sub 
jected  him  to  censure.  As  it  was,  with  natural  professional 
pride,  he  felt  aggrieved  at  being  passed  over  by  an  officer  inferionr 
in  age,  rank,  experience,  and  ability  to  himself,  and  respectfully 
demanded  of  the  War  Department  to  be  relieved  from  further  duty 
with  that  army,  and  in  case  of  refusal,  tendering  his  resignation. 
He  was  perfectly  frank  with  Gen.  Hood,  and  explained  to  him 
his  reasons  for  requesting  to  be  relieved. 

The  President  refused  Hardee's  application,'  and  telegraphed 
him,  appealing  to  his  patriotism  and  sense  of  professional  duty, 
not  to  injure  the  cause  or  discourage  the  army  by  withdrawing 
from  it  at  so  critical  a  time.  It  was  an  appeal  which  he  could 
not  resist,  and  he  waived  his  demand  for  the  time.  His  feeling 
on  this  point  had  been  entirely  professional,  and  his  personal  and 
official  relations  with  Gen.  Hood,  hitherto  frank  and  cordial, 
were  not  affected  by  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  new  commander 
soon  had  occasion  to  show,  in  a  marked  degree,  his  great  reliance 
upon  him. 

52 


818  LIEUT.- GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

The  bloody  but  fruitless  assaults  on  the  enemy's  entrenched 
lines  and  the  desperate  stand  made  by  Hardee's  corps  at  Jones- 
boro — where  it  had  been  placed  by  Gen.  Hood  to  protect  Macon, 
and  communications  in  rear,  under  the  mistaken  supposition  that 
Sherman  was  retreating — belong  to  the  general  history  of  the 
campaign.  But  this  last  contest  was  peculiar,  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  on  record,  in  respect  of  disparity  of  numbers,  and 
the  tenacity  and  success  with  which  the  inferiour  force  held  its 
ground.  Hardee's  command  was  three  divisions — Cheatham's, 
Cleburne's,  and  Bate's.  The  Federal  force  of  three  corps  was  reen- 
forced  during  the  forenoon  by  the  arrival  of  three  additional  corps, 
and  Sherman  himself  came  up  and  assumed  command,  his  whole 
army  being  present,  except  one  corps  which  had  been  left  to 
to  guard  the  depots  at  Chattahooche  bridge.  The  position  of 
Hardee's  corps  was  not  chosen,  but  was  fixed  by  the  necessity 
of  covering  certain  roads  which  passed  to  the  rear  of  Atlanta,  and 
had  no  marked  natural  advantages.  It  was  strengthened  by  the 
field-works  which  the  troops  threw  up  in  the  brief  time  allowed 
for  preparation.  It  was  of  absolute  necessity  to  the  safety  of  the 
remainder  of  the  army  at  Atlanta,  that  this  position  should  be 
maintained  until  night. 

The  enemy  began  the  attack  about  noon.  Fortunately  it  was 
not  simultaneous  on  all  parts  of  the  line,  and  Hardee,  by  divest 
ing  unassailed  points  entirely  of  troops,  except  a  skirmish  line 
in  front,  and  moving  them  rapidly  to  points  of  attack,  was  able 
to  concentrate  force  enough  at  these  points  to  repel  all  assaults 
until  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  Then  an  angle  of  his 
line,  manned  by  Govan's  Arkansas  Brigade  and  Lewis'  Kentucky 
Brigade — troops  that  had  no  superiours  and  few  equals  in  the 
army — was  carried  by  assault,  and  eight  guns  and  most  of  Govan's 
Brigade  were  captured.  These  brave  men  stood  to  their  line 
until  the  dense  volume  of  Federal  troops  rolled  over  their  works, 
and  literally  took  physical  possession  of  the  men.  Hardee's  post  was 
near  Grariberry's  Brigade,  which  was  on  the  left  of  Govan,  and 
his  first  intimation  of  the  loss  of  the  angle  was  seeing  Granberry's 
Brigade  coming  back.  He  thought  they  were  giving  way,  and 
a  commander  might  well  despair  of  the  day  when  Granberry's 
Texans  gave  way.  He  galloped  up  to  the  brigade,  which  was 
.retiring  under  fire,  and  asked  Granberry  sternly  what  this  meant. 


LIEUT. -GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.         .  819 

But  Granberry  was  only  swinging  round  his  right  to  form  across 
the  base  of  the  lost  angle,  and  drawing  himself  up  to  the  full 
height  of  his  majestic  stature,  with  a  just  pride  in  the  fame  of 
his  Texans,  he  replied,  "  General,  my  men  never  fall  back  until 
I  order  them."  Gordon's  Tennessee  Brigade  was  then  brought 
up  rapidly,  and  charged  in  the  angle  on  the  right  of  Granberry, 
and  a  line  was  thus  established  across  the  base  of  the  angle  which 
was  held  until  nightfall  put  an  end  to  the  conflict. 

Having  accomplished  the  object  of  the  stand,  Gen.  Hardee 
withdrew  that  night  to  Lovejoy  station,  four  miles  distant,  and 
took  up  a  position  which  was  maintained  .against  a  renewal  of 
the  attack  next  day,  and  until  the  other  two  corps  of  the  army, 
which  had  evacuated  Atlanta  in  the  night,  formed  a  junction 
with  him.  Sherman  then  drew  off  his  army  to  Atlanta. 

The  loss  in  Hardee's  corps  in  the  part  of  the  campaign  con 
ducted  by  Gen.  Johnston  had  been  a  little  over  five  thousand 
killed,  wounded,  and  missing.  Assuming  that  of  the  other  two 
corps  to  have  been  equally  great,  the  loss  in  the  army  foots  up 
15,000.  Hardee's  loss,  while  under  Hood's  command,  up  to  the 
fall  of  Atlanta,  was  something  over  7,000 ;  by  a  like  estimate, 
that  of  the  army  was  21,000.  But  there  was  this  important  dif 
ference  of  result :  Johnson  inflicted  upon  the  enemy  a  loss  cer 
tainly  three  times  his  own,  while  the  loss  inflicted  by  Hood  was 
as  certainly  less  than  his  own. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  President  Davis  visited  the 
Army  of  Tennessee  at  Palmetto,  Georgia,  and  Hardee  renewed 
his  request  to  be  relieved.  His  wishes  were  complied  with,  and 
he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Department  of  South 
Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida,  hitherto  commanded  by  Gen. 
Beauregard.  The  latter  officer  was  appointed  to  a  military 
Department,  including  the  field  of  operations  of  Hood's  army. 

Hood's  invasion  of  Tennessee  in  November,  1864,  left  Sher 
man's  army  in  North  Georgia  unopposed.  The  road  southward 
to  the  coast  was  now  open  to  the  Federal  commander,  and  it 
soon  became  evident  that  he  did  not  mean  to  leave  unimproved 
the  opportunity  thus  offered  him  to  penetrate  a  hitherto  unin- 
vaded  section,  and  at  the  same  time  to  take  Richmond  in  reverse. 

Hardee's  department  was  totally  without  resources  to  meet 
this  invasion.  It  had  heretofore  been  a  peace  department,  and 


820  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HAKDEE. 

had  been  literally  stripped  of  all  material  of  war  that  could  be 
used  by  the  armies  in  the  field  in  Virginia  and  North  Georgia. 
Every  soldier  and  gun  not  absolutely  indispensable  to  hold  the 
coast  line,  had  been  sent  to  Lee  or  Johnston  long  ago.  The 
troops  left  in  the  department,  mostly  heavy  artillerists,  were  dis 
tributed  in  forts  and  defences  along  150  miles  of  coast,  and  were 
at  every  point  confronted  by  the  land  or  naval  forces  of  the 
enemy.  The  weakening  of  any  one  point  would  have  been  fol 
lowed  by  an  attack  upon  it,  probably  a  successful  one,  by  an 
enemy  constantly  on  the  alert,  and  whose  naval  resources  gave 
them  great  advantages  for  concentration.  The  loss  of  one  point 
in  a  system  of  coast  defences  more  or  less  dependent,  involved 
the  eventual  loss  of  the  whole  system. 

Hardee,  therefore,  could  place  no  troops  in  the  field  without 
the  sacrifice  of  the  coast  line,  which,  in  addition,  would  have 
given  the  enemy  possession  of  the  railroad  communications  with 
Richmond,  and  enabled  them  to  cut  off' Lee's  supplies. 

Moreover,  the  military  prisons  of  the  Confederate  States  were 
in  Hardee's  department,  and  though  their  administration  was 
controlled  directly  from  Richmond,  their  military  defence 
devolved  upon  him.  Augusta  and  Macon,  whose  arsenals  and 
powder  mills  furnished  the  Confederate  armies  their  daily  sup 
ply  of  arms  and  ammunition,  were  also  to  be  protected. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  military  department  now 
invaded  by  forces  whose  progress  the  splendid  army  of  Johnston 
had  been  unable  to  check,  and  against  which  Hood  had  hurled 
his  columns  in  vain. 

Hardee  represented  to  the  government  the  exact  condition  of 
affairs,  and  the  necessity  of  sending  him  troops,  both  for  the 
defence  of  his  department  and  as  an  eventual  protection  to  Gen. 
Lee.  Wheeler's  estimate  was  that  Sherman  had  45,000  muskets, 
and  Hardee  was  willing  to  take  the  field  against  him  with  20,000. 
Not  a  soldier  or  a  gun  was  sent  him,  and  he  was  left  to  his  unas 
sisted  resources.  He  at  once  set  about  securing  the  service  of 
the  militia  and  reserves  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  and  took 
measures  for  placing  all  important  points  in  his  department  in 
such  posture  of  defence  as  his  means  would  allow.  He  went  to 
Macon,  Georgia,  where  there  were  valuable  public  shops,  soon 
after  Sherman  began  his  march  southward,  and  organizing  a  force 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.  HARDEE.  821 

of  Georgia  reserves,  under  command  of  Gen.  Cobb,  and  the 
reserve  artillery  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  which  had  been  sent 
back  to  that  point  by  Hood,  prepared  to  defend  the  place.  Sher 
man  passed  by  without  attacking  Macon,  and  Hardee  then  pro 
ceeded  to  Savannah,  which  was  now  evidently  Sherman's  desti 
nation.  He  received  there  a  telegram  from  Gen.  Bragg,  at  Wil 
mington,  advising  him  to  take  the  field  against  Sherman.  He 
replied  with  grim  humour,  that  his  whole  available  force  at 
Savannah  then  consisted  of  180  Georgia  militia,  and  he  did  not 
think  it  advisable  to  assume  the  offensive  against  Sherman's  army 
with  that  force. 

Savannah  had  no  land  defences,  and  Hardee  now  selected  a 
strong  position  between  the  Savannah  and  Ogeechee  rivers,  some 
three  miles  from  the  city  at  its  nearest  point,  and  entrenched  it. 
This  line,  necessarily  some  twelve  miles  long,  was  objectionable 
for  its  length,  but  had  great  natural  advantages.  To  man  it  was 
the  next  thing. 

A  body  of  Georgia  militia,  under  command  of  G.  "W.  Smith, 
had  come  by  way  of  the  Savannah  and  Florida  Railroad,  and 
reached  Savannah  in  advance  of  Sherman.  To  these  were 
added  some  South  Carolina  militia  and  reserves,  and  a  small 
brigade  of  local  troops  from  Augusta,  made  up  of  government 
machinists,  from  the  public  shops  there,  convalescents  from  hos 
pitals,  and  detailed  men  from  various  quarters.  There  were  also 
one  or  two  regiments  and  several  companies  of  regular  troops, 
withdrawn  from  the  water  side  defences  of  Savannah,  and  a 
small  body  of  dismounted  cavalry,  which  had  been  sent  back 
from  Lee's  army  to  be  remounted,  and  was  now  brought  into 
service  by  the  necessity  of  this  occasion.  This  nondescript  force 
amounted  to  less  than  9,000  effectives.  Most  of  them  lacked 
sufficient  organization,  arms,  accoutrements,  transportation, 
everything  necessary  to  the  comfort  or  efficiency  of  troops.  With 
this  force  Hardee  proposed  to  hold  a  line  of  twelve  miles  against 
Sherman's  army. 

Hardee  did  not  expect  to  hold  Savannah  against  a  determined 
effort  of  Sherman  to  take  it.  His  object  was  to  hold  it  long 
enough  to  force  Sherman  to  pass  by,  in  order  to  communicate 
with  the  Federal  fleet  and  obtain  the  supplies  he  was  presumed 
to  need  after  his  long  march ;  which,  by  Hardee's  calculation, 


822  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

would  gain  time  for  the  arrival  of  the  still  hoped  for  reinforce 
ments  from  Virginia. 

Sherman  appeared  before  Savannah  on  the  6th  December. 
His  march  through  Georgia  had  been  unopposed,  except  by 
Wheeler's  cavalry,  which  hung  on  his  front  and  flanks,  and  did 
good  service  by  harassing  his  march,  cutting  off  his  foraging 
parties,  and  keeping  Kilpatrick's  cavalry  close  under  the  wings 
of  the  Federal  infantry. 

The  fighting  in  front  of  Savannah  was  confined  to  skirmish 
ing  until  the  storming  of  Fort  McAllister.  The  garrison  had 
made  a  gallant  defence,  but  was  inadequate  in  numbers,  and  it 
had  been  out  of  Hardee's  power  to  reenforce  it.  Meantime  a 
force  of  the  enemy  had  crossed  the  Savannah  river,  on  pontoons, 
above  the  city,  and  effected  a  foothold  on  the  opposite  side, 
within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  Hardee's  line  of  retreat,  and  was 
being  held  in  check  by  a  portion  of  Wheeler's  cavalry,  and  a 
dismounted  body  of  Butler's  division  of  cavalry,  under  Gen. 
Toung. 

Sherman  now  sent  a  formal  demand  for  the  surrender  of 
Savannah  and  its  garrison,  on  the  ground  that  the  city  was  no 
longer  tenable  and  the  escape  of  its  garrison  was  impracticable, 
and  threatening,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  show  no  quarter  to  the 
garrison  if  captured  by  assault.  Hardee  returned  an  unequivocal 
refusal,  but  made  preparations  to  evacuate  the  place.  His  object 
in  holding  it  thus  long  had  been  defeated  by  the  fall  of  Fort 
McAllister,  which  opened  communication  between  Sherman  and 
the  Federal  fleet  ;  and  the  thing  now  was  to  save  the  garrison 
for  other  service.  This,  with  an  army  in  his  immediate  front,  a 
wide  navigable  river  in  his  rear,  and  a  body  of  the  enemy  near 
his  line  of  retreat,  on  the  opposite  side,  was  sufficiently  difficult 
and  precarious.  The  water  transportation  was  insufficient  to 
convey  the  troops  across  the  river  rapidly,  and  in  anticipation  of 
this  emergency,  Hardee  had  constructed  a  pontoon  bridge  of  rice 
flats,  collected  from  the  plantations  along  the  river.  This  bridge 
was  thrown  across  to  an  island  and  thence  to  the  South  Carolina 
side,  a  distance  of  three-quarters  of  a  mile. 

The  bridge  was  completed  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  Decem 
ber,  and  Savannah  was  evacuated  that  night.  The  troops,  field 
artillery,  stores  and  munitions  were  brought  off  without  loss  or 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  823 

accident.  The  heavy  guns,  which  could  not  be  brought  off, 
were  spiked  and  otherwise  disabled.  Several  steamers,  which 
were  to  have  been  burned,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
through  the  treachery  of  their  officers ;  and  the  only  steamer 
destroyed  was  one  in  which  Hardee  himself  owned  a  part  inter 
est.  Nothing  of  value  was  captured  by  the  enemy  at  Savannah, 
except  the  cotton  owned  by  private  individuals,  which  was  dis, 
tributed,  and  some  of  it  concealed  in  various  portions  of  the  city. 
This  could  not  have  been  collected  to  be  burned,  for  want  of 
transportation.  It  had  required  every  dray,  cart,  and  vehicle  of 
every  description  that  could  be  impressed  in  the  city,  to  keep 
the  troops  on  the  line  supplied  with  rations,  forage,  and  ammu 
nition. 

The  conduct  of  the  operations  at  Savannah  ranks  high  as  a 
military  achievement.  In  less  than  ten  days,  without  sufficient 
tools  or  working  force,  a  line  of  twelve  miles  had  been  entrenched, 
with  less  than  9,000  nondescripts,  illy  organized  and  provided, 
and  many  of  whom  had  never  before  heard  a  gun  fired  in  action. 
This  line  had  been  held  for  twelve  days  against  a  large  and  well- 
appointed  army,  and  when  there  was  no  longer  an  object  in 
holding  it,  and  the  situation  of  the  garrison  had  become  so  criti 
cal  that  the  Federal  commander  demanded  its  surrender  in  the 
belief  that  it  could  not  escape,  a  pontoon  was  improvised,  and 
the  garrison  brought  off  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  a  gun 

After  a  month  of  rest  at  Savannah,  during  which  his  army 
was  increased  by  a  large  number  of  recruits,  Sherman  resumed 
his  march  northward,  with  the  evident  object  of  taking  Rich 
mond  in  reverse.  Hardee  had  sent  the  Georgia  militia  to  assist 
Gen.  D.  H.  Hill  in  the  defence  of  Augusta,  and  disposed  his 
other  forces,  now  reenforced  from  Virginia  by  Connor's  South 
Carolina  Brigade  of  infantry  and  a  part  of  Butler's  Division  of 
cavalry,  so  as  best  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  enemy,  and 
cover  the  land  approaches  to  Charleston.  Meantime,  Gen. 
Beauregard's  geographical  command  had  been  extended  over 
Hardee's  Department,  and  the  shattered  remnants  of  Hood's 
army,  returned  from  the  disastrous  invasion  of  Tennessee,  were 
en  route  to  North  Carolina. 

On  the  13th  of  January,  Hardee  had  telegraphed  the  Presi 
dent  that,  with  his  present  force,  Charleston  must  be  abandoned 


824  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

or  suffer  investment  if  seriously  moved  upon,  and  offering,  if  the 
good  of  the  service  required  it,  to  attempt  to  hold  it  with  his 
present  force,  or  to  insure  holding  it  if  reenforced  by  10,000 
men.  No  additional  troops  could  be  sent  him,  and  the  alternative 
was  presented  of  evacuating  Charleston,  with  its  dependencies, 
or  isolating  the  troops  that  held  it.  As  early  as  the  27th  Decem 
ber,  Gen.  Beauregard  had  ordered  preparations  to  be  made  for 
evacuation  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month  directed  that  the 
rule  observed  in  the  case  of  Savannah  should  be  applied  to 
Charleston  ;  that  is,  the  city  should  be  held  only  so  long  as  com 
patible  with  the  safety  of  the  garrison,  and  when  the  alternative 
offered,  the  city  should  be  abandoned  and  the  garrison  preserved 
for  field  service. 

On  the  14th  February,  Gen.  Beauregard  arrived  at  Charles 
ton,  from  Columbia,  returning  the  same  day,  and  ordered  the 
evacuation  of  Charleston  "  as  soon  as  the  necessary  preparations 
can  be  made." 

On  the  15th,  Hardee  received  a  telegram  from  the  President 
urging  the  postponement  of  the  evacuation  as  long  as  possible,  in 
the  hope  that  "  Beauregard  may  beat  the  enemy  in  the  field,  and 
thus  preserve  the  city  and  harbour  for  future  use." 

Later  in  the  day,  Gen.  Beauregard  reiterated  his  order,  and 
on  the  night  of  the  18th  the  guns  that  had  so  long  hurled  defi 
ance  across  Charleston  harbour,  were  silenced  ;  the  flag  that  had 
floated  in  triumph  alike  over  the  strength  and  ruins  of  Sumter, 
was  hauled  down,  and  Charleston,  the  city  of  grand  old  memo 
ries,  was  evacuated. 

Withdrawal  from  an  extended  line  of  coast  defence,  con 
fronted  everywhere  by  the  enemy,  was  a  delicate  operation,  and 
was  made  more  difficult  by  the  bad  faith  of  some  of  the  harbour 
vessels  that  were  to  transport  the  garrisons  from  the  harbour 
forts  to  the  mainland.  But  the  troops  were  brought  off  without 
accident,  the  stores  were  removed,  the  rolling-stock  of  half  a 
dozen  railroads  which  had  been  concentrated  at  Charleston,  was 
sent  beyond  the  Santee,  and  Hardee's  troops  moved  by  rail  to 
Kingstree. 

The  desultory  campaign  of  the  Carolinas  which  now  ensued, 
presents  but  little  of  interest,  and  may  be  briefly  despatched  in 
closing  the  military  career  of  Gen.  Hardee.  When  Gen.  John- 


LIEUT.-GEtf.   WILLIAM  J.  HABDEE.  825 

ston  assumed  command  and  came  upon  the  scene,  he  directed 
Hardee  to  move  to  Smithfield,  North  Carolina ;  the  object  being 
to  concentrate  there  Bragg's  troops  from  Wilmington,  Hardee's 
from  Charleston,  and  the  remnant  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee,  to 
make  head  against  Sherman.  Marching  in  this  direction,  Hardee 
arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Averysboro,  on  the  15th  March. 
Branching  off  near  this  point  were  roads  leading  to  Raleigh, 
Smithland  and  Goldsboro,  and  it  became  important,  with  refer 
ence  to  Gen.  Johnston's  future  operations,  to  ascertain  whether 
Sherman's  army  or  only  a  detachment  of  it  was  following  up 
Hardee ;  and  if  his  whole  army,  whether  its  destination  was 
Raleigh,  Smithland  or  Goldsboro.  This  could  only  be  done  by  a 
stand  that  would  develop  the  force  and  objects  of  the  enemy. 
Hardee  accordingly  selected  a  position  several  miles  in  front  of 
Averysboro,  at  a  point  where  the  courses  of  Cape  Fear  and 
Black  rivers  were  contiguous,  and  awaited  the  attack. 

His  force  consisted  of  two  small  divisions,  commanded  by 
Gens.  McLaws  and  Taliaferro.  The  troops  which  Hardee 
brought  out  of  Charleston  had  been  greatly  reduced  by  desertion. 
Some  of  them  had  been  on  garrison  duty  all  through  the  war  and 
were  now  unwilling  to  enter  the  field.  Others  were  disheartened 
by  the  reverses  everywhere  attending  the  Confederate  arms,  and 
in  some  instances  companies  were  reduced  to  half  their  numbers 
by  desertions  in  one  night.  In  a  rapid  march,  such  as  Hardee 
had  been  making,  it  was  impossible  to  stop  these  desertions  or  to 
arrest  the  deserters.  After  passing  the  South  Carolina  State  line, 
Gov.  Magrath  had  recalled  a  brigade  of  South  Carolina  State 
troops,  refusing  to  allow  them  to  go  out  of  the  State.  Hardee's 
effective  force,  therefore,  was  now  reduced  to  6,000  men,  includ 
ing  a  brigade  of  South  Carolina  reserves.  His  flank  was  pro 
tected  by  Wheeler,  who  was  on  the  ground  with  a  portion  of  his 
cavalry.  The  enemy  brought  against  him  the  14th  and  20th 
corps  of  Federal  infantry  and  Kilpatrick's  cavalry.  Gen.  Sher 
man  was  on  the  field  in  person. 

Hardee's  troops,  with  the  exception  of  Connors  brigade,  sent 
him  from  Lee's  army,  had  been  drawn  from  the  coast  defences, 
and  for  the  most  part  had  served  heretofore  only  as  heavy  artil 
lery.  They  had  been  organized  on  the  march  from  Charleston, 
and  this  was  their  first  field  service.  They  were  now  to  be  sub- 


826  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

jected  to  a  severe  test  of  soldiership,  and  they  bore  the  test 
bravely.  They  repelled  the  attack  of  as  good  troops  as  there 
were  in  the  Federal  armies,  made  with  the  odds  of  two 
corps  against  two  divisions,  changed  position  repeatedly  under 
fire,  and  resisted  successfully  every  attempt  of  the  enemy  to  turn 
their  position  with  the  coolness  and  steadiness  of  veterans.  Their 
loss  in  the  fight  (known  as  the  battle  of  Averysboro)  was  500 
killed  and  wounded  ;  that  of  the  enemy,  if  the  statements  of 
prisoners  subsequently  captured  may  be  credited,  was  3,000. 

Two  days  later,  Hardee  received  orders  to  move  toBentonville, 
where  Johnston  designed  concentrating  to  strike  the  column  of 
Sherman  on  its  march  to  Goldsboro.  The  troops  assembled  at 
Bentonville,  on  the  19th  March,  were  McLaws'  and  Taliaferro's 
divisions  of  Hardee's  command  (5,500),  Hoke's  division,  from 
Wilmington  (4,500),  and  4,000  troops  of  the  Army  of  Tennessee 
— total  14,000.  The  last  were  worn  and  haggard,  from  the  hard 
service  of  the  winter;  their  faded  gray  jackets  were  stained  with 
the  mud  of  six  States  in  which  they  had  fought  or  marched  in 
the  past  three  months,  and  not  more  than  a  corporal's  guard 
gathered  around  some  of  their  regimental  colors.  But  before  the 
close  of  the  day  they  showed  that  their  soldierly  qualities,  at 
least,  had  survived  the  hardships  and  disasters  of  the  Tennessee 
campaign. 

Hampton's  cavalry  had  checked  the  head  of  the  enemy's 
column  at  Bentonville :  and  the  enemy,  with  their  usual  precau 
tion,  had  thrown  up  field-works  in  their  front.  Heavy  skirmish 
ing  had  begun  in  the  morning  and  continued  until  Johnston's 
troops  were  all  up.  Hardee  was  placed  in  command  of  the  troops 
of  the  "  Army  of  Tennessee "  and  Taliaferro's  division,  and 
directed  to  attack  on  the  right.  Hoke's  division  was  to  follow 
up  the  attack.  McLaws  was  on  the  left  and  in  reserve.  Hardee 
moved  forward  at  3  P.M.  and  carried  two  lines  of  temporary  field- 
works,  captured  three  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  stand  of  colors, 
and  drove  the  enemy  one  and  a  half  miles.  Then  at  nightfall 
they  were  found  to  be  in  such  force  as  to  make  it  unadvisable  to 
press  them  further. 

At  one  point  in  the  advance  of  the  troops  of  the  Army  of 
Tennessee,  they  had  encountered  a  ditch  and  depression  of 
ground  which  protected  them  from  the  fire  under  which  they 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  827 

were  advancing.  In  front  was  an  open  field  swept  bj  the  ene 
my's  musketry  from  their  works  just  beyond.  The  battle  of 
Franklin  was  fresh  in  their  minds,  and  they  hesitated.  Hardee 
saw  their  hesitation,  and,  leaping  his  horse  over  the  ditch,  he  rose 
the  ascent  beyond,  and  in  full  view  of  his  own  troops  and  the  ene 
my,  waved  his  men  forward.  They  recognized  their  old  command 
er,  now  seen  for  the  first  time  since  October  before,  and  raising 
a  cheer  such  as  those  old  hills  had  never  echoed  before,  dashed 
across  the  field  and  drove  the  enemy  pell-mell  from  their  works. 

Gen.  Johnston  rode  up  to  Hardee  on  the  field,  while  the  action 
was  still  in  progress,  and  said,  "  General,  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  success.  You  have  only  done,  however,  what  you  always 
do." 

The  Confederates  occupied  at  night  a  line  a  little  in  rear  of 
the  advanced  position  of  the  day.  It  was  afterwards  ascertained 
that  Sherman  had  35,000  troops  on  the  ground  at  the  beginning 
of  the  fight.  He  now  brought  up  the  remainder  of  his  army, 
and  pressed  Johnston's  line  closely. 

In  an  affair  of  the  next  day  fell,  mortally  wounded,  a  son  of 
Gen.  Hardee,  only  sixteen  years  old.  A  year  before,  this  brave 
boy,  full  of  generous  military  enthusiasm,  and  captivated  by  the 
renown  of  "  Terry's  Rangers,"  a  body  of  Texan  cavalry,  had  run 
away  from  school  at  Athens,  Georgia,  and  joined  this  regiment 
as  it  passed  on  its  way  to  the  army.  His  years  were  too  tender 
for  the  rough  service  of  these  veterans,  and  his  father  took  him 
on  his  staff.  He  won  his  spurs  at  Resaca,  where  he  had  a  horse 
killed  under  him,  and  did  a  soldier's  duty  throughout  the  cam 
paign.  Later  he  joined  Stuart's  battery  of  light  artillery  in 
South  Carolina,  and  served  as  a  private  up  to  the  battle  of  Ben- 
ton  ville.  There  he  again  met  "  Terry's  Rangers."  and  the  boy's 
first  love  revived.  The  soldiers,  proud  of  his  preference  for  them, 
urged  him  to  join  them.  Gen.  Johnston  designed  making  him 
his  aid-de-camp,  but  thought  it  well  first  to  allow  him  to  see 
more  field-service.  He  joined  the  regiment  but  two  hours  before 
the  charge  that  closed  his  young  career.  Thus,  in  his  father's 
last  battle — in  the  last  charge  of  the  day — in  the  last  gallant  blow 
which  the  "Army  of  Tennessee"  struck  for  Independence,  fell, 
in  the  beauty  and  promise  of  tender  youth,  this  noble  boy,  leaving 
no  male  descendant  to  inherit  the  name  and  the  fame  of  Hardee. 


828  LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE. 

A  few  days  thereafter  and  the  news  of  Gen.  Lee's  surrender 
was  the  occasion  of  the  conference  which  terminated  in  the 
capitulation  agreed  upon  between  Gens.  Johnston  and  Sherman, 
on  the  26th  April,  1865.  The  sad  survivors  of  the  brave  thou 
sands  that  had  enlisted  in  the  ranks  of  1861,  now  stacked  their 
arms,  furled  their  banners,  took  leave  of  their  comrades,  and 
prepared  to  wend  their  way  to  their  various  homes.  It  was  a 
touching  proof  of  affection  for  their  first  commander  that  the 
Arkansas  Brigade,  which  had  commenced  and  ended  its  career 
under  Hardee's  command,  and  whose  bravest  filled  graves  strewn 
over  the  length  and  breadth  of  nine  States,  at  a  moment  when 
it  might  be  supposed  that  men  who  had  not  seen  their  homes 
and  kindred  for  four  years,  would  only  consider  the  speediest 
mode  of  reaching  them,  now  volunteered,  in  a  body,  to  escort 
Gen.  Hardee  to  his  adopted  home,  in  Alabama.  He  declined  the 
generous  proffer,  and  moved  across  the  country,  accompanied 
by  some  members  of  his  staff,  and  escorted  by  a  company  of 
couriers,  who  had  served  with  him  three  years,  and  who 
never  left  him  until  they  had  seen  him  under  his  roof-tree,  in 
Alabama. 

Gen.  Hardee's  record,  as  a  commander  in  the  Confederate 
armies,  is  perfect  in  its  round  of  usefulness  and  honour.  Always 
in  the  field,  always  on  duty,  always  at  the  point  which  danger 
and  responsibility  made  the  post  of  honour,  from  Missouri 
to  North  Carolina,  from  "Shiloh"  to  "  Bentonville,"  he  was 
intrusted  with  high  duties  and  critical  enterprises,  and  found 
faithful  in  all,  and  equal  to  all.  In  the  outset,  he  began  by  pre 
ferring  active  field  service  to  rank  and  a  position  of  comparative 
ease  in  an  Administrative  Department.  He  afterward  resisted 
the  strongest  temptation  that  could  have  been  held  out  to  a 
noble  ambition,  in  declining  the  command  of  the  second  army 
in  the  Confederate  States,  when  he  thought  the  public  weal 
would  be  advanced  by  intrusting  it  to  other  hands.  No  page  in 
the  history  of  the  armies  with  which  he  was  connected  but  is 
full  of  the  proofs  of  trust  reposed  in  him  by  his  commanders, 
and  in  the  unwritten  but  infallible  verdict  of  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  army,  those  severest,  but  most  competent  of  all  judges, 
his  name  stands  in  the  front  of  the  great  soldiers  of  the  war. 
President  Davis  is  known  to  have  considered  him  the  best  corps 


LIEUT.-GEN.   WILLIAM  J.   HARDEE.  829 

commander  in  the  service  ;  and  Gen.  Johnston  went  even  fur 
ther,  in  saying  that  he  was  more  capable  of  handling  20,000  men 
in  action  than  any  other  Confederate  leader. 

Gen.  Hardee  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  quality  which 
Napoleon  classes  as  one  of  the  most  important  in  a  commander 
— the  capacity  to  estimate,  at  their  just  value,  military  events 
as  they  occur.  His  courage  was  of  that  order  which  inspires 
courage  in  others.  An  accomplished  horseman,  of  commanding 
stature,  and  strikingly  martial  mien,  his  bearing  in  action  was 
impressive  and  inspiring.  To  this  was  added,  coolness  that  never 
failed ;  presence  of  mind  never  disturbed  ;  and  an  intellect  that 
rose,  like  his  heart,  in  the  tumult  and  dangers  of  battle. 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  Gen.  Hardee  adapted  himself 
readily  to  the  change  in  the  habit  of  life  resulting  to  him,  in 
common  with  his  brother  officers  of  the  old  army,  and  applied 
himself  to  civil  avocations,  with  the  same  energy  and  success 
that  had  marked  his  military  career.  In  the  combined  occupa 
tions  of  planting  and  railroad  operation,  he  finds  agreeable  and 
useful  employment ;  and,  followed  by  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  his  countrymen,  awarded  to  the  virtues  of  the  man  not  less 
than  to  the  deeds  of  the  soldier,  his  life  flows  on  in  an  unbroken 
current  of  honourable  usefulness. 


HEUT.-GEN.  RICHARD  TAYLOR. 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 

Peculiar  advantages  of  Gen.  "  Dick  "  Taylor  in  the  war. — His  gallantry  and  critical 
service  at  Port  Republic. — Transferred  to  West  Louisiana. — Interest  of  his  mili 
tary  life  directed  to  New  Orleans. — Operations  of  1863  in  the  Lafourche  coun 
try. — His  part  in  the  Red  River  campaign. — Violent  quarrel  with.  Gen.  E.  Kirby 
Smith. — The  merits  of  this  controversy  canvassed. — President  Davis  sustains 
Geu.  Taylor,  and  gives  him  increased  rank  and  command. — His  disposition  to 
insubordination. — Destruction  of  his  property  by  the  enemy. — A  Vermont  soldier's 
account  of  the  exploit. 

RICHARD  TAYLOK — or  "Dick"  Taylor,  as  he  was  popularly 
known — had  the  accident  of  birth  and  a  peculiar  advantage  to 
favour  his  career  in  the  late  war.  A  son  of  Zachariah  Taylor, 
the  tenth  President  of  the  United  States,  and  the  popular  hero 
of  the  Mexican  war,  he  bore  a  name  already  dear  and  familiar 
to  the  public.  A  brother-in-law  of  President  Davis — who  had 
married  his  sister  after  a  romantic  elopement  from  her  father's 
house — he  had  an  extraordinary  access  to  the  fountain  of  office 
and  honour :  was  in  close  relationship  to  a  ruler  who  was  notor 
iously  governed  by  his  personal  affections  in  dispensing  his  official 
patronage,  and  distributing  the  gifts  of  rank  and  fortune. 

Gen.  Taylor's  first  remarkable  service  in  the  war  was  in 
Stonewall  Jackson's  famous  campaign  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 
It  was  at  Port  Republic  that  the  Louisiana  Brigade,  commanded 
by  Gen.  Taylor,  decided  the  day  by  an  attack  on  the  enemy's 
artillery,  responding  with  cheers  to  Jackson's  stern  command, 
"  That  battery  must  be  taken  !  "  This  attack,  by  which  the  ene 
my's  artillery  was  dislodged  and  the  field  secured  for  a  general 
advance  of  the  lines  of  infantry,  was  perhaps  the  most  brilliant 
incident  of  the  resplendent  and  fruitful  campaign ;  and  at  Port 
Republic  the  line  has  been  generally  drawn  when  the  fortunes 


LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  TAYLOR.  831 

6f  the  Confederacy  passed  from  their  first  great  shadow  of  disas 
ter  and  mounted  to  a  new  illumination  of  hope.  It  was  the  begin 
ning  of  that  remarkable  series  of  victories  in  which  Richmond 
was  saved,  the  war  put- back  on  the  frontier,  and  Lee's  guns  bel 
lowed  for  peace  almost  at  the  portals  of  Washington. 

Gen.  Taylor  was  afterwards  transferred  to  another  and  distant 
field  of  operations,  and,  with  the  rank  of  Major-General,  placed 
in  command  of  the  District  of  West  Louisiana.  Here  transpired 
the  chief  interest  of  his  military  life.  It  had  a  remarkable  con 
nection  with  the  city  of  New  Orleans ;  and  twice  he  indulged  the 
vision  of  relieving  or  recapturing  that  city,  which  appears,  indeed, 
to  have  been  the  aim  of  all  his  operations  and  the  summit  of  his 
hopes.  At  one  time  the  prospect  of  such  a  prize  was  reasonable, 
and  kindled  public  expectation.  In  an  active  campaign  in  the 
Lafourche  country  in  the  summer  of  1863,  Gen.  Taylor,  by  an 
admirable  operation,  captured  Brash  ear  City  and  its  forts,  and 
the  position  thus  obtained,  with  that  of  Thibodeaux,  gave  him 
command  of  the  Mississippi  River  above  New  Orleans — enabled 
him  in  a  great  measure  to  cut  off  Gen.  Banks'  supplies,  and,  it 
was  hoped,  might  eventually  force  that  Federal  commander  to 
the  choice  of  losing  New  Orleans  or  abandoning  his  operations 
against  Port  Hudson.  But  the  unexpected  fall  of  Yicksburg, 
which  involved  so  many  other  operations,  and  carried  down  with 
it  so  much  of  Southern  fortune,  was  fatal  to  Gen.  Taylor's  plans, 
and  robbed  him  even  of  the  success  he  had  already  obtained.  It 
exposed  Port  Hudson,  compelled  its  surrender,  and  left  Gen.  Tay 
lor's  position  in  the  Lafourche  country  extremely  hazardous,  and 
not  to  be  justified  on  military  grounds.  He  was  clearly  unable 
to  hold  it,  with  an  active  force  less  than  4,000  men,  not  including 
the  garrison  at  Berwick's  Bay,  against  the  overwhelming  forces  of 
the  enemy  released  from  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson ;  and  he  was 
compelled  to  abandon  the  campaign,  to  disappoint  the  hopes  it 
had  excited,  and  to  mortify  an  ambition  that  had  sought  so  great 
an  opportunity  of  success  and  glory. 

Gen.  Taylor's  second  occasion  of  notable  service  in  the  Trans- 
Mississippi  was  in  the  famous  Red  River  campaign  in  the  spring 
of  1864,  in  which,  acting  under  the  orders  of  Gen.  E.  Kirby 
Smith,  the  department  commander,  he  encountered  Banks'  army 
moving  from  Alexandria,  and  gained  two  of  the  most  important 


832  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  TAYLOR. 

victories  of  the  war.     The  events  of  this  campaign  were  thus 
summed  in  an  address  he  made  to  his  victorious  troops : 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DISTRICT  WEST  LOUISIANA,  MANSFIELD,  LA.,  April  11,  1864. 
"  GENERAL  ORDERS,  No.  — . 
"  Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  Western  Louisiana : 

"At  last  have  your  patience  and  devotion  been  rewarded. 
Condemned  for  many  days  to  retreat  before  an  overwhelming 
force,  as  soon  as  your  reinforcements  reached  you,  you  turned 
upon  the  foe.  No  language  but  that  of  simple  narrative  should 
recount  your  deeds.  On  the  8th  of  April  you  fought  the  battle 
of  Mansfield.  Never  in  war  was  a  more  complete  victory  won. 
Attacking  the  enemy  with  the  utmost  alacrity  when  the  order 
was  given,  the  result  was  not  for  a  moment  doubtful. 

"  The  enemy  was  driven  from  every  position,  his  artillery  cap 
tured,  his  men  routed.  In  vain  were  fresh  troops  brought  up. 
Your  magnificent  line,  like  a  resistless  wave,  swept  everything 
before  it.  Night  alone  stopped  your  advance.  Twenty-one 
pieces  of  artillery,  2,500  prisoners,  many  stands  of  colors,  250 
wagons,  attest  your  success  over  the  Thirteenth  and  Nineteenth 
Army  Corps.  On  the  9th  instant  you  took  up  the  pursuit,  and 
pressed  it  with  vigour.  For  twelve  miles,  prisoners,  scattered 
arms,  burning  wagons,  proved  how  well  the  previous  day's  work 
had  been  done  by  the  soldiers  of  Texas  and  Louisiana. 

"  The  gallant  divisions  from  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  unfortu 
nately  absent  on  the  8th  instant,  marched  forty-five  miles  in  two 
days,  to  share  the  glories  of  Pleasant  Hill.  This  was  emphati 
cally  the  soldier's  victory.  In  spite  of  the  strength  of  the  ene 
my's  position,  held  by  fresh  troops  of  the  Sixteenth  Corps,  your 
valour  and  devotion  triumphed  over  all.  Darkness  closed  one 
of  the  hottest  fights  of  the  war.  The  morning  of  the  10th  instant 
dawned  upon  a  flying  foe,  with  our  cavalry  in  pursuit,  capturing 
prisoners  at  every  step.  These  glorious  victories  were  most 
dearly  won.  A  list  of  the  heroic  dead  would  sadden  the  sternest 
heart.  A  visit  to  the  hospitals  would  move  the  sympathy  of  the 
most  unfeeling.  The  memory  of  our  dead  will  live  as  long  as 
noble  deeds  are  cherished  on  earth.  The  consciousness  of  duty 
well  performed  will  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  wounded. 
Soldiers  from  a  thousand  homes,  thanks  will  ascend  to  the  God 


LIEUT.-GEN.    RICHARD  TAYLOR.  833 

of  battles  for  your  victories.  Tender  wives  and  fond  mothers 
will  repose  in  safety  behind  the  breastworks  of  your  valour.  *  No 
fears  will  be  felt  that  the  hated  foe  will  desecrate  their  homes 
by  his  presence.  This  is  your  reward  ;  but  much  remains  to  be 
done.  Strict  discipline,  prompt  obedience  to  orders,  cheerful 
endurance  of  privations,  will  alone  insure  our  independence. 
"R.  TAYLOR,  Major-General  Commanding." 

After  the  battle  of  Pleasant  Hill,  Gen.  Taylor  was  for  pursu 
ing  the  enemy  to  his  transports;  and,  contemplating  the  destruc 
tion  of  Banks  and  Porter,  indulged  the  prospect  of  thus  over 
throwing  the  enemy's  power,  and  perhaps  opening  the  way  to 
JSTew  Orleans.  It  was  a  brilliant  vision  and  a  stirring  inspira 
tion.  But  the  Commanding-General  did  not  favour  this  view ; 
he  did  not  share  Taylor's  exultation  ;  and  very  properly  looking 
to  all  points  of  his  extensive  department,  and  surveying  the  whole 
field  of  action,  rather  than  being  intent  on  folat  and  the  interests 
of  a  particular  locality,  he  decided  upon  a  different  campaign, 
which  was  to  move  against  the  Federal  General  Steele,  who  was 
threatening  invasion  of  Texas  and  Louisiana  from  Little  Rock. 
Indeed,  it  must  be  confessed  that  Gen.  Taylor's  idea  of  freeing 
the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  by  pursuing  and  overthrowing 
Banks'  army,  bordered  on  the  visionary,  and  was  not  the  wise 
choice  in  the  alternative  of  campaigns  presented  after  the  battle 
of  Pleasant  Hill.  However  that  battle  was  adorned  in  the  words 
of  the  general  order  we  have  quoted,  the  truth  is  it  was  scarcely 
a  Confederate  victory — that  three-fourths  of  Taylor's  army  had 
been  actually  worsted  in  the  engagement,  and  that  the  enemy 
had  ultimately  retired  rather  from  distress  of  supplies  and  timidity 
than  from  positive  disaster  to  his  arms.  Banks  was  now  intrenched 
at  Grand  Ecore,  supported  by  gunboats ;  and  the  idea  of  annihi 
lating  in  their  intrenchments  a  force  double  that  of  the  Confed 
erates,  and  resting  on  gunboats,  counting,  too,  the  difficulties  of 
.transportation  over  250  miles,  was  not  among  the  probabilities 
to  be  entertained  by  a  prudent  commander.  The  country  was 
destitute  of  supplies;  it  was  impossible  to  dislodge  the  enemy 
by  undertaking  a  sustained  operation  upon  his  communications ; 
and  a  direct  assault  upon  his  position  was  scarcely  to  be  thought 
of.  Meanwhile,  Steele  was  still  advancing  from  Arkansas ;  he 

53 


834:  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  TAYLOR. 

had  crossed  the  Little  Missouri  with  an  excellent  army  of  15,000 
men,  having  been  joined  by  Thayer  from  Fort  Smith.  In  view 
of  all  the  circumstances,  Gen.  E.  Kirby  Smith  decided  to  move 
against  Steele,  and  to  forego  Gen.  Taylor's  plans  against  Banks; 
it  being  still  possible  that,  after  Steele  was  disposed  of,  he  might 
flank  Banks,  and,  concentrating  his  forces,  ultimately  essay  his 
capture  or  overthrow. 

The  sequel  was  that  Banks  escaped  before  such  a  concen 
tration  could  be  formed.  While  Gen.  Smith  moved  with  the 
bulk  of  his  army  against  Steele,  Gen.  Taylor,  with  a  small  force, 
was  intent  upon  Banks,  and  followed  the  enemy  very  vigorously, 
capturing  and  destroying  three  gunboats  and  six  or  eight  trans 
ports.  He  insisted  that  with  Walker's,  Parsons',  and  Churchill's 
divisions,  he  could  overwhelm  Banks,  who  was  now  at  Alexan 
dria,  assisting  Porter,  who  was  trying  to  get  his  gunboats  over 
the  falls  of  the  river.  Some  infantry  in  Arkansas  was  imme 
diately  put  in  motion  to  him,  as  it  seemed  possible  the  enemy 
might  be  compelled  to  abandon  or  destroy  his  fleet.  But,  by 
singular  skill  and  energy,  he  had  built  a  tree-dam  across  the  Red 
River,  by  the  aid  of  which  he  succeeded  in  getting  all  his  boats 
off  before  any  reinforcement  reached  Gen.  Taylor,  who  was  com 
pelled,  with  little  opportunity  of  action,  to  see  the  prize  he  had 
counted  on  slip  from  his  grasp. 

The  truth  must  be  stated  that  Gen.  Taylor  was  a  passionate, 
high-tempered  man,  and  had  but  little  sense  of  subordination. 
He  fought  with  admirable  gallantry ;  he  had,  perhaps,  more 
accomplishments  of  general  education  than  any  commander  of 
equal  grade  in  the  Confederate  army ;  but  he  chafed  under  the 
commands  of  his  superiours  and  the  formulas  of  rank ;  and  it 
may  be  said  that  he  was  a  very  able,  and  a  very  imperious  man. 
So  violently  did  he  resent  Gen.  Smith's  interference  with  his 
plans  against  Banks  and  the  diversion  of  the  campaign,  that  he 
wrote  to  Richmond,  requesting  to  be  relieved  from  the  command 
of  the  district  of  West  Louisiana.  Indeed,  he  had  dissented  from 
Gen.  Smith,  and  almost  defied  him,  in  every  incident  of  the  cam 
paign.  It  had  been  the  design  of  the  latter  commander  to  draw 
Banks  some  distance  beyond  Mansfield,  and  to  make  a  field 
against  him  only  when  he  could  concentrate  all  the  Confederate 
forces ;  but  Gen.  Taylor  took  the  responsibility  of  changing  a 


LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  TAYLOR.  835 

reconnoissance  into  a  battle,  and  on  the  commencement  of  the 
action,  he  had  declared  to  Gen.  Polignac,  who  commanded  one 
of  his  divisions,  "Little  Frenchman,  I  am  going  to  fight  Banks 
here,  if  he  has  a  million  of  men  !  "  A  dispatch  from  Gen.  Smith 
came  to  him  in  the  midst  of  the  battle,  ordering  him  to  withdraw 
near  Shreveport.  ;<  Too  late,  sir,"  said  Taylor,  to  the  courier 
who  brought  it;  "the  battle  is  won.  It  is  not  the  first  I  have 
fought  with  a  halter  around  my  neck."  Happily,  a  victory  was 
obtained.  But  when  on  the  heels  of  his  victories.  Gen.  Taylor 
was  for  giving  chase  to  Banks,  and  risking  the  whole  department 
for  an  improbable  success  against  an  enemy  intrenched  and  rest 
ing  on  gunboats,  it  must  be  considered  wise  and  fortunate  that 
he  was  opposed  by  the  prudence  of  his  superiour,  and  stayed  at 
the  point  of  success  already  accomplished.  But  when  this  differ 
ence  between  the  two  commanders  went  up  to  Richmond,  and 
Gen.  Taylor,  ordered  to  Natch itoches,  awaited  there  the  pleasure 
of  the  government,  President  Davis  did  not  take  this  view,  and 
was  prompt  to  adopt  the  cause  and  caprice  of  his  relative — to 
such  an  extent,  indeed,  that  he  gave  him  increase  of  rank,  and 
one  of  the  most  important  commands  in  the  Confederacy.  The 
consequence  of  the  disagreement  between  Gens.  Taylor  and 
Smith  was  that  the  former  was  made  a  Lieutenant-General, 
transferred  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  given  the  command  of 
what  was  popularly  known  as  the  Department  of  the  Southwest, 
comprising  East  Louisiana,  Mississippi  and  Alabama.  This  com 
mand  Gen.  Taylor  surrendered  to  the  enemy,  in  a  convention 
with  Gen.  Canby,  on  the  4th  May,  1865. 

Before  the  war  Gen.  Taylor  had  possessed  a  vast  property; 
he  was  a  munificent  planter,  surrounded  by  wealth  and  culture. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  conspicuous  victims  of  the 
enemy's  rapacity.  It  was  in  the  second  year  of  the  war,  shortly 
after  the  capture  of  New  Orleans,  that  the  enemy  commenced, 
to  a  large  extent,  his  career  of  atrocities  against  rights  and  prop 
erties  which  the  arms  of  both  belligerents  had  hitherto  spared. 
They  removed  "Washington's  statue  from  the  State  House  of 
Louisiana  to  New  York ;  they  took  a  large  part  of  the  State 
library ;  they  liberated  the  convicts  from  the  Penitentiary.  It 
was  in  this  period  of  vandalism  that  Gen.  Taylor's  plantation 
was  plundered,  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  his  slaves  carried  off, 


836  LIEUT.-GEN.   RICHARD  TAYLOR. 

and  his  private  papers  despoiled,  even  of  tokens  of  affection  from 
his  illustrious  father.  The  exploit  was  gleefully  described  by  a 
Vermont  soldier,  and  published  in  a  Northern  paper.  The  report 
is  copied  literally,  for  obvious  interest  and  instruction. 

"  It  is  one  of  the  most  splendid  plantations  that  I  ever  saw. 
There  are  on  it  TOO  acres  of  sugar-cane,  which  must  rot  upon  the 
ground  if  the  Government  does  not  harvest  it.  I  wish  you  could 
have  seen  the  soldiers  plunder  this  plantation.  After  the  stock 
was  driven  off,  the  boys  began  by  ordering  the  slaves  to  bring 
out  everything  there  was  to  eat  and  drink.  They  brought  out 
hundreds  of  bottles  of  wines,  eggs,  preserved  figs,  and  peaches, 
turkeys,  chickens,  and  honey  in  any  quantity.  I  brought  away 
a  large  camp-kettle  and  frying-pans  that  belonged  to  old  Gen. 
Taylor,  and  also  many  of  his  private  papers.  I  have  one  letter 
of  his  own  hand-writing,  and  many  from  Secretary  Marcy,  some 
from  Gen.  Scott,  and  some  from  the  traitor  Floyd.  I  brought  to 
camp  four  bottles  of  claret  wine.  Lieut.  — —  brought  away  half 
a  barrel  of  the  best  syrup  from  the  sugar-house,  and  a  large  can 
of  honey.  The  camp-kettle  and  pans  I  intend  to  send  home. 
They  are  made  of  heavy  tin,  covered  with  copper.  I  think  I  will 
send  home  the  private  papers  by  mail,  if  I  do  not  let  any  one 
have  them.  The  camp  is  loaded  down  with  plunder — all  kinds 
of  clothing,  rings,  watches,  guns,  pistols,  swords,  and  some  of 
Gen.  Taylor's  old  hats  and  coats,  belt-swords — and,  in  fact,  every 
old  relic  he  had  is  worn  about  camp." 

How  refreshing  the  innocence  and  exuberance  of  the  Ver 
mont  spoiler ;  how  evident  that  such  outrages  were  not  the 
unusual  or  hidden  practices  of  Federal  soldiers ;  how  great  the 
magnanimity  that  is  called  upon  to  forgive  and  forget  such 
atrocities  of  the  war !  Gen.  Taylor  is  now  a  comparatively  poor 
man,  struggling  for  a  livelihood  in  commercial  pursuits  in  New 
Orleans — the  city  his  arms  most  sought  to  save ;  and  when  we 
find  such  a  man,  notwithstanding  the  grievous  personal  recollec 
tion  of  the  war  he  bears,  consenting  to  the  enemy's  terms  of 
reconstruction,  and  heartily  counselling  their  acceptance,  we  see 
an  example  of  that  magnanimity  which  has  made  the  people  of 
the  South  admirable  in  disaster,  and  proved  their  strength  equal 
to  suffer  as  to  do. 


MAJ.-GEN.  DABNEY  H.  MAURY. 


CHAPTEK  LXXVI. 

Ancestral  stock  of  Dabney  H.  Maury. — Services  in  the  Mexican  War. — Accepts  the 
cause  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. — Various  services  in  the  Western  armies. — 
His  gallant  defence  of  Mobile. — The  Army  of  Mobile  the  last  organized  body  of 
troops  in  the  Confederacy. 

DABNEY  HERNDON  MAURY  is  descended  from  the  families  of 
Fontaine  and  of  Maury,  who  fled  from  France  to  Virginia,  on  the 
revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  by  Louis  XIY. ;  from  the 
Minor  who  came  to  Virginia,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  with  a 
grant  from  that  king ;  and  from  the  Brooke,  who  came  to  Vir 
ginia,  with  grants  from  Queen  Anne.  The  estate  of  Brooke 
Bank,  on  the  Rappahannock,  is  still  held  by  William  Brooke, 
under  the  original  grant.  Dabney  H.  Maury  was  born  in  Fred- 
ericksburg,  May  21,  1822.  His  father  was  an  officer  of  high 
character  and  ability,  who  lost  his  life  while  serving  under  old 
Commodore  David  Porter  in  the  West  Indies,  as  flag-officer 
of  his  fleet ;  and  his  father's  brother,  Matthew  Fontaine  Maury, 
yet  lives,  known  to  fame  as  "Lieutenant  Maury." 

In  1846,  he  graduated  at  West  Point,  was  assigned  to  the 
Mounted  Rifles,  proceeded  to  Mexico,  and  went  into  action  for 
the  first  time  at  Vera  Cruz.  He  was  severely  wounded  at  Cerro 
Gordo,  was  promoted  for  his  gallantry  there,  and  also  received  a 
pleasant  and  honourable  testimony  in  the  present  of  a  sword 
from  the  citizens  of  Fredericksburg.  He  was  subsequently  vari 
ously  employed  as  instructor  at  West  Point  and  Carlisle  Bar 
racks,  and  gave  to  the  military  literature  of  the  country  a  valu 
able  treatise  on  a  new  system  of  tactics  for  mounted  troops.  In 
1860  he  was  promoted  to  captain  of  the  Adjutant-General's 
department,  and  ordered  to  Santa  Fe,  as  Adjutant-General  of 
New  Mexico. 


838  MAJ.-GEN.   DABXEY   H.    MAURY. 

He  resigned  his  commission  on  receiving  the  news  of  the 
secession  of  Virginia,  and  made  his  way  with  his  family  and 
servants  through  Kansas,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  and  Ken 
tucky,  to  Richmond,  where  he  arrived  on  the  19th  July,  1861. 
He  was  at  once  appointed  Colonel  of  Cavalry  by  the  Governor 
of  Virginia,  and  subsequently  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the  Pro 
visional  Army  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  assigned  to  duty  as 
Adjutant-General  of  Johnston's  army  at  Manassas.  He  was 
soon  afterwards,  at  his  own  request,  transferred  to  the  Army  of 
Fredericksburg. 

In  February,  1862,  he  was  ordered  to  the  Trans-Mississippi 
Department,  as  Chief  of  Staff  to  Gen.  Van  Dorn  ;  and,  having 
been  complimented  in  the  battle  of  Elk  Horn,  he  was  promoted 
Brigadier-General.  He  went  to  Corinth  with  the  Army  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi,  and  from  that  time  held  various  commands  in 
the  West.  He  commanded  a  division  in  the  battle  of  Corinth, 
and  did  a  splendid  service  after  that  action  in  engaging  the 
Federal  corps  under  Ord,  at  the  Hatchie  Bridge ;  and  in  the 
subsequent  operations  around  Vicksburg,  especially  in  the  defeat 
of  Sherman's  and  Porter's  expedition  into  the  Deer  River 
country,  he  obtained  additional  distinction. 

But  the  most  memorable  and  brilliant  service  rendered  by 
Gen.  Maury  was  the  defence  of  Mobile,  in  the  last  periods  of  the 
war — an  event  which  adorned  the  declining  fortunes  of  the  Con 
federacy,  and  gave  to  its  history  the  last  example  of  glory.  He 
had  been  transferred  to  East  Tennessee,  when  he  was  ordered 
to  exchange  Departments  with  Gen.  Buckner,  and  to  proceed  to 
Mobile,  and  take  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Gulf. 
While  exercising  this  command,  Gen.  Maury,  at  different  times, 
repulsed  the  attack  of  Farragut's  fleet  against  Fort  Powell,  the 
column  of  Davidson,  from  Baton  Rouge,  against  Mobile,  and  the 
raid  of  Ashboth,  from  Pensacola,  towards  the  Montgomery  and 
Great  Northern  Railroad.  Being  temporarily  in  command  of 
the  Department  embracing  Mississippi,  Alabama,  East  Louisiana, 
and  West  Florida,  he  authorized  Forrest  to  make  the  expedition 
into  Memphis  which  caused  the  retreat  of  the  invading  column 
of  A.  J.  Smith,  which  had  already  penetrated  into  Mississippi 
as  far  as  Oxford. 

After  Mobile  had  been  several  times  threatened  with  attack, 


MAJ.-GEN.   DABNEY  H.   MAUKY.  839 

an  army  under  Canby,  and  a  large  fleet,  commenced  to  move 
against  it,  in  March,  1865.  Canby's  immediate  force  was  over 
45,000  troops,  besides  a  fleet  of  about  twenty  war  vessels.  Gen. 
Maury's  forces  were  less  than  8,000  effectives,  with  four  or  five 
inefficient  gunboats.  The  enemy  having  got  in  position,  attacked 
the  lines  of  Spanish  Fort  and  Blakely,  while  he  threatened 
Mobile  itself.  The  effective  force  of  the  positions  attacked 
numbered  about  4,000  of  all  arms  ;  the  besiegers  numbered  more 
than  45,000,  and  the  works  were  light  field-works.  The  supply 
of  Confederate  ammunition  was  scant,  and  had  to  be  very  spar 
ingly  used.  After  two  weeks  of  defence,  not  surpassed  in 
courage  and  skill  by  any  in  the  war,  the  position  of  Spanish 
Fort  was  abandoned  to  the  enemy,  and  most  of  the  garrison 
saved.  Next  day,  Blakely  was  carried  by  assault..  Gen.  Maury 
then  decided,  in  pursuance  of  his  general  instructions,  to  attempt 
no  defence  of  the  city,  but  to  save  his  garrison.  He  occupied 
two  days,  April  10th  and  llth,  in  removing  his  stores  and 
destroying  his  armament,  etc.,  and  during  the  night  of  the  llth, 
he  removed  the  troops  from  their  positions  in  the  city,  except 
the  rear-guard  of  300  Louisiana  infantry.  On  the  12th  he 
marched  out  of  Mobile,  on  the  road  to  Meridian.  The  Army  of 
Mobile  reached  Meridian  about  4,500  strong,  and  was  organ 
ized  into  a  division  under  Gen.  Maury,  and  prepared  to  march 
across  the  country  into  Carolina,  to  join  Gen.  Johnston.  But  this 
design  was  overruled  by  events  which  had  occurred  elsewhere. 

On  the  12th  May,  1865,  Gen.  Maury  and  the  Army  of 
Mobile  were  paroled  prisoners  of  war,  under  the  terms  of  the 
surrender  made  by  Gens.  Taylor  and  Canby.  The  Army  of 
Mobile  was  the  only  organized  body  of  troops  on  that  day  in 
the  Confederacy,  and  bore  on  their  serried  bayonets  the  last  hope 
of  the  South. 


MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.  MAGRUDER. 


CHAPTEE  LXXVII. 

Brilliant  service  of  Magruder's  batteries  in  the  Mexican  "War. — Interesting  incident 
at  Contreras. — He  makes  the  tour  of  Europe. — Offers  his  sword  to  Virginia. — 
Battle  of  Bethel.— Important  and  critical  services  on  the  Peninsula.— How  he 
deceived  McCleHan,  and  defied  his  "  grand  army." — Another  desperate  situation 
in  front  of  Richmond. — Transferred  to  Texas. — Recapture  of  Galveston. — Affair 
of  Sabine  Pass. — Address  to  the  people  of  Texas. — The  enemy  compared  to  "  the 
ravenous  cat." — Gen.  Magruder  resists  a  surrender. — His  exile  in  Mexico. — The 
tribute  of  a  companion-in-arms  to  his  accomplishments  and  virtues. 

JOHN  BANKHEAD  MAGEUDER  was  born  at  Port  Royal,  in  the 
county  of  Caroline,  Yirginia,  in  1808.  He  graduated  at  West 
Point  in  the  class  of  1830,  and  his  earliest  campaign  was  against 
the  Indians  in  Florida,  where  he  served  under  Gen.  Scott  and 
his  uncle,  Gen.  James  Bankhead.  In  the  Mexican  war  his  serv 
ices  were  historical  and  brilliant,  and  he  was  remarkable  there 
for  the  splendid  performance  of  his  light  artillery — an  arm  the 
value  of  which  he  illustrated  in  no  less  than  nine  battles.  The 
stormy  music  of  his  battery  was  heard  in  the  very  first  combat 
at  Palo  Alto,  and  its  vibrations  scarcely  ceased  until  they  shook 
the  buildings  in  the  Grand  Plaza  of  the  capital !  It  was  in  the 
rapid  and  effective  management  of  field-pieces,  and  the  combina 
tions  with  which  they  were  applied  to  accomplish  immediate  and 
important  results,  that  his  genius  shone  and  his  brilliant  courage 
was  most  strikingly  manifested. 

The  severest  test  of  the  valour  and  efficiency  of  this  compara 
tively  new  arm  occurred  at  Contreras,  where  Capt.  Magruder 
was  ordered  to  entertain  the  powerful  concentration  of  the 
enemy's  batteries  under  Gen.  Valencia,  while  the  brigades  of 
Eiley  and  Persifer  F.  Smith  were  painfully  and  slowly  gaining 
his  rear.  His  battery  held  its  ground  desperately ;  it  was  crippled 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN   B.   MAGRUDER.  841 

by  the  heavy  and  murderous  fire  of  Valencia ;  his  horses  lay 
around  the  guns  in  pools  of  gore ;  but  he  did  not  withdraw  his 
broken  and  suffering  ranks  until  the  columns  of  infantry  had 
succeeded  in  flanking  the  enemy.  One  of  his  guns  was  com 
manded  on  this  day  by  Lieutenant  Thomas  Jonathan  Jackson, 
afterwards  the  world-renowned  "  Stonewall." 

Singular  and  startling  are  the  vicissitudes  of  war!  When 
Capt.  Magruder  had  lost  half  his  officers  and  men  in  the  terrible 
exposure  for  three  hours  at  Contreras,  and  was  looking  about  him 
for  such  assistance  as  he  could  get  in  his  extremest  need,  he  saw, 
at  a  little  distance,  a  young  gentleman  in  the  uniform  of  the 
United  States  army,  apparently  not  engaged  in  the  battle.  Riding 
up  to  him  without  a  moment's  delay,  Capt.  Magruder  proposed 
to  the  youthful  stranger  that  he  should  take  charge  of  one  of  the 
pieces  disabled  by  the  loss  of  its  officer.  The  invitation  was  un 
hesitatingly  accepted,  and  the  volunteer  lieutenant  served  the 
piece  with  the  utmost  self-possession,  and  with  telling  effect, 
until  the  end  of  the  fight.  When  his  name  was  asked  for,  that 
it  might  be  properly  mentioned  in  the  official  report,  he  gave  it 
as  George  B.  McClellan  !  There,  upon  that  Mexican  battle-field, 
under  the  blazing  fire  of  the  enemy,  did  these  two  men  meet  for 
the  first  time,  fifteen  years  later  to  be  confronted  as  deadly 
enemies  on  the  already  historic  intrenchments  of  Yorktown, 
Virginia,  in  a  war  between  the  sundered  sections  of  the  Union  ! 
Did  the  "  forlorn  hope  "  of  the  memorable  day  of  Contreras,  its 
common  glory,  ever  come  to  the  memory  of  thekse  leaders  of 
hostile  armies  when  each  watched  the  camps  of  the  other  and 
plotted  his  destruction ;  and  what  must  have  been  its  lessons, 
what  its  inspirations,  in  this  strange  confront  and  emulation  of 
arms! 

Magruder  came  out  of  the  Mexican  War  a  Lieutenant-Colonel 
by  brevet.  Soon  after  its  close,  he  went  abroad,  and  spent  some 
time  in  England  and  on  the  Continent,  everywhere  perfecting 
his  acquaintance  with  the  art  of  war  in  the  arsenals  and  camps 
of  the  different  nations  of  Europe,  and  everywhere  received  in 
the  most  polished  circles  of  society.  This  foreign  tour  he  repeated, 
just  before  the  political  difficulties  of  the  United  States  ripened 
into  secession,  under  a  commission  from  the  War  Department  to 
prepare  a  report  on  the  light  artillery  practice  of  European  estab- 


842  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   MAGRUDER. 

lishments,  and  to  translate  from  the  French  the  best  manual  of 
artillery  tactics  extant  in  that  language,  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States  army.  When  he  returned  to  Washington  he  found  the 
clouds  of  war  gathering,  and  on  the  instant  that  the  proclama 
tion  of  President  Lincoln  roused  the  people  of  Virginia  into 
armed  resistance,  he  laid  down  his  regulation  sabre  and  his  col 
onel's  commission,  and  drawing  the  sword  which  had  been  pre 
sented  to  him  by  his  native  county  of  Caroline,  he  came  to 
offer  his  skill  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Con 
federacy. 

He  was  made  a  Brigadier-General ;  and  it  was  his  good  for 
tune  to  win  one  of  the  earliest  successes  of  the  war,  upon  a  soil 
of  historic  inspirations — his  command  of  about  1,800  men  check 
ing  at  Bethel  a  column  which  Butler  had  sent  from  Fortress 
Monroe  to  try  the  threshold  of  the  Peninsular  approach  to 
Richmond.  But  this  affair  was  trifling  compared  to  the  service 
which  he  was  afterwards  called  upon  to  perform  in  covering  this 
approach  to  the  Confederate  capital — a  service  which  was  not 
noisily  advertised  in  the  gazette,  but  which  consisted  in  the 
ceaseless  vigilance  and  untiring  energy  that  during  thirteen  long 
months  of  hardship  and  exposure  occupied  the  enemy,  .and  at 
last  kept  an  immense  invading  arm}T  in  check,  and  made  the 
inconsiderable  force  of  less  than  10,000  men  impress  the  "  Young 
Napoleon  "  of  the  North,  and  his  grand  army,  with  the  idea  of 
100,000.  It  was  a  service  which  saved  Richmond. 

When  McClellan  commenced  the  transportation  of  his  army 
to  the  Peninsula,  and  Gen.  Johnston  yet  lingered  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  the  Rappahannock  and  the  Rapidan,  Gen.  Magruder 
found  himself,  with  the  small  force  under  his  command,  confront 
ing  an  army  which  gradually  grew  before  his  eyes  to  75,000 
men,  before  he  received  a  single  reinforcement.  Every  day 
fleets  of  transports  arrived  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  the  extension 
of  the  long  line  of  tents  at  Newport  News  told  of  the  gathering 
host.  At  this  time  Gen.  Magruder's  line  extended  from  Glouces 
ter  Point,  on  the  north  side  of  the  York  River,  across  the  penin 
sula  to  Mulberry  Island,  in  the  James  River,  a  distance  of 
seventeen  miles,  on  which  was  strung  a  force  scarcely  exceeding 
8,000  men.  At  one  time  it  was  proposed  in  a  council  of  war  to 
retreat  towards  Richmond;  but  Gen.  Magruder  rejected  the 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   MAGRUDER.  843 

advice  of  his  officers,  and  determined  on  the  desperate  enterprise 
of  entertaining  McClellan  and  his  great  army  until  Gen.  John 
ston's  forces  could  arrive  upon  the  scene.  He  inspired  his  men 
by  eloquent  appeals.  He  issued  an  address  to  be  read  to  each 
command  in  his  army,  in  which  he  declared:  "The  enemy  is 
before  us — our  works  are  strong — our  cause  is  good — we  fight 
for  our  homes  and  must  be  careful.  Every  hour  we  hold  out 
brings  us  reinforcements."  It  was  not  a  mere  idle  audacity,  a 
blind  desperation ;  he  was  active  every  day  in  impressing  the 
enemy  with  a  show  of  strength  and  alarming  him  with  signs  of 
battle ;  he  adroitly  extended  his  little  force  to  every  point  open 
to  observation,  so  as  to  give  the  appearance  of  numbers  to  the 
enemy ;  he  made  almost  daily  feints  of  attack ;  there  were  march 
ings  and  counter-marchings,  the  hurryings  to  and  fro,  the  mid 
night  calls,  the  movements  down  one  road  and  up  another. 
McClellan  actually  believed  that  an  army  of  a  hundred  thousand 
men  was  on  his  front.  Night  after  night  did  the  Federal  officers 
sleep  restlessly  in  their  encampment  at  Newport  News,  expectant 
of  the  alarm  that  Magruder  was  upon  them.  Morning  after 
morning  did  they  strain  their  eyes  along  the  road  leading  to  New 
Market,  for  the  dust  of  his  approaching  columns.  Such  was  the 
alarm  and  uncertainty  of  McClellan  until  Johnston's  army 
reached  the  critical  ground,  and  assured  the  safety  of  Richmond. 
The  service  of  Magruder  had  been  vital  and  heroic ;  it  was 
almost  incredible,  in  the  simplest  statement  of  the  facts.  With 
a  force  of  about  10,000  he  had  checked  the  whole  of  McClellan's 
army,  and  paralyzed  the  power  for  mischief  of  a  great  host,  sup 
ported  by  an  immense  naval  armament,  with  two  wide  water 
courses  open  to  them,  by  which,  at  any  moment,  they  might 
have  assailed  him  on  both  sides  at  once ! 

It  appears  to  have  been  the  peculiar  fortune  of  Gen.  Ma 
gruder  to  enact  the  most  desperate  parts  in  the  defence  of  Rich 
mond.  In  the  memorable  battles  of  1862  around  that  city,  we 
again  find  him  in  circumstances  somewhat  similar  to  those  at 
Yorktown,  holding  a  thin  and  critical  line,  and  playing  upon  the 
enemy's  credulity  as  to  the  magnitude  of  his  forces.  When 
Gen.  Lee  crossed  the  Chickahominy  with  the  larger  part  of  his 
army  to  fight  the  battle  of  Gaines'  Mills,  the  divisions  of  Gen. 
Magruder  and  Huger  were  all  that  remained  on  the  other  side 


844  MAJ.-GEN.  JOHN  B.   MAGKUDER. 

of  the  stream  to  cover  Richmond.  Of  the  situation  and  McClel- 
lan's  opportunity,  Magruder  writes :  "  After  the  battle  of  Friday, 
the  27th  June,  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Chickahominy,  it 
was  ascertained  that  the  enemy  had  withdrawn  his  troops  to  the 
right  bank,  and  therefore  the  whole  of  his  forces  were  massed  in 
front  of  our  lines,  and  that  he  had  destroyed  the  bridges  over 
this  river,  thereby  separating  our  army  and  concentrating  his 
own.  *  *  *  *  From  the  time  at  which  the  enemy  with 
drew  his  forces  to  this  side  of  the  Chickahominy  and  destroyed 
the  bridges,  to  the  moment  of  his  evacuation,  that  is,  from  Fri 
day  night  until  Sunday  morning,  I  considered  the  situation  of 
our  army  as  extremely  critical  and  perilous.  The  larger  portion 
of  it  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Chickahominy,  the  bridges 
had  been  all  destroyed,  but  one  was  rebuilt,  the  New  Bridge, 
which  was  commanded  fully  by  the  enemy's  guns  from  Gould- 
ing's,  and  there  were  but  25,000  men  between  his  army  of 
100,000,  and  Richmond.  *  *  *  Had  McClellan  massed  his 
whole  force  in  column,  and  advanced  it  against  any  point  of  our 
line  of  battle,  as  was  done  at  Austerlitz,  under  similar  circum 
stances,  by  the  greatest  captain  of  any  age,  though  the  head  of 
his  column  would  have  suffered  greatly,  its  momentum  would 
have  insured  him  success,  and  the  occupation  of  our  works  about 
Richmond,  and,  consequently,  the  city  might  have  been  his 
reward." 

Happily  McClellan  did  not  have  the  genius  or  audacity  to  use 
this  opportunity  of  attack,  and,  retreating  across  Gen.  Magruder's 
front,  he  made  for  the  James  River,  below  Richmond.  In  this 
retreat  he  surprised  Gen.  Magruder,  who  was  only  able  to  come  up 
with  his  rear-guard  at  Savage  Station,  and  afterwards  made  an 
ill-advised  attack  upon  his  batteries  of  Malvern  Hill.  In  these 
incidents  of  McClellari's  retreat  (which  have  been  elsewhere 
related  more  fully),  Gen.  Magruder  fell  under  some  popular  cen 
sure,  from  which  he  was  vindicated,  however,  by  an  official 
investigation  of  the  facts. 

After  these  battles  he  was  sent  west  of  the  Mississippi,  to 
take  command  in  Texas,  bearing  with  him,  in  the  order  assigning 
him  to  this  distant  command,  an  extraordinary  tribute  to  his 
services,  declaring  that  "  Maj.-Gen.  Magruder  has  deserved 
the  thanks  of  the  army  and  the  people,  and  will  carry  to  his 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   MAGRUDEB.  845 

new  field  their  confident  hopes  for  the  achievement  of  new  suc 
cesses."  These  hopes  were  more  than  realized.  He  appears  to 
have  had  a  fondness  for  dramatic  and  startling  adventures  ;  his 
dashing  courage  took  to  desperate  enterprises ;  and  the  country 
was  soon  electrified  by  a  train  of  victories  on  the  Gulf  Coast, 
where  the  war  had  hitherto  dragged,  and  presented  but  few 
exhibitions  of  interest.  As  he  was  on  his  way  to  Texas,  accqm- 
panied  by  Judge  Oldham,  Major  Forshey,  and  others,  the  subject 
of  retaking  Galveston  Island  was  introduced.  The  difficulties 
of  the  undertaking  were  canvassed,  and  the  question  came  up 
whether  the  work  was  feasible.  Major  Forshey  observed : 
"  General,  I  think  the  best  plan  is  to  resolve  to  retake  Galveston 
any  way,  and  then  canvass  the  difficulties."  The  General  replied 
that  he  thought  so  too,  and  from  that  point  began  the  under 
taking. 

The  recapture  of  Galveston  was  accomplished  on  the  1st  Jan 
uary,  1863,  by  an  attack  on  the  enemy's  fleet  and  garrison ;  the 
steamer  Harriet  Lane  was  carried  by  boarding  from  two  small 
steamers  fenced  with  cotton ;  and  the  whole  Federal  fleet  would 
have  been  compelled  to  surrender,  had  they  not  ignominiously 
escaped  under  cover  of  a  flag-of-truce.  Some  months  later  fol 
lowed  the  success  of  Sabine  Pass.  Attacked  by  five  gunboats, 
the  fort,  mounting  but  three  guns  of  small  calibre,  and  manned 
by  200  men,  steadily  resisted  their  fire,  and  at  last  forced  the 
surrender  of  the  two  gunboats  Clifton  and  Sachem,  badly  crip 
pling  another,  which,  with  the  others,  escaped  over  the  bar.  The 
result  of  this  gallant  achievement  was  the  capture  of  two  fine 
gunboats,  fifteen  heavy  guns,  over  200  prisoners,  among  them  the 
Commodore  of  the  fleet,  and  over  fifty  of  the  enemy  killed  and 
wounded,  while  not  a  man  was  lost  on  the  Confederate  side  or  a 
gun  injured. 

About  the  close  of  the  year  1863,  Gen.  Magruder  had  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  enemy  contemplated  a  formidable  invasion 
of  Texas  by  the  coast,  Gen.  Banks  having  taken  possession  of  the 
Lower  Rio  Grande  and  occupied  Aransas  and  Corpus  Christ! 
Passes.  In  view  of  these  movements,  an  address  was  issued  to 
the  planters  who  resided  in  counties  within  fifty  miles  of  the 
coast,  from  Corpus  Christi  to  Galveston,  to  remove  their  negroes 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy.  In  making  this  appeal  to  the 


846  MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.    MAGRUDER. 

people  of  Texas,  Gen.  Magruder  warned  them  against  the  faith 
less  promises  of  the  en.emy.  "  The  utter  disregard  of  all  social 
rights,"  he  said,  "  as  well  as  the  distinct  proclamation  of  Presi 
dent  Lincoln,  so  ruthlessly  carried  out  by  his  minions,  leave  no 
room  for  hope,  even  to  the  most  credulous,  to  save  their  property, 
and  especially  their  negroes,  even  by  the  base  submission  of  men 
who  should  prefer  death  to  dishonour.  Should  hopes  be  held  out 
to  the  people  of  Texas  that  they  will  be  exceptions  to  the  rule  so 
vigourously  enforced  in  her  sister  States  in  localities  where  the 
enemy  are  in  possession  of  temporary  power,  and  should  even 
the  property  of  some,  deceived  into  an  oath  of  allegiance  by  the 
treacherous  promises  of  our  enemy,  be  for  a  time  respected,  such 
hopes  will  prove  deceitful — such  respect  a  snare.  The  playing 
of  the  ravenous  cat  with  the  harmless  mouse  is  not  more  deceit 
ful  or  fatal." 

It  is  well  known  that  Gen.  Banks  subsequently  changed  his 
intentions,  if  he  had  contemplated  an  invasion  of  Texas  from  the 
sea,  and  undertook  the  famous  Red  River  campaign,  in  which 
Gen.  Magruder  was  called  upon  to  cooperate  with  the  other  Con 
federate  forces  in  the  Trans-Mississippi.  This  was  the  last  event 
of  importance  west  of  the  Mississippi.  When,  by  the  progress 
of  dominant  events  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  the  necessity 
of  surrender  carne  here,  Gen.  Magruder  attempted  to  animate 
the  Texas  troops  in  the  hope  of  prolonging  the  war,  or  punishing 
the  enemy  to  the  last  opportunity.  At  Houston  he  addressed  the 
citizens,  sought  to  inspire  them  with  something  of  his  own  hope 
and  ardour,  and  concluded  by  protesting  that  "  he  had  rather  be 
a  Comanche  Indian  than  bow  the  knee  to  the  Yankees."  But 
these  appeals  were  vain ;  and  Gen.  Magruder  accepted  for  him 
self  the  experiment  of  exile,  removing  to  Mexico,  where  he  was 
connected  with  the  government  of  Maximilian  in  some  scheme 
of  colonization.  This  enterprise  having  failed,  he  has  since 
returned  to  his  country,  where  enough  of  sympathy  for  "  the  lost 
cause  "  yet  remains  to  make  welcome  for  all  its  illustrious  and 
unhappy  champions. 

A  companion-in-arms  of  the  General,  writing  of  him  in  the 
active  period  of  the  war,  when  his  star  was  ascending  with  the 
fortunes  of  the  South,  thus  describes  the  man  :  "  Of  Gen.  Magru 
der,  in  the  freedom  of  private  life,  it  may  be  said,  without  vio- 


MAJ.-GEN.   JOHN  B.   MAGRUDER.  847 

lating  the  proprieties  of  social  reserve,  that  never  was  there  a 
more  agreeable  man.  In  conversation  he  is  especially  happy, 
enriching  whatever  topic  may  be  under  discussion  with  illustra 
tions  drawn  from  the  stores  of  a  large  and  various  reading,  or 
enlivening  it  with  anecdotes  of  his  actual  experiences  of  life  and 
manners.  The  elegance  of  his  demeanour,  and  a  certain  je  ne 
mis  quoi  of  repose,  derived  from  much  observation  of  men  and 
cities,  courts  and  drawing-rooms,  combined  with  the  betrayal,  now 
and  then,  in  his  personal  adornments,  of  a  cultivated  taste  in 
objects  of  luxury,  brought  upon  him,  among  his  intimate  friends 
in  society,  the  title  of  "  Prince  John  " — a  title  which  was  used  in 
pleasantry  by  his  brother  officers  in  the  old  army.  But  never 
was  a  man  more  free  from  mere  vulgar  ostentation,  either  out 
wardly  or  in  social  intercourse.  On  the  contrary,  his  style  in 
talk  and  in  correspondence  is  that  of  severe  simplicity.  Few 
men,  however,  can  engage  him  in  an  encounter  of  wits  without 
loss  of  reputation.  Beast  Butler  tried  it  while  at  Fortress  Mon 
roe,  in  an  exchange  of  letters,  and  came  oif  No.  2.  *  *  *  * 
Wherever  he  may  go,  he  will  be  to  his  friends  the  same  merry, 
dashing,  charming  fellow  that  he  has  been  in  former  days,  in  the 
drives  and  fetes  of  Newport,  in  the  saloons  of  Paris,  in  the  mili 
tary  outpost,  in  the  midnight  bivouac,  in  the  club,  and  in  the 
camp ;  and  we  may  be  assured  that  he  will  prove  to  the  enemies 
of  the  country  the  same  self-composed,  self-reliant,  indomitable, 
dangerous  combatant  that  he  was  to  Tiger-Tail  and  Osceola, 
Valencia  and  '  the  Young  Napoleon.' ': 


SOME  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 


CHAPTER  LXXYIII. 

Reflections  on  the  close  of  the  war. — The  true  glory  of  history. — "The  possession 
forever." — The  duties  and  hopes  of  the  South. — Two  distinct  grounds  of  faith  in 
the  future. — The  people  of  the  South  to  make  their  own  history  and  Pantheon. — 
Their  dead  heroes. 

ON  the  completion  of  our  work  there  arise  some  great  and 
ennobling  reflections.  It  should  be  the  pride  of  the  people  of 
the  South,  and  the  ambition  of  its  youth,  to  uphold  as  a  peculiar 
ornament  the  glorious  names  of  the  war,  and  to  cultivate  with 
tenderness  and  reverence  whatever  remains  of  the  institutions 
and  ideas  of  chivalry  in  their  country,  so  well  distinguished  in 
the  world  as  it  already  is  for  its  types  of  courage  and  peculiar 
schools  of  honour.  In  the  second  year  of  the  past  war,  the  Lon 
don  Times  declared  that  whatever  might  be  the  fate  of  the 
Southern  Confederacy,  it  had  "  begun  its  career  with  a  reputation 
for  genius  and  valour  which  the  most  famous  nations  might 
envy."  It  is  for  us  to  remember  that  the  title  thus  conferred  is 
not  changed  or  diminished  by  the  mere  political  issues  of  the 
war.  The  true  glory  of  history  is  indifferent  to  events  ;  it  is  the 
record  of  honour,  as  often  read  in  the  grand  stories  of  misfortune 
as  in  the  illuminated  text  of  victory.  It  is  thus  that  although 
the  cause  of  the  South,  in  certain  respects,  and  for  a  certain  time, 
may  be  lost,  we  are  yet  gainers  in  history  and  inheritors  of  its 
glory.  This  reputation  is  not  a  shadow ;  it  is  the  treasure  which 
the  Greeks  called  "  the  possession  forever,"  a  substantial  and 
enduring  crown,  that  for  which  nations  have  fought  as  above  all 
other  objects  of  contest.  The  low  and  grovelling  mind  may 
apprehend  but  little  in  a  name  in  history,  and  weigh  it  lightly  in 
the  coarse  scales  of  a  utilitarian  philosophy ;  but  it  is  the  first 


SOME   CONCLUDING  KEMARKS.  849 

prize  for  which  generous  nations  have  contended  in  all  ages  of 
the  world,  the  ornament  of  the  humblest  individual  who  shares 
the  common  title  of  a  great  people.  Looking  at  the  past  war, 
not  in  the  narrow  circle  of  political  partisans,  not  from  the  stand 
points  of  the  passing  day,  but  from  the  great  eminences  of  His 
tory,  it  might  be  difficult  to  exchange  as  equal  prizes  the  martial 
glory  of  the  South  for  the  material  triumph  and  shallow  success 
of  the  North. 

"We  are  not  disconsolate.  We  have  won  a  priceless  fame  in 
the  past  war ;  we  have  obtained  a  new  school  of  experience ;  we 
have  entitled  ourselves  the  countrymen  of  Lee  and  Jackson ;  we 
have  reproduced  the  best  part  of  Ancient  Chivalry ;  constructed 
a  romance  of  cavaliers  that  will  ever  have  a  distinct  place  in  the 
admiration  of  Christian  nations ;  given  to  the  world  names  which 
it  will  not  willingly  let  die.  Talk  about  defiling  these  names  by 
the  shallow  daub  of  the  epithet  of  rebels ;  talk  about  "  making 
treason  odious"  by  confiscations,  and  prisoners,  and  gibbets — 
why  these  ar&but  helps  to  sympathy,  the  crowns  of  martyrdom, 
the  assurances  of  a  yet  more  loving  and  reverential  memory  of 
our  living  and  dead  !  The  enemy  cannot  dishonour  our  history. 
What  is  the  diction  of  laws  worth  when  our  feelings,  and  judg 
ments,  and  consciences  proclaim  those  heroes  whom  they  call 
"  traitors."  Yes,  they  will  "  make  treason  odious  "  only  when 
they  can  give  law  to  affection  and  measure  the  drops  of  blood 
in  our  hearts. 

There  is  a  coarse  notion  that  there  should  succeed  upon  the 
war  a  utilitarian  age  in  the  South ;  that  the  people  should  build 
mills  and  factories,  sum  up  their  philosophy  in  that  great  Yankee 
word,  "  material  prosperity,"  and  let  ideas  alone.  Gov.  Orr 
says  he  is  "  tired  of  South  Carolina  as  she  was,"  and  wants  to 
copy  after  Massachusetts  and  her  mills,  and  get  into  the  South 
some  of  the  pelf  of  New  England  civilization.  Now  this  advice 
may  have  a  certain  and  limited  value :  we  must  repair  the  homes 
ruined  by  the  war,  reclaim  the  waste  fields,  and  build  anew  the 
temples  of  industry.  But  this  is  not  all,  or  the  noblest  part  of 
our  task.  Let  it  be  also  our  care  to  defend  ourselves  against  what 
would  be  the  worst  consequence  of  our  defeat — the  loss  of  our 
distinctive  character  as  a  people,  and  the  diminution  of  our  name 
in  history.  Let  us  maintain,  as  far  as  possible,  our  peculiar 

54 


'850  SOME  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

habit  of  civilization,  protect  our  institutes  of  honour,  reassert  the 
virtues- of  chivalry,  and  not  forget  the  exercise  of  arms.  We 
may  yet  be  in  training  for  a  brilliant  future.  The  cause,  for 
which  we  struggled  four  years,  may  be  lost  for  the  present,  and 
yet  the  curtain  may  have  been  drawn  down  only  upon  one  act 
of  the  drama,  and  great  events  may  yet  be  in  reserve.  The 
battle-scene  may  again  mount  the  stage ;  a  great  contest  does 
not  easily  end  in  a  span  of  years ;  and  the  war  that  is  not  suc 
ceeded  by  a  solid  peace  only  lays  the  foundation  of  another  con 
flict.  The  character  of  that  struggle,  the  parties  to  it — whether 
the  war  of  neighbourhoods  will  follow  the  war  of  sections — these 
are  uneasy  speculations.  The  one  fact  alone  is  certain,  that  there 
is  no  deep  sense  of  pacification  in  the  country,  no  consciousness 
of  real  peace,  and  the  meaning  of  this,  the  logical,  exclusive, 
simple  meaning  is,  another  conflict. 

In  the  first  place,  we  do  not  believe  that  after  a  convulsion 
so  vast  and  profound  as  the  past  war,  it  is  historically  possible 
for  a  people  to  return  quietly  to  the  old  habit  and  law  of  its 
existence.  The  lesson  of  human  experience  is  to  the  contrary ; 
the  analogy  of  Nature  is  to  the  contrary.  Such  convulsions  are 
the  signals  of  great  changes  in  history ;  they  necessarily  date 
eras.  We  believe  that  it  is  impossible  to  compass  the  commo 
tion  of  the  late  war  into  the  mere  decision  of  certain  special 
questions  ;  that  its  consequences  are  not  yet  spent ;  and  that  the 
prospect  of  coming  quietly  back  to  a  common  idea  and  the  old 
routine,  is  the  short-sighted  vision  of  the  mere  politician,  and 
not  the  anticipation  of  a  sound  philosophy. 

In  the  next  place,  we  hold  the  broad  faith  that  if  there  was 
really  any  truth  or  virtue  in  the  cause  of  the  South,  it  is  bound 
to  reassert  itself,  and  to  make  some  second  appearance  in  his 
tory.  If  that  cause  was  an  errour  or  crime,  we  can  believe  in 
jts  extinction.  But  whatever  is  true  and  just,  constantly  renews 
itself ;  and  the  law  of  resurrection  is  as  certain  as  the  fact  of 
temporary  dissolution.  We  recollect  Mr.  Bryant,  of  the  New 
York  Evening  Post,  wrote  those  noble  lines  of  poetry  : 

"  Truth,  crashed  to  earth,  will  rise  again; 

The  eternal  years  of  God  are  hers ; 
But  errour,  wounded,  writhes  in  pain, 
And  dies  amid  her  worshippers." 


SOME   CONCLUDING  REMARKS.  851 

It  is  a  thrilling  picture  ;  a  sweet,  solemn  eloquence ;  a  beau 
tiful  faith. 

These  are  general  considerations.  We  do  not  enter  the  field 
of  narrow  questions  ;  we  do  not  attempt  details  ;  we  do  nothing 
more  than  maintain  that  the  late  war  is  visibly,  necessarily, 
unconcluded,  and  await  the  coming  time,  assured  that  what  Mr. 
Headley  calls  "  the  great  clock  of  destiny "  will  strike  again. 
We  speak,  as  in  the  mystery  of  the  future.  The  notes  of  the 
trumpet  may  be  heard  beneath  our  windows  sooner  than  we 
expect,  and  the  silver-sounding  instruments  of  "  Death's  cou 
riers  "  call  us  to  the  field  again.  In  the  present  situation  it  may 
be  well  for  us  to  say  but  little,  and  to  maintain  with  regard  to 
all  parties  in  the  North  the  Napoleonic  attitude  of  attentive 
neutrality.  We  shall  not  discuss  that  question. 

We  have  desired  to  write  on  behalf  of  the  past,  rather  than 
of  any  new  theme  of  glory.  Let  the  people  of  the  South  secure 
its  honour ;  let  them  assemble  its  great  names,  make  their  own 
history  and  Pantheon,  and  celebrate  the  deeds  of  their  Chivalry. 
There  are  Northern  politicians  who  regard  the  South  as  nothing 
more  than  a  camp  of  paroled  prisoners,  who  would  give  tickets- 
of-leave  to  our  heroes,  and  put  all  our  history  in  phrases  and 
stereotypes  of  their  own  choosing.  But  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
remember,  the  felons  and  traitors  of  the  South  are  a  great  and 
conspicuous  people,  who  were  simply  unfortunate  in  an  arbitra 
tion  of  arms.  We  went  down  in  the  struggle,  yet  covered  with 
glory  ;  we  lost  on  the  cast  of  events,  yet  winning  the  recompense 
of  honour. 

And  what  of  that  assemblage  of  loved  and  honoured  spirits 
which  Northern  newspapers  term  so  flippantly  "  the  rebel  dead  f  " 
They  are  the  men  who  in  battle  forgot  that  they  had  ever  heard 
the  name  of  death,  and  yet  died.  They  are  above  the  clamours 
and  accusations  of  one  short  generation  of  men  :  they  are  safe 
in  Heaven  and  in  History.  Neither  the  shafts  of  malice,  nor  the 
weapons  of  unconquerable  death  shall  ever  reach  them  more  ; 
their  names  are  forever  safe  from  the  touch  of  corruption  ;  and 
their  shining  tents  are  pitched  on  the  Campus  Martius  of  eternal 
fame. 


P77/ 


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